Combinatorial Climber 2014

This is a cooperative and combinatorial (perfect information, and no luck after the initial deal) climbing game for 2 players, that is also playable solitaire and has a competitive variant. In the game, players alternate turns drafting cards from a 5 by 4 grid of cards regular playing cards face up, with players taking cards from the lower part of the grid first, revealing other cards.

After each player has drafted 10 cards, play begins. Players attempt to play a single card, or a set of cards, each one must succeed the prior one played with a higher value, or greater amount of cards. Players then score points based upon how long of a run their last play was, with points lost for cards left in hands. Players also have jokers that act as wild cards, used to complete the going out in a single run.

The solitaire version works like the 2 player version, but a player plays both sides.

There is also a competitive version that utilizes the same drafting mechanism, but tweaks how cards are played.