Quiet Observatory: Last Draw

About Quiet Observatory: Last Draw

Quiet Observatory: Last Draw is a solo card puzzle set in a seaside fortune shop on the last night of the season. The counter is bleached driftwood, rimmed with rope and white with salt, and a brass porthole in the wall shows the night sea and a lighthouse turning its lamp. Nineteen cards lie on the wood in five waves, three, four, five, four and three, and a tide mat waits in front of them.

Play an open card onto the tide mat 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. Three jars hold a card aside. The fortunes come in a rack of ten corked bottles, and each draw uncorks one, never to be refilled, so the last draws decide the deal. Every bottle still corked when the counter is clear adds a good deal to your score, and when three are left the lamp turns amber and a foghorn sounds.

Clearing a wave turns the worth of the suits over by one step, and four lifebuoys under the rack show in coral stripes what each suit is worth now. Once in each deal you can use the echo card. It repeats your last move: the same step up or down from the mat, again and again while an open card continues the pattern, up to five times, or another bottle, or another jar. Every move it makes is one the counter would have allowed, and it never makes one that leaves the deal impossible to clear. The lighthouse flares while it works.

Every deal is checked by a solving player before you see it, and its par shows what a sharp player can reach. A deal saves where you leave it, in this browser only. When the counter is clear the lighthouse beam races round the shop and every bottle you saved pops its cork at once.

How to play

Tap an open card, or drag it to the tide mat, when it is one rank above or below the card on it. The Ace and the King are neighbours.
Put a card in a jar to reach the one under it: drag it there, or tap it and then the jar. It can be played from there later.
Draw from the bottle rack when no play is left. It holds only ten bottles, and each one left at the end adds to your score.
Use the Echo button, or press G, once a deal. It repeats your last move for as long as the counter allows, and only when a safe repeat exists.
Clear every card of the five waves 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 tide mat — play it
Drag a card to a jar, or tap it and then the jar; R — park
Tap the bottle rack or press E — uncork a bottle
Echo button, G or RT — repeat your last move, 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 is the last draw?

The bottle rack holds only ten bottles. Each bottle still corked when you clear the counter adds to your score, so a draw spent early is a point lost later.

What does the echo card do?

Once in each deal it repeats your last move: the same step from the card on the tide mat, again while an open card continues the pattern, or another draw or jar. It does so up to five times, and only when a safe repeat exists.

Can the echo spoil a deal?

No. Every move it makes is an ordinary legal move, and it only chooses moves after which the deal can still be cleared. If there is none, the button stays dark and the echo is kept.

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.