A term for the person who comes top in the final
mathematics exams at the University of
Cambridge. Also, a
patience game played with two packs of cards, which is given this name because of the
unusual sequences in which the cards are built up.
To play Senior Wrangler, lay out eight cards from a two to a nine in numerical order in a non-overlapping row. Shuffle the
rest of the cards and deal them out in eight face-up packets of twelve cards each, below the row of cards.
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Indicator cards
P P P P P P P P Packets of cards
Suits are of no importance in this game. The object is to build up all the cards, except the indicator cards, into eight sequences of
twelve cards (each ending with a king), which are put in a row below the packets of cards.
The base card for each sequence is twice the indicator card, and the sequence is built up in steps equal to the number on
the indicator card, modulo 13. Thus the sequence below the 2 will begin "4, 6, 8, 10", then "Q" (queen counts as 12), then "A" (the
next number would be 14, which is congruent to 1 modulo 13. If that wasn't very clear, the complete sequences are:
4 6 8 10 Q A 3 5 7 9 J K
6 9 Q 2 5 8 J A 4 7 10 K
8 Q 3 7 J 2 6 10 A 5 9 K
10 2 7 Q 4 9 A 6 J 3 8 K
Q 5 J 4 10 3 9 2 8 A 7 K
A 8 2 9 3 10 4 J 5 Q 6 K
3 J 6 A 9 4 Q 7 2 10 5 K
5 A 10 6 2 J 7 3 Q 8 4 K
Build as much as you can using the exposed cards of the packets. You can also move the top card from one sequence to another
if it will fit, but once you have built a king you may not move it.
When you've built all you can, deal out the first packet one card at a time, dealing the first card into the space left when you picked
up the packet and going along the row of packets from left to right as many times as required. You can choose whether to
deal from the top or the bottom of the packet. Hint: it is a good idea to try to leave kings at the bottom of packets. When you get
stuck again, deal out the second packet, and so on up to the eighth packet.