I have a question about a weird, unknown (and possibly impossible) game a friend of mine has taught me. It is a solitaire game that's played with a regular deck of 52 cards but it is suspiciously difficult to beat. What's more, neither my friend nor I were able to find ANY reference to it in all the Internets.
I am aware that the question is not necessarily interesting to anyone but my friend and I, but I was wondering if someone would be willing to help me calculate the odds of beating this game? I think it would help us decide if this is a real game or if it's just a weird multi-generational prank my friend's father (who taught him the game) is pulling. My current grasp of math and probability does not allow me to undertake the project alone.
Here are the rules:
Nine columns of three overlapping face up cards are laid on the table. Cards are played one by one, face up, on each columns from left to right, without skipping any column.
The face value of each card is used to calculate a sum with the two closest cards (either on top or on bottom) on the column and the last card can "wrap" with the bottom card (the first one played on the column) to achieve a certain sum if needed. face cards all are worth 10 points.
If a card is revealed and can either sum up to 9, 19, or 29, the three cards are taken from the column and placed under the deck. If all the cards of a column are thus picked up, the column is eliminated.
The theoretical goal is to pick up all nine columns before the deck runs out. If the deck does run out, it's game over.
Now... my friend has played thousands of games and has never beat the game even once. He holds on to it only because his own father boasts that he finished it twice in thirty years of playing it... But it really sounds fishy.
Can anyone help?