The rules of Golf
In brief
7 columns of 5 face-up cards, a waste pile and 16 stock cards. The last card in each column can be removed if its rank is one step above or below the waste card, regardless of suit. When no card can follow, draw. You win by removing all 35 cards from the tableau.
Setup
You play with a deck of 52 cards, without jokers. The app deals 35 cards into 7 columns of 5 cards, all face up. It turns one card face up onto the waste and places the remaining 16 cards face down in the stock.
Stock: 16 cards; waste: ace of clubs. Column 1: 6 of clubs, 5 of spades, queen of spades, 10 of spades, 6 of hearts (available: 6 of hearts); column 2: 2 of spades, king of clubs, 4 of spades, 2 of clubs, 8 of clubs (available: 8 of clubs); column 3: 10 of clubs, ace of hearts, 2 of diamonds, 5 of diamonds, jack of spades (available: jack of spades); column 4: 3 of diamonds, queen of hearts, ace of spades, king of diamonds, 4 of clubs (available: 4 of clubs); column 5: jack of hearts, 3 of clubs, 7 of diamonds, 8 of hearts, 9 of clubs (available: 9 of clubs); column 6: 10 of hearts, 4 of hearts, 7 of hearts, 7 of clubs, 8 of diamonds (available: 8 of diamonds); column 7: 3 of spades, 7 of spades, 3 of hearts, 9 of spades, 5 of clubs (available: 5 of clubs).
Allowed moves
In each column, only the last card (the bottom one, with no other card covering it) is available. It can be removed if its rank is immediately above or below the waste card's rank: on a 8, either a 7 or a 9. Suit does not matter. The removed card becomes the new waste card and frees the card above it in the column.
Example: at the start of deal GO1-E-AAAAAAB, the waste card is A♣ and no available card can follow it. Draw 8♠. The 9♣ in column 5 can be removed (one rank higher), followed by the 8♣ in column 2 (one rank below 9♣).
Stock: 15 cards; waste: 8 of clubs. Column 1: 6 of clubs, 5 of spades, queen of spades, 10 of spades, 6 of hearts (available: 6 of hearts); column 2: 2 of spades, king of clubs, 4 of spades, 2 of clubs (available: 2 of clubs); column 3: 10 of clubs, ace of hearts, 2 of diamonds, 5 of diamonds, jack of spades (available: jack of spades); column 4: 3 of diamonds, queen of hearts, ace of spades, king of diamonds, 4 of clubs (available: 4 of clubs); column 5: jack of hearts, 3 of clubs, 7 of diamonds, 8 of hearts (available: 8 of hearts); column 6: 10 of hearts, 4 of hearts, 7 of hearts, 7 of clubs, 8 of diamonds (available: 8 of diamonds); column 7: 3 of spades, 7 of spades, 3 of hearts, 9 of spades, 5 of clubs (available: 5 of clubs).
Tapping an unsuitable card does nothing. With interactive rules enabled (the default setting), the app explains why the move is rejected:
- an available card that cannot be played on the waste, such as the 6♥ in column 1 on A♣: “Must be one rank higher or lower”;
- a card that is still covered, such as the 10♠ in row 4 of column 1: “This card is blocked”.
The stock
Tapping the stock turns its top card face up onto the waste, replacing the previous waste card. In the app, you can draw at any time, even if a move is still possible. Each card is used only once: the stock is not recycled. Drawing counts as a move and earns no points.
The King and Ace
The New Game window offers two sets of rules. On Easy (King and Ace connected), the default, the King and Ace are consecutive: an Ace can be removed onto a King, and a King onto an Ace, so a chain can run from Queen to King, then Ace and 2. On Classic (King and Ace separate), the sequence stops at both ends: only a Queen can be removed onto a King, and only a 2 onto an Ace.
Example on Easy: on move 35 of the winning game, the A♥ in column 3 is removed onto R♣. On Classic, this move would be rejected.
Stock: 6 cards; waste: king of clubs. Column 1: 6 of clubs, 5 of spades (available: 5 of spades); column 2: 2 of spades (available: 2 of spades); column 3: 10 of clubs, ace of hearts (available: ace of hearts); column 4: 3 of diamonds (available: 3 of diamonds); column 5: jack of hearts (available: jack of hearts); column 6: 10 of hearts, 4 of hearts (available: 4 of hearts); column 7: 3 of spades, 7 of spades (available: 7 of spades).
The rules matter as much as the cards: the same deal can be winnable on Easy and unwinnable on Classic (see the examples).
The end of the game
The game is won as soon as all 35 tableau cards have been removed, even if cards remain in the stock. It is blocked when the stock is empty and no available card can be played on the waste: the app displays “No more moves possible” and offers to undo or start a new game.
Scoring
The score starts at 0 and never falls below zero:
| What happens | Points |
|---|---|
| A card is removed from the tableau | +10 |
| You draw | 0 |
| The game becomes blocked: for each card left on the tableau | −10 |
A game won without undoing moves is therefore always worth 350 points (35 × 10); cards left in the stock earn nothing extra. A game that becomes blocked after r cards have been removed is worth 10 r − 10 (35 − r), without falling below zero:
- 31 cards removed, 4 left: 270 points;
- 30 cards removed, 5 left: 250 points;
- 25 cards removed, 10 left: 150 points;
- 17 cards removed, 18 left: 0 points;
Undo and game codes
The app keeps the last 100 actions, including removals and draws. Undo puts the card back in its place, restores the points for the move and, after a blocked game, clears the penalty. The move counter does not go back down.
Each deal has a game code, such as GO1-E-AAAAAAB. The middle letter indicates the rules: E for Easy, C for Classic; an older code with N is read as Easy. Pasting the code into the New Game window deals exactly the same cards.
The app's choices and the traditional rule
Golf has no official rulebook. Compared with the traditional rules known as strict rules, the app makes choices that are useful to know:
- King and Ace: the strict rules do not connect them; this is the app's Classic setting. The default Easy rules connect them.
- Queen on a King: the strict rules forbid placing any card on a King; the app allows a Queen on a King under both sets of rules.
- Drawing at any time: the strict rules allow drawing only when no move is possible; the app lets you draw whenever you want.
- Scoring: traditionally, one point is counted for each card left on the tableau, over 9 deals, with a par of 45; the app counts points earned per game.
The literature also mentions variants: Queen on King (a Queen can be placed on a King (the strict rules forbid this)); King–Ace connection (a King can be placed on an Ace and an Ace on a King); jokers (one or two jokers can replace any card); empty waste (the waste starts empty and you choose the first card). See the sources.