Golf rules

About the game

Golf is a fun card game played over 9 rounds. Each round, everyone gets 4 cards and tries to keep their total score as low as possible. After the 9th round, whoever has the lowest score wins. Usually the 4 cards are set up in a 2x2 square, but here they're shown in a row to fit the screen better.

Playing the game

The game uses a regular 52-card deck. Each player gets 4 cards face down, but they can peek at their last two - the other two stay hidden. One card goes face-up to start the discard pile, and the rest form a face-down stockpile.

The player to the dealer's left goes first. On their turn, they can either draw from the stockpile or take the top discard:

• If they draw from the stockpile, they flip the top card up and can either swap it for one of their face-down cards, or toss it and instead flip one of their hidden cards.
• If they take from the discard pile, they have to swap it in for one of their face-down cards.

Play continues until everyone's cards are revealed. Then scores are added up, the deck is reshuffled, and the next round starts.

Winning the game

The goal is to finish the 9 rounds with the lowest score. At the end of each round, your 4 cards are scored like this:

1. A pair of matching cards cancels out and scores 0.
2. The "Jack of Hearts" (J♥) and "Jack of Spades" (J♠) are wild - they can pair with any card.
   • To help spot them, the game adds a star icon to these two Jacks.


3. Kings are worth 0.
4. Aces are worth 1.
5. Other face cards (Queens, Jack of Clubs, Jack of Diamonds) are worth 10 each.
6. Number cards score their rank (e.g. 9♣ = 9 points, 7♥ = 7 points).

How to play

All cards are dealt face down, but you're allowed to peek at your last two. Just hover over them to take a look. Don't worry - only you can see them, the AI can't.

Scoreboard

• Bottom-left: shows everyone's total scores across all rounds (current leaders are highlighted).
  • The example below shows your hand is currently worth 11 points, while Sue has the best hand from your perspective with her visible cards adding up to 0 points.
• Bottom-right: shows the running scores for this round, based only on the cards you can see.
  • The example below shows you have a total of 42 points over 5 games, while Terry and Jen are currently poised to win, having scored the least points (15).

Total (5 / 9)

You	1999 42
Terry	1999 15
Jen	1999 15
Sue	1999 50
Tara	1999 33

Points (est.)

You	1999 11
Terry	1999 12
Jen	1999 4
Sue	1999 0
Tara	1999 8

• Next to your name is the
  button. Left-click it to check which of your cards you still haven't looked at this round. For example,

Cards yet to be seen

Tips and Tricks

1. The average card rank is 5. If the top discard is 5 or higher, the stockpile probably has a better card.
2. If an opponent grabs a high card, they likely have a matching pair, even if you can't see it.
3. Notice which ranks other players want, and try to avoid giving them a card. There are only 4 of each rank, so pairing is key.
4. "Jack of Clubs" (J♣) and "Jack of Diamonds" (J♦) are tricky to pair since their Heart / Spade counterparts are wild. Drop these early unless you already have both.
5. Watch what the next player is likely to need - don't discard cards they could use.
6. Once you reveal a card from your hand, it's permanent. Flip low-rank cards first, unless you already have a pair.
7. If the cards you can see are both high ranked, it can be worth revealing a face-down card randomly.
8. If your visible cards are low ranked, swapping face-down cards first usually helps lower your score.

About the game

Golf is easy to pick up, but still really fun even after playing it hundreds of times. I learned it from a friend, and it's perfect when you want a game that's relaxing and doesn't need intense focus. If you want to dive deeper, check out the Wikipedia page - it has lots of different rule variations too.