Golf

How to play Golf

1. The deal. Each player gets six cards face down in two rows of three, so they make three columns of two cards. The rest of the deck is the stock, and its top card is turned face up to start the discard pile.
2. Turn two cards over. Before the first turn, every player turns any two of their own cards face up. Nobody may look at a face-down card, not even their own.
3. Take a card. On your turn, take the top card of the discard pile, or draw the top card of the deck.
4. Swap it or throw it away. Swap the new card for one of your six cards, face up or face down: your old card goes face up onto the discard pile, and the new card lies face up in its place. A card you drew from the deck can go straight onto the discard pile instead. A card you took from the pile must be swapped in.
5. Going out. When a player has all six cards face up, every other player has one more turn. Then all the cards are turned up and the hole is scored.
6. If the deck runs out, the discard pile, all but its top card, is shuffled to make a new deck. If that runs out too, the hole ends at once.
7. Nine holes. Each deal is called a hole, as in golf, and the player who goes first moves one seat round on every hole. After 9 holes, or 5 for a shorter game, the player with the lowest total wins.

Scoring

A pair only counts when the two cards are in the same column, one above the other. Two jacks in a column score nothing instead of 20, which makes pairs of high cards the best thing you can find. Two 2s in a column score 0 as well, so a 2 is worth more on its own: each one is −2.

For example, say your columns hold a queen and a queen, a 7 and a 2, and a king and a 4. The queens pair up for 0, the middle column scores 7 − 2 = 5, and the last one 0 + 4 = 4, so you score 9 for the hole. A great hole can come out below zero.

Controls

• Turn your first two cards: tap any two of your face-down cards at the start of each hole.
• Take a card: tap the deck to draw, or tap the pile to take its top card. Whatever you can tap has a yellow edge.
• Swap or throw away: tap one of your six cards to swap the new card in, or tap the pile to throw away a card you drew from the deck.
• Keyboard: D draws from the deck, P takes the pile's card (or throws yours onto it), 1 to 6 choose one of your cards (top row 1–3, bottom row 4–6), and the arrow keys move between your cards.

The number next to each name shows what that player's face-up cards are worth so far, and a pair in a column is marked in green. After every hole, a scorecard shows everyone's cards and scores, hole by hole. With three or four people on one device, the player whose turn it is plays at the bottom of the screen.

Computer levels

The computer only knows what's face up: everyone's face-up cards and the discard pile. It never sees a face-down card, its own included, or the order of the deck. With three or four players, every computer player plays at the level you pick.

Tips to win

• Pair up your big cards. Two queens in one column score nothing instead of 20. A jack or queen sitting face up is worth keeping only while you hope for its partner.
• Keep your 2s apart. A 2 is worth −2 on its own, but two 2s in one column score 0, so put them in different columns.
• Kings are free. A king scores 0, alone or in a pair, so it's almost always worth swapping in.
• Turn your cards over. A face-down card is worth about 5 on average, so a low card swapped in for one usually helps, and every card you turn brings you closer to ending the hole.
• Watch the next player. Before you throw a card away, look at their face-up cards. If they have the same rank in a column with a face-down card, you'd be handing them a pair.
• Go out when you're ahead. Turning over your last card gives everyone else one more turn, and then their face-down cards count, good or bad. Do it when your score is low, not just because you can.
• Think about the whole game. A bad hole isn't the end: nine holes give plenty of time to catch up, and the lowest total wins, not the most holes.

About Golf

Golf is a folk card game, played for generations around kitchen tables, so its rules vary from family to family. It takes its name from the sport: the lowest score wins, and each deal is a hole. There are versions where everyone has four, eight or nine cards; this is six-card Golf, the version found in most rule books, with the standard scores (kings 0, 2s −2, jacks and queens 10). Some players add their own rules, such as turning over one of your cards whenever you throw away the card you drew, jokers worth −2, a bonus for four of a kind, a penalty for going out without the lowest score, or a full 18 holes. Those aren't part of this version.

Questions

Updated 10 November 2026