A card game that chains higher and lower for bonuses

Three Hills is the one you want. It's a free patience in Games by Zaweba where you race down three hills of cards, playing any uncovered card that's one higher or one lower than the waste card. Each play in a row is worth more than the last, so long chains earn big streak bonuses.

It's a lively game for a patience. Rather than slowly building suits, you're looking for the longest run you can find before you have to turn the stock, and the scoring makes every extra card in a streak feel worthwhile.

How Three Hills works

Three hills of cards are laid out, with a stock and a waste pile. Play any uncovered card that's one higher or one lower than the card on the waste, in any suit. Aces and kings join up, so you can go from a king to an ace or the other way.

Each play in a row scores more than the one before, and taking a hilltop earns a bonus. When you're stuck, turn a card from the stock, which ends the streak. The game runs over three rounds and your best total wins.

To play, click a free card to play it and click the stock to turn. Space turns a card or moves on to the next round. Three Hills is on the Cards shelf.

Building longer streaks

Look for the zigzag. Since you can go up or down, a chain doesn't have to climb steadily. A path like 8, 9, 8, 7, 6, 7 is perfectly good, and spotting those back-and-forth routes is what makes long streaks.

Pick the card that keeps the chain alive. When two cards could go next, choose the one that leaves you another move. Sometimes that means playing a card that uncovers something useful rather than the one that looks obvious.

Use the wrap-around. Aces and kings join up, so a run heading up past a queen and king can carry on to an ace and a two. That's easy to forget and often hides an extra play or two.

Delay turning the stock. Turning a card always ends your streak, so check every free card on all three hills first.

Go for the hilltops. The cards at the top of each hill are worth a bonus, and freeing them also opens the way to the cards beneath.

Three rounds, one total

Because a game is three rounds, a weak first round isn't the end. It's the total that counts, so a good streak in the last round can still turn it round. Games by Zaweba keeps your best score for each game and mode, along with plays and wins, and the result card shows your score next to your best, so you always know what you're chasing.

Related games in the app

If you like the one-higher-or-lower idea, Fairway uses the same rule as patience golf over nine holes, aiming for the fewest strokes rather than the biggest score. Higher or Lower is a gameshow-style ladder where you guess each next card and decide when to bank. And Pyramid Thirteens is another quick patience, pairing cards to make thirteen.

All of these sit on the Cards shelf of Games by Zaweba, which works offline with no adverts. Esc pauses whenever you need it, and F1 explains the scoring again if you want to check how the streaks build.