Golf Solitaire

1–7 play that columnD / Space draw from the stockU undo

How to play Golf

Golf is the fast one: solitaire you can finish in a couple of minutes, which is exactly why it fits the gaps between prompts.

  1. Seven columns hold five face-up cards each. One card starts the waste; the last sixteen are the stock.
  2. Play any exposed column top that is one rank up or down from the waste's top card. Suits don't matter. Each play becomes the new waste top, so runs chain: 5, 6, 7, 8…
  3. Runs wrap around the corner — ace connects to both king and two.
  4. Nothing fits? Click the stock to turn over a fresh waste card. But the stock never refills — there is no redeal in Golf.
  5. Clear all 35 column cards to win.

Playing is one click: any column that can legally play is highlighted — click it and its top card goes. No dragging, no choosing destinations.

Every deal is winnable

Plenty of random Golf deals are dead on arrival — the cards simply don't chain. We never deal you one: every shuffle, daily or free play, has been checked by an exhaustive solver first. If you run out of plays, a winning line still exists somewhere earlier — undo is unlimited, so rewind and find the fork you missed. No timer, no stroke counting, no punishment; Golf here is a small puzzle with a guaranteed exit.

Keyboard controls

The whole game fits one hand on the keyboard: 1–7 plays that column's card (nothing happens if it can't legally go), D or Space turns over a fresh stock card, and U rewinds a move. No mouse required from deal to cleared table.

Tips

  • Chase the long chain, not the first click. Before drawing, scan every column for the longest run you can string together — a single draw can orphan cards you needed as stepping stones.
  • Ranks are a circle here. With wrap-around, think of ranks as a clock face: king sits between queen and ace. Corner turns (Q–K–A–2) are where long chains hide.
  • Watch for twins. When two columns expose the same rank, plan which one to take first — the other needs a neighbor rank to come around again.
  • Draw late, not early. Every stock card is a one-way door; the fewer you burn while columns still chain, the more outs you keep for the endgame.
  • Use undo as a scout. Play a line, see where it dies, rewind. The deal is winnable — finding the route is the game.

The daily golf

Switch to Daily mode and you get the same winnable deal as every other player that day, seeded from the date. Clear it in as few moves as you can and copy a spoiler-free result to share. And like everything here, it passes the alt-tab test: the game saves after every move, so you can drop it mid-chain when your build finishes and pick it up again whenever.

Frequently asked questions

What are the rules of Golf Solitaire?

Thirty-five cards are dealt face-up into seven columns of five, one card starts the waste pile, and the remaining sixteen form the stock. Play any exposed column top that is one rank above or below the waste's top card — suits never matter — and it becomes the new waste top. When nothing fits, turn over a stock card. Clear all thirty-five column cards to win.

Can I play an ace on a king in Golf Solitaire?

Here, yes. This version plays with wrap-around: ace connects to both two and king, so runs can turn the corner (queen, king, ace, two). Stricter versions treat the ace and king as dead ends; the wrap rule is friendlier and is the rule our winnable guarantee is checked under.

Is every game of Golf Solitaire winnable?

In general, no — many random Golf deals cannot be cleared no matter how well you play. On this site, yes: every deal, daily or free play, is checked by an exhaustive solver before it is ever handed out, so a winning sequence always exists.

What happens when the stock runs out in Golf Solitaire?

Nothing refills it — Golf has no redeal, which is what makes it Golf. Once the stock is empty you can only play from the columns, and when nothing fits, the deal is over. Since every deal here is winnable and undo is unlimited, you can always rewind and hunt for the line you missed.

Why is the card game called Golf?

Traditional scoring counts the cards left in your columns as strokes, and like golf, the lower your score the better — clearing the board is a hole in one. This version skips stroke scoring and simply plays to clear the board.

Is there a penalty for using undo?

No. Undo is unlimited and free, all the way back to the first move. Every deal here is winnable, so Golf becomes a puzzle to solve — undo is how you explore it.

  • Klondike Solitaire — The classic solitaire — with every deal guaranteed winnable. Unlimited undo, no timer, and a shared Daily Deal.
  • Crazy Eights — The classic shedding card game — match rank or suit, eights are wild. Beatable AI, no timer, drop it any time.
  • Snake — The arcade classic on a cozy 20×20 grid. Arrow keys or WASD, pauses itself the moment you look away.