Pairing & removal · The Bazaar
Cards are laid out in a single growing line. Remove any run of consecutive cards whose values sum to exactly 10, 20, or 30 — face cards (J, Q, K) each count as 10. You can deal one stock card onto the right end whenever stock remains. Clear all 52 cards to win.
Click a card to start selecting a run. Cards in a consecutive run summing to 10, 20, or 30 are removed.
Decade Solitaire is a numeric removal game where face cards score 10 each and pip cards score their face value. Cards are arranged in a line, and you remove consecutive sequences whose values total exactly 10, 20, or 30. A single card worth 10 can leave alone. Dealing from stock is a separate choice; removals do not draw automatically. The game is won by clearing all 52 cards.
Card values: Ace=1, 2–10 face value, Jack/Queen/King=10. Deal cards face-up into a line. Select any sequence of consecutive cards in the line whose total value is exactly 10, 20, or 30 — remove them. Deal a new card when you want to extend the line. Continue until the deck is exhausted and the line is empty (win). A nonempty line is lost only when the stock is empty and no valid sequence remains.
Face cards being worth 10 each creates many removal opportunities — a single face card equals 10, two equal 20, three equal 30. Combinations with pip cards offer more sequences.
A total-10 removal can use one face card alone or a pip combination (e.g. 6+4, 7+3, 1+9). A total-20 removal can use two face cards, or one face card plus a 10-point pip sequence (e.g. K + 6+4), or an all-pip sequence (e.g. 8+7+5). A total-30 removal can use three face cards, two face cards and Ten, or other consecutive combinations.
The strategic question is always which available removal creates the best set of adjacent cards for future removals. Removing a short easy sequence now may leave an awkward arrangement that blocks several future sequences.
The line is sequential — adjacent cards are the only ones that can be grouped. Removing cards from the middle of the line closes the gap, bringing previously non-adjacent cards into contact. Planning two or three removals ahead involves visualizing what the line looks like after each gap closes.
A longer valid run removes more cards at once, while a shorter one may preserve cards that can join a future total. Compare the actual line each removal leaves before choosing by length alone.
Decade is part of The Bazaar · Pairing & removal.