Eight Off Solitaire

Eight Off is a close cousin of FreeCell with two twists: you build down in a single suit instead of alternating colors, and you get eight parking cells instead of four. Every card is face up from the first move, so the whole game is planning. The generous cells make it forgiving: in our tests a solver won all but one of 1,501 random deals.

Rules step by step

1. The deal. Eight columns of six cards lie face up on the table. That is 48 cards. The last four cards of the deck go into the first four of the eight cells, which leaves four cells empty.
2. Cells. Each cell holds exactly one card. You can take a card out of a cell whenever it fits somewhere. A card in a cell cannot jump to another cell.
3. Foundations. Four piles, one per suit, build up from the ace to the king.
4. Build down in suit. On a column, a card goes on the next higher card of the same suit. The seven of clubs goes on the eight of clubs and on nothing else.
5. One card at a time. Only the card at the bottom of a column moves, and only one card per move. The cells give you the room to move a stack by hand.
6. Empty columns take kings. When a column is empty, only a king can go into it. This is stricter than some other versions of the game. Moving a king that already sits alone in its column achieves nothing, so the game does not offer it.
7. Win when all four foundations hold thirteen cards.

There is no stock and no redeal. Nothing is hidden, and nothing is random after the deal.

Strategy

• Find the aces and twos first. Look at which columns cover them. A column with an ace at the very top of the pile is a gift. One with an ace at the top of a deep stack is a project.
• Build from the bottom. Same-suit runs are the only thing that holds a column together. When you can place a card on its own suit neighbor, do it, because that pair never has to be taken apart again.
• Spend cells on the right cards. A card parked in a cell should free something that matters: an ace, a king for an empty column, or a card that lets a whole run settle.
• Keep two cells open. Eight cells feel like a lot until six are full. Count what you need to free before you park the third card in a row.
• Plan the empty column around a king. Emptying a column is worth little unless a king is ready to take it. Check where the kings are before you dig.
• Watch for stacked blockers. If the nine of spades sits on top of the seven, and the eight is buried elsewhere, you will need to move the nine twice. Count that cost early.
• Use autoplay if you like. In this game every card that can go to a foundation is safe to send there, because a card is only ever needed on a column as a base for the card of the same suit just below it, and that card is already on the foundation by then.

Frequently asked questions

Is every Eight Off deal winnable?

The default deals come from a pool in which an offline solver found a winning line for every deal. The solver sees every card, as you do, and tries far more lines than any person could. Among 1,501 random deals it found a win for all but one, so almost any shuffle can be won. A deal from the pool is still not trivial, since you have to find the line yourself.

Why can an empty column take only a king?

That is one of the two common versions of the rule, and it is the one we use. Some programs accept any card. Accepting only kings makes empty columns a real resource that you have to earn, which suits a game with so many cells.

What if I use up all eight cells?

Then you can only move cards that fit on a column or a foundation. Undo is free and unlimited, so back up and try another order.

Can I undo and redo?

Yes, as often as you like. The hint shows a legal move, which is not always a good one.

Do I need an account?

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

Related games

• Baker’s Game uses the same suit rule with four cells and lets runs move.
• Seahaven Towers is a ten-column game with the same king rule.
• FreeCell builds in alternating colors.
• Klondike is the classic, with hidden cards.

Last updated 2026-10-30