Accordion card stacks
Collapse changing-distance stacks when their visible tops share a rank or suit.
Logic & rule checking
- Players
- 1–3 cooperatively
- Time
- 10–18 minutes
- Materials
- Eight cards A1–A4 and B1–B4, one each; score log.
Prepare
Use two letter suits A and B, with ranks 1–4 once each. Lay all eight face up in the starter order A1,B1,B2,A2,A3,B3,B4,A4. Each card is initially its own stack. Letters and ranks remain visible at the top; a stack’s hidden lower cards are never played separately.
Play
Choose a whole stack and move it onto the stack exactly one or exactly three current stack positions to its left. The two visible top cards must share suit letter or rank number. The moved stack goes on top, so its visible card stays visible. Close the gap immediately and recount stack positions before another move.
Worked example
At the starter, B1 may move one position left onto A1 because both rank 1. The row now has seven stacks with B1 as the first top. B2 is now one position right of B1 and may move onto it by shared B suit. Counting the original printed card positions after the gap closes would be wrong.
Finish and check
Continue until no legal move remains, or voluntarily stop and record unfinished. A completed round scores the number of remaining stacks; fewer is better when comparing attempts from the exact same starter. A one-stack finish is not promised. Do not reach under a top card or move right to rescue a stuck row.
Adaptation and limits
Partners may discuss before choosing, and one person can move paper for others. A fresh shuffle is a different instance, so do not compare its score as if the start were identical. This is a small open-information patience game, with no automatic solver or requirement to memorize covered cards.
Purpose, observation and provenance
Within this activity: Collapse changing-distance stacks when their visible tops share a rank or suit.
Explain one legal decision and check it against the written constraints; a single result does not measure lasting ability.
Our rules, examples and printable diagrams are separately prepared. The earliest inventor of the broader mechanism is not established here.
Free alternative: Copy the supplied grids, labels and cards onto reused paper. No specialist product is needed. Adults may prepare pieces or act as a scribe.
Printable materials
Preview at 100% scale, with browser headers and footers off. Cut with suitable help. Keep host keys separate. This is a manual tabletop kit, not an online opponent, automatic judge or solver.
Player materials · Accordion card stacks
Starter A1 B1 B2 A2 A3 B3 B4 A4.
Move / source top / destination top / distance 1 or 3 / stacks left.
Player record · keep host key separate
| Move | Source | Target | New tops/columns |
|---|---|---|---|
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
Host key · separate from players
B1→A1 leaves 7 stacks; B2→that B1 stack leaves 6. Recount compressed positions after each move.
Run the round
Use two letter suits A and B, with ranks 1–4 once each. Lay all eight face up in the starter order A1,B1,B2,A2,A3,B3,B4,A4. Each card is initially its own stack. Letters and ranks remain visible at the top; a stack’s hidden lower cards are never played separately.
Choose a whole stack and move it onto the stack exactly one or exactly three current stack positions to its left. The two visible top cards must share suit letter or rank number. The moved stack goes on top, so its visible card stays visible. Close the gap immediately and recount stack positions before another move.
At the starter, B1 may move one position left onto A1 because both rank 1. The row now has seven stacks with B1 as the first top. B2 is now one position right of B1 and may move onto it by shared B suit. Counting the original printed card positions after the gap closes would be wrong.
Continue until no legal move remains, or voluntarily stop and record unfinished. A completed round scores the number of remaining stacks; fewer is better when comparing attempts from the exact same starter. A one-stack finish is not promised. Do not reach under a top card or move right to rescue a stuck row.
Partners may discuss before choosing, and one person can move paper for others. A fresh shuffle is a different instance, so do not compare its score as if the start were identical. This is a small open-information patience game, with no automatic solver or requirement to memorize covered cards.
Related activities
Activity library · Hidden pair memory: rules and printable materials