Golf card game online: play a free Golf-style game
Want to play the Golf card game online with friends? Here's the honest answer: Rafiki doesn't play Golf exactly, but it's the closest free online game in the same family. Hidden cards, swaps from the deck and the lowest score wins.
Play Rafiki free now, no sign-up
This page is about Golf the multiplayer card game, the one with six face-down cards where pairs in a column cancel. If you're after Golf Solitaire, the one-player patience game, that's a different game altogether.
What Rafiki shares with Golf
- Hidden cards in front of you: you start with face-down cards and only know some of them.
- Swap from the deck: each turn you draw a card and swap it into your layout to bring your total down.
- Lowest score wins: low cards are good, high cards are bad, and you add up your hand at the end of each round.
- Rounds add up: play 1, 3 or 5 rounds and the lowest total wins, just as in Golf's nine holes.
How Rafiki differs from Golf
| 6-card Golf | Rafiki | |
|---|---|---|
| Your cards | 6 in two rows; you turn 2 face up | 4, all face down; you peek at 2 once |
| Cards you swap in | Go face up | Stay face down, so memory matters |
| Discard pile | You can take its top card | You always draw from the deck |
| Pairs | A pair in a column scores 0 | No pairs; instead you slam a matching card onto the pile to get rid of it, from any hand |
| Special cards | None | 7-8 peek at your card, 9-10 spy on an opponent's, Jack, Queen and black King swap blind |
| Ending a round | When someone has all cards face up | Someone calls "Rafiki" when they think they're lowest; everyone else has one more turn |
| Card values | 2 is -2, King 0, Jack and Queen 10 | Red Kings and Jokers -1, Ace 1, 2-10 face value, Jack, Queen and black King 10 |
If you know 4-card Golf, Rafiki will feel familiar within one round: it's closest to 4-card Golf with power cards, the game also known as Cabo and Cambio.
How to start a game
- Quick play: press Play and you're at a table against two computer players in seconds.
- With friends: create a private room and send your friends the link. 2 to 6 players, and nobody needs to sign up or download anything.
- Learn as you go: the Rafiki rules take two minutes to read, or try the short practice game in Learn.
Playing real Golf at the table?
You only need a normal deck. Our Golf card game rules cover 4, 6 and 9-card Golf with a scoring table and the common house rules.
Questions
Can I play the Golf card game online for free?
Rafiki is a free online game in the same family as Golf: hidden cards, swaps from the deck and the lowest score wins. It isn't Golf exactly, as there are no pairs that cancel and it has power cards and slams, but if you enjoy Golf you'll pick it up in a round.
Can I play a Golf-style card game online with friends?
Yes. Create a private room on playrafiki.com and send your friends the link. 2 to 6 players can join from a phone or computer browser, with no download or sign-up.
Is the Golf card game the same as Golf Solitaire?
No. Golf Solitaire is a one-player patience game. Golf the card game is for 2 or more players, each trying to finish with the lowest total.
What's the closest online game to 4-card Golf?
Rafiki. Like 4-card Golf you have four face-down cards, look at two at the start and swap from the deck; Rafiki adds peek, spy and blind-swap powers and slamming.
Rafiki is free in your browser, with no download. Press Quick Play to start against computer players, or create a room and send your friends the link.
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