Golf (card game)

Golf (also known as Polish Polka, Polish Poker, Turtle, Hara Kiri and Crazy Nines) is a card game where players try to earn the lowest number of points (as in golf, the sport) over the course of nine deals (or "holes").
The game has little in common with the solitaire game of the same name.
Two or three players should use a standard 52-card deck. If played with four or more, a double-deck of 104 cards is ideal.
Each player is dealt six face-down cards from a shuffled deck. The remaining cards are placed face down to serve as the stock, from which the top card is taken and turned up to start the discard pile beside it. Players arrange their cards in two rows of three in front of them and turn any two of these cards face up. This arrangement is maintained throughout the game; players always have six cards in front of them.
The objective is for players to reduce the value of the cards in front of them by swapping them for lesser value cards. After the last round, the highest score loses the game, and the lowest score wins the game (see scoring below).
Beginning at the dealer's left, players take turns drawing single cards from either the stock or discard piles. The drawn card may either be swapped for one of that player's six cards or discarded. If the card is swapped for one of the face-down cards, the card swapped in remains face up. If the card drawn is discarded, the player can then choose to flip a card face up.
The round ends when a player has six face-up cards (sometimes the other players are given one final turn following this), after which scoring happens as follows:
During play, it is not legal for a player to pick up a card from the discard pile and return it to the discard pile without playing it. A card picked up from the discard pile must be swapped with one of the current player's cards.
A full game is typically nine "holes" (hands), after which the player with the lowest total score is designated the winner. A longer game can be played to eighteen holes.
The game we call Golf was invented by Elias Clark, but there are many variants
There is a multitude of variants in multiplayer golf. Some common ones include:
For two to four players. Rules are the same as in double-deck golf. Sometimes, jokers are not used.
Golf can be played so that instead of ending the game automatically, a player must choose to "knock" instead of taking their turn. Remaining players then have one turn to draw a card to improve their hands and then scores are totaled and recorded on a running score sheet. This rule is more common for four-card golf.
Suitable for 3-7 players, in four-card Golf each player receives four cards face down in a 2×2 grid and reveal two before play begins. Play proceeds similar to six-card golf. The end of a round is initiated by a player 'knocking', after which other players get one final turn.
One or two decks are involved, depending on the number of players. One deck is adequate for 1-3 players, two or more decks are suggested for 4+ players. To begin the game, each player is dealt nine cards, laying out the cards face down in a 3x3 grid. The method or pattern for how the players layout their 3x3 grid is arbitrary, as long as the cards remain face down.
The game is played as six-card golf. Once any grid contains only face-up cards, the game is immediately ended, there are no further turns, and all players must flip all their face-down cards to determine their scores. Scoring is the same as six-card golf, with players having to form a full three-of-a-kind column to have that column score zero.
This process of game play continues for nine total games or until a player exceeds 50 points.
Optional rules of this version include:
There are many variants for point values of cards, including:
In some versions, making a pair or triple of cards of equal rank (sometimes vertically, sometimes horizontally and sometimes diagonally) reduces those cards' scores to zero.
Variants known as Cambio, Pablo or Cactus include "power cards". When a power card is drawn from the stock, it can either be used for its normal value or discarded to activate its power. (If a power card is drawn from the discards, it must be played as its number.) A simple version of the game played in Malaysia has the following power cards:
John McLeod of Pagat.com speculates that these variants are Spanish in origin, as the game is recorded as being played by students in Spain, and many of its variant names are Spanish words (cambio meaning "exchange"). The game had a commercial release as Cabo in 2010 and is similar to the 1996 Mensa Select winner Rat-a-Tat Cat.
"Powers" is an escalated version of Cambio where every card is given some sort of additional ability. The game can only end after knocking, and all cards stay face down unless a power dictates that one should be turned up. You start the game with 6 cards, and can look at any two of them, with the rest staying hidden until you swap them or look at them with a power.
On your turn, you take the top card, and put it into your deck without looking at the card with which you want to swap it, and discard. Or, you can discard the card you have drawn straight away, and instead use the power of the card instead.
The abilities are as follows:
The Black King is the only card which can have its power applied when in a player's set.
Some play Golf and its variations such that a player who knocks (turns over all cards first) but doesn't end with the lowest score is penalized:
If the knocker's score is lowest, some play with a bonus: