Quiet Deck: Last Draw

About Quiet Deck: Last Draw

Quiet Deck: Last Draw is a solo card puzzle set at a radio observatory on the far side of the moon, in a valley where no signal from Earth can reach. The dust is grey, the sky is black and nothing makes a sound but the instruments. Two peaks of cards, nineteen in all, rise from a shared base of seven, and a receiver waits for them. Play a card onto the receiver when it is one rank above or below the card on it, with the Ace and the King meeting. A card is open only when nothing lies on it.

The data tape holds only eleven cards, drawn one at a time and never refilled, so the last draws decide the deal, and every card still on the tape when the peaks are clear scores well. Two buffers hold a card aside. The four suits are craters, ringed planets, dishes and signals, worth one to four steps a card, and clearing a tier turns their worth upside down. Four gauges above the cards light a segment for each step of a suit's worth.

Once in each deal you can use the echo card. It takes the step your last play made, so many ranks up from the card that was on the receiver, and plays it again from the open cards, and again for as long as an open card continues the pattern, up to five times. Every card it plays is a play the table would have let you make yourself, and it never plays one that leaves the deal impossible to clear. While it works the pad sends out rings. A small dish on a mast turns its head toward the Earth as the table empties, and when the last tier falls the Earth stands full over the horizon and the rings come back from it.

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 an open card, or drag it to the receiver, when it is one rank above or below the card on it. The Ace and the King are neighbours.
Put a card in a buffer to reach the one under it: drag it there, or tap it and then the buffer. It can be played from there later.
Draw from the data tape when no play is left. It holds only eleven cards, and each one left at the end adds to your score.
Use the Echo button, or press G, once a deal. It repeats the step of your last play for as long as open cards allow. It is lit only when a safe repeat exists.
Clear every card of both peaks to win. 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 receiver — play it
Drag a card to a buffer, or tap it and then the buffer; R — park
Tap the data tape or press E — draw a card
Echo button, G or RT — repeat your last play, once a deal
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 does the echo card do?

Once in each deal it repeats the step of your last play: the same number of ranks up from the card on the receiver. It does so again while an open card continues the pattern, up to five times.

Can the echo spoil a deal?

No. Each card it plays is an ordinary legal play, and it only chooses plays after which the deal can still be cleared. If there is none, the button stays dark and the echo is kept.

What is the last draw?

The data tape holds only eleven cards. Each card still on it when you clear the peaks adds to your score, so a draw spent early is a point lost later.

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. The echo card is renewed when you resume a deal.