Baker's Game Solitaire

Baker’s Game looks just like FreeCell: eight columns, four cells, every card face up. One rule changes everything. You build down in a single suit instead of alternating colors. That small difference makes the game much tighter, because a card has exactly one friend to sit on instead of two. Our solver found no win for about one random shuffle in four, so this version offers only deals it has already won.

Rules step by step

1. The deal. Eight columns are dealt face up, one card at a time from left to right, round after round. The first four columns end up with seven cards and the last four with six.
2. Cells. Four cells hold one card each. A card in a cell can go back to a column or to a foundation, but not to another cell.
3. Foundations. One pile per suit, built from the ace up to the king.
4. Build down in suit. On a column, a card goes on the card one rank higher of the same suit. The six of hearts goes on the seven of hearts.
5. Moving a run. A run is a stack of cards in the same suit, each one rank lower than the one above. You can move a whole run in one step if you have room to do it by hand. With n empty cells and m empty columns, the longest run you can carry onto a column that already holds cards is (n + 1) × 2 to the power of m. Moving onto an empty column, that column does not count as spare room, so the limit is one step lower. The game checks this for you and says how many cards fit when you try too many.
6. Empty columns. Any card, or any part of a run up to the limit above, can go into an empty column.
7. Win when all four foundations hold thirteen cards.

Nothing is hidden, there is no stock, and there is no score beyond moves and time.

Strategy

• Count the doubles. Two cards of the same suit that sit next to each other in the right order are a pair you want to keep. Look for pairs first, then for cards that interrupt them.
• Dig out the low cards. An ace under six cards is a long way from home. Order your work by how much covers each of the aces and twos.
• Protect the cells. Each full cell shrinks the run you can move. In FreeCell you can often park freely. Here, one stray card in a cell can block the only useful move on the board.
• Empty a column before you need it. An empty column doubles the run you can carry and also takes any card. Treat the first empty column as the most valuable thing you can make.
• Expect to back up. The suit rule makes dead ends common. Undo is unlimited, so test a line for a few moves and return if the cells fill.
• Autoplay is safe here. A card can go to a foundation as soon as the card below it in the same suit is there, and no other card ever needs it as a base. The game will do it for you if you switch autoplay on.

Frequently asked questions

Is every Baker’s Game deal winnable?

Every deal on this page has a winning line, but a random shuffle may not. Our solver tried 1,975 random shuffles and found a verified win for 1,500 of them, about three in four. For the rest it found no win inside its limits, and we have not shown that those shuffles cannot be won. Pool deals lean toward easier wins than a random shuffle, because only deals the solver could finish are kept. You still have to find the line yourself.

How is it different from FreeCell?

The suit rule. FreeCell builds down in alternating colors, so each card has two possible neighbors. Baker’s Game has one. The runs you can move are also rarer, since they have to be all one suit.

Can I put any card in an empty column?

Yes. Unlike Eight Off and Seahaven Towers, this game does not restrict empty columns to kings.

Can I undo a move?

Yes, without limit, and you can redo as well. The hint shows a legal move, not necessarily a good one.

Do I need an account?

No. Settings, stats and your game in progress stay in your browser. The privacy page lists what is stored.

Related games

• FreeCell has the same layout and builds in alternating colors.
• Eight Off offers eight cells and moves one card at a time.
• Seahaven Towers uses ten columns and the same suit rule.
• Spider is another game of building down on tableau runs.

Last updated 2026-10-30