Gemopedia
Card Games🇺🇸United States21st century

Golf

Officially Golf (Six Card Golf / Polish Poker)

LOW-SCORE-WINS CARD GAME using 1-2 STANDARD DECKS — 2-8 PLAYERS lay out grid of 6 cards (typically 2×3 or 3×3) FACE-DOWN + try to MINIMIZE final card values (like golf). SWAP unwanted cards for BETTER (LOWER) ones from stock or discard; PAIRS in COLUMNS cancel to 0 POINTS. Played in 9 'HOLES' (rounds); LOWEST TOTAL wins. Popular family + camp filler. Multiple variants: 4-card, 6-card, 9-card + Skyjo (2018 commercial version — 2M+ copies sold).

⏱~30 min🌤indoor

Quick facts

Category

Card Games

Type

Individual

Players

2–8

Duration

~30 min

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇺🇸 United States

Estimated origin

Traditional folk game USA + UK mid-20th c., documented Hoyle's Rules 1970s+; SKYJO commercialized 2018 by Magilano (Germany) — sold 2M+ copies globally with simpler own-card graphics; extremely popular at family gatherings + summer camps.

Olympic

No

Popularity

regional

How it works

Objective

MINIMIZE total card value across 9 HOLES (rounds) — LOWEST cumulative score wins.

Rules

Basic rules

  • SETUP: Each player DEALS 6 (or 9) cards FACE-DOWN in 2×3 (or 3×3) GRID; flip 2 face-up initially

    Signature 2x3 or 3x3 grid setup.

  • TURN: DRAW from DECK or DISCARD, then SWAP into your grid (replace one card) or DISCARD it + FLIP one face-down card up

    Signature draw + swap turn.

  • CARD VALUES: A=1, 2-10=face value, J=Q=10 (or J=0, Q=12, K=0 depending on rule set), K=0 (often), JOKER=−2 (lucky low)

    Signature card-value scale.

  • COLUMN CANCELLATION: if you match 2 CARDS in same COLUMN → both count 0 POINTS (like matching golf holes canceling out)

    Signature column-match cancellation.

  • HOLE END: when ONE PLAYER'S ALL 6 CARDS are face-up, round ends after all others get ONE MORE TURN

    Signature end-round condition.

  • SCORING: SUM your face-up cards' values (columns canceled = 0)

    Signature sum-with-cancels scoring.

  • GAME: PLAY 9 HOLES (rounds), sum cumulative score; LOWEST total wins

    Signature 9-hole cumulative game.

  • SKYJO VARIANT: 12-card grid + custom −2 to 12 deck; single-round variant to first-to-100-lost

    Signature Skyjo variant differences.

Scoring

Sum of face-up cards each hole (canceled columns = 0); 9-hole cumulative total; lowest wins.

Win condition · Lowest cumulative score after 9 holes.

Equipment

  • 1-2 STANDARD 52-CARD DECKS with JOKERS

    Signature standard deck(s) + jokers.

  • SCORE PAD + PEN

    Standard score-keeping.

  • TABLE with room for each player's 6-card grid

    Standard playing space.

  • SKYJO VARIANT: numbered 150-card deck (−2 to 12) instead of standard 52

    Signature Skyjo custom deck.

Terminology

Hole
One round of play (game has 9 holes, mimicking golf course).
Column cancellation
Matching cards in same column count as 0.
Face-up / face-down
Card state — must flip all face-up to end round.
Joker (−2)
Best card — negative value.
Skyjo
2018 commercial Magilano variant (very popular in Europe).
Grid
Player's 6 or 9 cards laid out for scoring.

Major competitions

  • No formal championships; casual family + camp play only

    n/a · USA + UK + Europe · since 1950

  • Skyjo Junior + regional retailer promotions (Germany)

    irregular · Germany + Europe · since 2020

Where it is played

Governing bodies

  • No formal governing body — folk card game

    Founded 1950 · USA + UK

  • Magilano (Skyjo commercial publisher)

    Founded 2018 · Germany

Famous names & records

Famous athletes

  • No professional scene; casual family game only

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-28.verified