Twenty-Five (solitaire)

Twenty-Five is a solitaire game similar to poker square but without the complicated and involved scoring method. The goal is to make a five by five square of cards so that every row and column is valid.

Gameplay

Cards are drawn one at a time from a shuffled deck. A card must be immediately played in a certain position that no other card is in (so that it will make a five by five square in the end). If a 2 is drawn, the player may name a card and then search through the deck for it and place it in a certain position (after which the deck is shuffled). The 2 itself is discarded. When the square is finished, the game is won if every row and column is one of the following hands:

• Two Pair - contains two sets of two cards of equal rank (example: 8♥ 8♣ J♣ 4♦ J♥ )
• Three of a Kind - contains three cards of equal rank (example: 6♥ 6♠ 8♦ 6♦ 3♥ )
• Straight - all five cards are of consecutive rank (example: 8♥ J♦ 9♣ 10♣ Q♦ )
• Flush - all five cards are of the same suit (example: 2♣ A♣ 6♣ 7♣ J♣)

Another way to think about this is that every row and column must be a poker hand better than a pair. Note that in this game a straight flush is no better than a straight or a flush and that a full house or a four of a kind is no better than a two pair or a three of a kind. An example of a winning square is shown below.