Decade is a line-shaping puzzle.

Core Decade tips

• Prefer removals that leave the line flexible for several future totals instead of one narrow follow-up.
• Face cards are efficient 10-value anchors, so use them to stabilize awkward stretches of the line.
• Long runs that total 20 or 30 can be stronger than a quick 10 if they expose a cleaner board edge.
• Avoid dealing into clutter when a useful removal is already available.
• Because cards must stay consecutive, line shape matters as much as raw arithmetic.

Best early priority

Keep the line short and cooperative. Early clutter makes later consecutive totals much harder to assemble cleanly.

Common mistake

Players often grab the smallest available total even when a slightly larger run would open more cards and produce a better edge on the next turn.