How to Play Accordion
Welcome — this quick guide will get you started with Accordion, a compact patience you can learn in minutes. For more beginner guides and card game tips, visit Playmore to explore similar games.
Accordion is simple to set up but full of small decisions. Read the short steps below and try a few rounds to see how piling choices change your chances.
Quick facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Game | Accordion |
| Family | International patience |
| Typical players | 1 |
| Deck | 52 — a full, normal 52-card deck |
| Beginner focus | Piles are repeatedly consolidated by rank or suit; unlike Klondike it has no foundations or tableau building |
What you are trying to do
Your goal is to compress the layout by moving cards or piles so that, ideally, all cards end up in a single pile. Play continues while legal moves exist. Exact win or scoring rules can vary by version, so check the official or regional rules for the precise version you want to play.
What you need and how to set up
- A single standard 52-card deck. No special deck required.
- A flat surface with room for many small piles in a row.
- Setup: Shuffle the deck and deal all cards face up in a row, one card per pile, left to right. You will start with 52 piles of one card each.
- Note: Some groups play slight setup or move variations; check official or regional rules if you want the canonical wording for tournament or historic versions.
How to play
- Look at the top card of each pile from left to right. When two piles match in rank (same number or face) or suit, one pile can be placed on top of the other according to the allowed move pattern for your version.
- Allowed move patterns differ between versions. Common rules let you move a pile onto the immediately previous pile or onto a pile a few places to the left, but this distance is version-dependent. Before you start, agree with your group which distances are legal.
- When you move, you always move the entire pile, placing it onto the destination pile. That creates a larger pile at the destination and leaves an empty space that you then close by sliding remaining piles together to keep them in a continuous row.
- After every move, rescan the row from left to right and repeat. New matches often appear because piles change their neighbors.
- Keep making legal moves until no more are possible, or until you reach your agreed win condition (for example, reducing to one pile).
- Because specific move distances and win details vary, confirm the version rules before playing for score or comparison.
How a round or game ends
A round ends when you cannot make any legal moves under the version you are playing. Many players treat reducing the layout to a single pile as a win. Exact win conditions and any scoring rules are version-dependent, so check the authoritative rules for the exact version you want to use.
Beginner tips
- Play slowly at first. Look for every possible match before making a move.
- Think ahead one or two moves. A move that creates new matches is usually better than one that doesn’t.
- Keep piles balanced. Very large piles can block useful moves later.
- Avoid needlessly breaking up potential future matches. Sometimes leaving a match unmade now gives a better collapse later.
- If you are unsure which rule set to use, start with the simplest allowed-distance option your group prefers and try variations later.
- Practice several deals — skill grows as you learn common patterns and which moves open space.
FAQ
Can I move part of a pile or only the whole pile?
Beginner play usually treats each pile as an indivisible stack: you move the whole pile onto another when the top cards match. Some variations allow more options; check your chosen ruleset.
Is Accordion mostly luck or skill?
It’s a mix. The deal is random, so luck matters, but good choices about which piles to combine increase your chance of compressing the layout.
How can I make the game easier or harder?
Adjust the allowed move distances or agree on extra rules like redeals or different win conditions. These variations change difficulty — pick one and try it a few rounds to learn its effect.