Silver Observatory: Last Draw

About Silver Observatory: Last Draw

Silver Observatory: Last Draw is a solo card game set in a seaside fortune shop with its door open to the tide. Sixteen cards lie on a counter of cobalt and white fish-scale tile in four stacks of four, around a round brass plate with a compass rose. The open card at the end of a stack is played onto the plate when it is one rank above or below the card showing, with the Ace and the King side by side. Three wooden pegs hold a card aside to reach the one beneath.

Across the top stands the shell cabinet: ten little drawers with coral knobs, each holding a card to draw, and none is ever refilled. Every draw slides a drawer open and a pearl pops up from it and is gone. The last three drawers glow coral and a ship's bell rings for each, because the last drawers decide the day: every drawer still shut when the counter is clear adds to your score. A pale strip of sea creeps up the counter from the door as the drawers open.

Four sand-coloured shell tokens show what each suit is worth now. Clear a stack and the suit of its last card is lifted to the top worth. When the last card is played the tide comes in: a great wave washes right across the counter with a roar and a chord of bells, then slips back and leaves five starfish on the tile.

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. Today's challenge is the same deal for everyone, with your best score and your par saved, and a deal can be played again from the start. Tonight's rule changes one thing about the shop. A deal saves where you leave it, in this browser only; nothing is uploaded.

How to play

Tap the open card at the end of a stack, or drag it to the brass plate, when it is one rank above or below the card showing. The Ace and the King are neighbours.
Hold a card aside on a peg to reach the one beneath it: drag it there, or tap it and then the peg. It can be played from there later.
Draw from the shell cabinet when nothing fits. It has ten drawers and each draw opens one; every drawer still shut at the end adds to your score.
Clear a whole stack and the suit of its last card is lifted to the top worth. The four shell tokens show what each suit is worth now.
Press H or the Hint button for a good move, and U or the Undo button to take a move back. The par on the results is what a sharp player can reach.

Controls

Tap a card, or drag it to the brass plate — play it
Drag a card to a peg, or tap it and then the peg; R — park it
Tap the shell cabinet 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

Why is it called Last Draw?

The shell cabinet has only ten drawers and is never refilled, so the last draws decide whether the counter can be cleared. Each drawer still shut when you win adds to your score.

What do the shell tokens show?

What each suit is worth now: the more coral dots, the more its cards score. Clearing a stack lifts the suit of its last card to the top worth.

What is the sea for?

It creeps up the counter as drawers open, as a picture of how far the day has gone. When you clear the counter it washes right across and leaves starfish behind.

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.