Lay the whole pack out in a line and squeeze it into a single pile, one matching move at a time.
Was this fun?
How to play
Accordion uses one 52-card pack, dealt face up in a single line: here the line wraps across the table, reading left to right and top to bottom. Each card starts as a pile of its own.
A pile can be moved onto the pile immediately to its left, or onto the pile three places to its left, if their top cards match in suit or in rank.
The whole pile moves, and the gap closes up, so the line gets shorter.
No move is forced: you choose which to make.
You win when the whole pack is squeezed into one pile. It rarely happens. Alfred Sheinwold suggested counting five piles or fewer as a win; here, ending with five or fewer earns an "A good game!", but only one pile scores as a win.
Controls
Tap a pile to move it. Piles that can move are shown brighter.
If a pile can only go one way, tapping it moves it at once. If it could go onto either pile, both light up: tap the one you want.
Undo takes back a move, as many times as you like.
Game modes
Daily: everyone gets the same deal each day.
New Game: a fresh deal.
Scoring
10 points for every pile you get rid of, plus 500 and a time bonus (up to 1,200, less a point a second) for squeezing the pack into one pile.
Tips & strategy
Moves three along change the line more than moves next door: look at both before you choose.
Look for cards of one rank lying close together near the end of the line. Move them together towards the front without covering them: at the end they can sweep up the last piles.
Every move changes which cards are neighbours. Undo and try the other choice when a line goes dead.
Origins
Accordion takes its name from the way the layout grows and shrinks like accordion pleats. According to Wikipedia, it was originally called The Idle Year, because "with a well-shuffled pack, it will require about that length of time to accomplish it", and it has also been known as Tower of Babel and Methuselah. Rules for The Idle Year were published by William Brisbane Dick in 1883, and the name Accordion appears in the 1950s. In the original game the cards were laid out one at a time; spreading the whole pack out at once is the easier modern way. The odds of winning have been estimated at about one in a hundred. The rules here follow Wikipedia's description, written in our own words.
About Accordion
Accordion is a free browser version of the classic solitaire card game, with a daily deal, unlimited undo and online leaderboards. There's nothing to download and no sign-up.
A free, original browser game on PlayPendium. No download, no install.
