Moonlit Archive: Last Draw

About Moonlit Archive: Last Draw

Moonlit Archive: Last Draw is a solo card puzzle set on the pier outside a seaside fortune shop at dusk, with a striped lighthouse at one end and a toy sailboat at the other. Twenty-eight cards stand in seven masts shaped like the hull of a ship: two cards in the first, then four, five and six in the middle, and back down again. Play the lowest card of a mast when it is one rank above or below the card on the quay, and the Ace and the King meet, so the quay runs all the way round.

The four suits are lighthouses, gulls, compass roses and fish, worth one to four steps each, and the four buoys above the masts show what each is worth now. Clearing a whole mast swaps the dearest suit with the cheapest. One crate holds a card aside while you reach another, and the choice between putting a useful card there now and spending it on a chain later is the whole game.

The net holds fourteen cards, drawn one at a time, and it is the last draw: every card still in it when the last mast falls adds more than any play on the pier. When the net is down to its last three cards a foghorn sounds with each draw. When the pier is clear the lamp spins up, its beam races over the planks and the cards fountain through the light. Fortune is only the shop's name here; nothing is read, rolled or risked.

Every deal is checked by a solving player before you see it, so it can always be cleared, and its par shows what a sharp player can reach. A deal saves where you leave it, in this browser only; nothing is uploaded.

How to play

Tap the lowest card of a mast, or drag it to the quay, when it is one rank above or below the card showing there. The Ace and the King are neighbours.
Put a card in the crate to reach the one beneath: drag it there, or tap it and then the crate. It can be played from there later.
Draw from the net when no play is left. It holds only fourteen cards, and the ones you leave in it count for the most at the end.
Clear a whole mast and the dearest suit and the cheapest swap places. The buoys show what each suit is worth now.
Clear all seven masts to win the deal. Press H or the Hint button for a good move, and U or the Undo button to take a move back.

Controls

Tap a card, or drag it to the quay — play it
Drag a card to the crate, or tap it and then the crate; R — park
Tap the net or press E — draw a card
Arrow keys or WASD, then Space or Enter; D-pad or stick, then Ⓐ — play
Undo button, U or Ⓨ — undo; Hint button, H or LB — a hint
P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

What is the last draw?

The net holds only fourteen cards. Each card still in it when you clear the pier adds to your score, and the last three draws sound the foghorn.

What does the crate do?

It holds one card aside so you can reach the card beneath it. A card in the crate can still be played onto the quay later.

What do the buoys show?

What each suit is worth now, from one to four bands. Clearing a mast swaps the dearest suit with the cheapest, and the buoys change with it.

Can every deal be cleared?

With "Winnable deals only" (the default, and always for today's challenge) a solving player has cleared the deal before you see it. Choose "Any shuffle" in the settings for the luck of the draw.

Does it save my game?

Yes, in this browser only. Your unfinished deal, best scores and badges are never uploaded.