Learn Baker's Game

Baker's Game is a one-deck solitaire with all 52 cards dealt face up into eight columns, four free cells that each hold a single card, and four foundations built up by suit from Ace to King. Its one defining rule is that columns build down in the same suit: the 7 of spades goes on the 8 of spades, and on nothing else.

If that sounds like FreeCell, it is very close. Baker's Game came first, and FreeCell later relaxed the building rule to alternating colors. Because every card has only one possible home in the columns, Baker's Game gives you fewer choices and asks for more planning, and more of its deals cannot be won at all. That makes it a good next step once FreeCell starts to feel familiar, and a calm, absorbing puzzle in its own right.

The rules guide below covers the layout, every legal move, how this board handles single-card moves and foundations, and a step-by-step walk through the opening of a real deal. For the alternating-color variation, see the FreeCell guides.

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