Accordion Solitaire

Accordion Solitaire (also known as Idle Year or Methuselah) is one of the most challenging patience card games. All 52 cards are dealt face-up in a single row, and your goal is to compress the entire row into a single pile by matching cards by rank or suit. With a win rate of just 1-2%, every successful game is a real accomplishment.

How Accordion Solitaire Works

Deal all 52 cards face-up in a row from left to right. Each card (or the top card of a pile) can be moved onto the card immediately to its left, or 3 positions to its left, if the two cards share the same rank or the same suit. When a card is moved, it goes on top of the target, and the row compresses to close the gap. Continue until you either win (one pile remaining) or run out of moves.

The Compression Mechanic

The key to Accordion is the compression: every move reduces the number of positions in the row. When you move a card from position 5 to position 2, position 5 is removed and positions 6, 7, 8... all shift left. This means a move can create new opportunities as cards that were far apart suddenly become neighbors. Planning ahead for these chain reactions is the heart of Accordion strategy.

Learn More

• How to Play Accordion Solitaire — Complete rules and strategy guide
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