Golf (patience)

Golf
A Patience game
Family Adding and pairing
Deck Single 52-card
See also Glossary of solitaire

Golf is a Patience card game where players try to earn the lowest number of points (as in golf, the sport) over the course of nine deals (or "holes," also borrowing from golf terminology). It has a tableau of 35 face-up cards and a higher ratio of skill to luck than most other solitaire card games.

Setup

From a standard 52-card deck, 7 columns of 5 cards each are dealt, all face up. This is the tableau. One additional card is dealt as the base of the foundation. The remaining 16 cards are turned face down to form the stock.

Play

Rules are as follows:

Scoring

Player scores one point for each card remaining in the tableau after the stock has run out. If the tableau is cleared, player scores a negative point for every card left in the stock. Game is nine "holes" (deals) and a score of 45 or lower is considered par, with a score of zero or lower being perfect.

Impossible Win

If a tableau is dealt that would make it impossible for the player to clear all of the cards (if all queens are covered by kings for example), then the cards may be reshuffled and redealt.

Variations

Common variations on these rules include:

Solvability

When played with the standard rules only about 26% of Golf deals are possible to win. This increases to 45% if queens may be played on kings, and to 93% if turning the corner is permitted.[1]

See also

References

  1. Wolter, Jan. "Experimental Analysis of Golf Solitaire". politaire.com. Retrieved December 5, 2014.