The world’s most addictive game of solitaire you can’t pass (yes, pun intended)
A cabin without electricity, a deck of cards, and the world's most addictive one-player game.
Moi 👋🏻
Our summer took a wonderfully analog turn during last week’s cabin trip. No running water, no electricity — just plenty of laughter, late sunsets, and an old-school card game we only play at the cabin.
I wanted to share a little story about what just might be the most fun solitaire in the world.
Will you accept the challenge?
One Deck, One Winner, One Midsummer
One Midsummer, ten years ago, we held a world championship for this one card game we always play at my sister-in-law’s old log cabin. It’s the kind without any modern commodities.
No running water. No electricity. And yet somehow, it has everything one could need. Maybe even more.1 Add a deck of cards, and you’ll have plenty.
I usually forget this particular game even exists until I arrive at the cabin. It feels like coming home. A return to the impossibleness and addictiveness of the game my husband taught me over 20 years ago.
Card after card lays out on the table, and the plot thickens. At some point, it’s all looking good. Then you play a card that throws the game completely off the table. Or board. Suddenly, you're out of space.
The championships started as a joke, of course. And we haven’t had a rematch yet. But naturally, we celebrated my sister-in-law, who won the title, just as hard as we celebrated Midsummer itself.
The game
In Finnish, we call the game Lapamato, Lapis, tapeworm, probably because of its long, wormlike form. But to most of you, it’s known as Accordion Solitaire.
The game is probably as old as time, but for some reason, I only learned its official name when I sat down to write this post.
The rules are simple:
In Lapamato, or Accordion, you lay the cards down one by one in a row and make your moves as you go. The goal is to compress the entire deck into a single pile using two types of moves:
A card can be placed on the card immediately to its left if they share the same suit or value.
Alternatively, it can be placed on the card three positions to its left, again if they share the same suit or value.
Some people deal the entire deck before starting, but I learned to play it one card at a time. It makes the game harder — and more unpredictable — since you can’t plan a big strategy. For example, my husband has played this game for more than 30 years, and he still hasn’t passed it.2
As mentioned in the video below, the odds of winning are said to be about 1 in 200.
Challenge accepted?
There have been trips to the cabin when I’ve played the game for hours. And other times, like last week, when I didn’t even remember it until the second night, when my husband pulled out a deck of cards.
It’s a very easy game to start, and it keeps you hooked. You can even have a full conversation while you play.
Have you tried it already, or will you give it a go? Let me know how it turns out! (And hey, did you actually play it 200 times in a row??)
Also, I’d love to hear about your favorite version of solitaire. Share it with me in the comments?
Until next time, game on!
Nani
P.S. Before I realized this was such a well-known game, I recorded a video for you of me playing it. I’m not yet a professional solitaire influencer, so don’t mind the tripod legs or bad crop. 😆
You might also enjoy:
It has also played an important role in my photography. But perhaps more on that later.
On the other hand, I’ve beaten the game twice, which he, of course, refuses to believe.