The game FreeCell came from: the same deal and the same four free cells, but every column builds down in suit. Fewer deals can be won, so plan each one with care.
How to Play Baker's Game
Baker's Game is the solitaire that FreeCell grew out of. The deal is the same, the four free cells are the same, and every card is face up from the start. The one difference is how the columns are built: in Baker's Game, a card can only go on the next higher card of its own suit. That single rule makes it a tougher, more thoughtful game.
The Objective
Move all 52 cards to the four foundations, building each suit up from Ace to King.
The Setup
One standard deck is dealt face up into eight columns: the first four columns get seven cards and the other four get six. Above them are four empty free cells on the left and four empty foundations on the right.
The Rules
- Build down in suit. A card can go on the next higher card of the same suit: the 8 of spades on the 9 of spades, but not on the 9 of hearts or the 9 of clubs.
- Use the free cells. Each free cell holds one card. Any top card can go into an empty cell, and a card in a cell can move back to a column or to a foundation.
- Fill empty columns with anything. Any card, or any group of cards that can move together, can go into an empty column.
- Build the foundations up from Ace. Each foundation takes one suit, starting with its Ace and ending with its King.
Strictly, you move one card at a time. As in FreeCell, the game moves a run of cards for you in one go when you have enough free cells and empty columns to do it card by card.
Baker's Game and FreeCell
| Baker's Game | FreeCell | |
|---|---|---|
| Columns build down | In the same suit | In alternating colors |
| A 7 of hearts can take | Only the 6 of hearts | The 6 of spades or the 6 of clubs |
| Deals that can be won | Most, but far fewer | Nearly all |
Because each card has only one card it can go on instead of two, you have fewer moves to choose from, and the free cells fill up faster.
Baker's Game Strategy Tips
- Find the Aces and 2s first. Before your first move, look for the low cards buried deep in the columns. Your early moves should dig toward them.
- Treat free cells as precious. With only one possible home for each card, a card in a free cell can wait a long time. Keep at least one cell empty whenever you can.
- Empty a column. An empty column is worth more than a free cell, because it can hold a whole run. Clear a short column early if you can.
- Watch for Kings low in a column. A King near the top of a deep column is fine, but one buried under many cards blocks everything above it from being built on.
- Build long runs in suit. A long same-suit run is easy to move into an empty column and later straight to the foundation.
- Plan, then use Undo. Every card is face up, so a deal can be thought through. If a plan fails, Undo takes you back as far as you like.
Playing Baker's Game on Solitaire Parlor
- Tap or click a card to send it to the best legal spot, trying the foundations first. To put a card somewhere else, drag and drop it there.
- Cards that can go to the foundations are sent there for you, because in Baker's Game no other card could still need them in the columns.
- Undo is unlimited, and Hint highlights a useful move.
- Restart replays the same deal, New Game deals a new numbered deal, and Daily Deal gives everyone the same deal each day.
- Deal numbers match FreeCell: deal #1 here is laid out exactly like FreeCell deal #1, so you can play the same cards under both sets of rules.
- Stats shows games played and won, win rate, best time, your win streaks and the badges you have earned.
Your game and stats save automatically in your own browser. There is no sign-up and nothing to download.
A Short History of Baker's Game
Baker's Game is named after C. L. Baker, and it reached a wide audience in 1968, when Martin Gardner described it in his mathematical games column in Scientific American. About ten years later, Paul Alfille changed one rule, building in alternating colors instead of in suit, and programmed the result on the PLATO computer system as FreeCell. FreeCell went on to ship with Microsoft Windows and became one of the most played card games in the world, while Baker's Game remained the harder original.
Baker's Game FAQ
Is Baker's Game free to play?
Yes. Play it in your web browser with a mouse or touchscreen. There is no sign-up and nothing to download.
Is Baker's Game harder than FreeCell?
Yes. Each card can go on only one other card instead of two, so there are fewer moves and more deals that can't be won.
Can every deal be won?
No. Most deals can be won with good play, but a noticeable share can't, however you play them. If one won't come out, try a New Game.
Why do cards go to the foundations by themselves?
In Baker's Game, a card in the columns can only hold the next lower card of its own suit. Once that card is on the foundation, nothing needs the higher card any more, so the game sends it home for you.