Devil’s Grip is a challenging patience game for one player. See how many cards you can get into the grid before getting stuck!
Find the video tutorial and written explanation for how to play devil’s grip below.
Devil’s Grip Tutorial
Needed
96 cards (two decks of cards with the aces removed)
Setup
The game is setup by creating three rows with eight cards in each row. The remaining deck is placed at the bottom of the grid created.
Objective
The object of the game is to stack all the cards in sequences with matching suits. The sequences are 2, 5, 8, Jack in the top row. 3, 6, 9, queen in the middle row. 4, 7, 10, king in the bottom row. When looking at the sequence from top row to bottom row, the pattern of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and so on can be seen.
Game Play
Face up cards can be switched around on the grid as needed. A player will start by moving 2s, 3s, and 4s to their respective rows. Then, a player can begin stacking cards where possible. Cards of the same suit can be stacked on each other according to the sequence described in the objective.
When there is an open space on the grid, the top card of the deck is placed face up into the space.
Once all possible moves have been made within the grid, a player can begin to flip through the deck. Cards from the deck are flipped in sets of three cards. The top card flipped up can be stacked in the grid, if possible.
When an open space is created, the top card of the deck will fill it in. This happens even when in the middle of flipping through the deck. A player will continue to flip through the deck and make moves when possible.
Once no more moves can be made, the game is over.
Scoring
A player will count the cards left in the deck. This is the player’s score, the closer to zero the better.
Rules
Cards can be stacked even if the stack doesn’t start with the base card.
When the deck runs out, the pile is picked up to reset the deck for flipping.