Baker’s 8 solitaire is a popular form of solitaire that is very similar to FreeCell. Whether you’re a big fan of FreeCell, or classic solitaire forms like Klondike, or you just love solitaire in general, this game puts a great twist on the classic format. There’s a few things you’ll need to know before you get started playing the baker’s game solitaire, so let’s dive into a complete guide to the game.
About Baker’s 8 Solitaire
Bakers game solitaire is a form of the classic patience card game in which all cards are dealt face up into eight tableaus. You have four foundations and four cells into which any card can be played. As mentioned, most people are more familiar today with FreeCell—the only difference between FreeCell and bakers solitaire is how sequences are built. More on that shortly.
The game itself actually predates FreeCell, and was based on the older game of Eight Off. These are all forms of “open packer” solitaire games, in which all cards are dealt face up or “open”.
With a bit of knowledge of the basics, let’s look at how you can play baker’s solitaire.
How to Play Baker’s 8 Solitaire
It’s really easy to find a place online where you can play baker’s solitaire. All you need to do is type “Baker’s 8 Solitaire” into your preferred search engine and you can easily play through your browser with no need to download anything.
The game is played by building sequences of cards in the tableaus so that you can build up your foundations by suit. Sequences in solitaire are most often built in alternating color. In baker’s solitaire, sequences are built by suit, not color.
All 52 cards in the deck are dealt face up into eight tableaus, and there are four “free cells” in the top left corner into which you can place any one card. When you get all the cards, starting at an ace, for each suit into the foundation piles, you win.
With the basics covered, let’s turn our attention to the specific rules.
Rules of Baker’s 8 Solitaire
The rules of the solitaire baker’s game are simple:
- You have four open cells. Any card can be placed into these cells, but it cannot be put back where it was after—once a card has been moved to the cell, it must then be placed in sequence back in the tableau.
- You have eight tableaus of which the top card is available for play—unless there is a sequence in which case you can move all the cards in the sequence. For example, if you have a three and a two of hearts at the top of one tableau, you can move both these cards at once.
- Sequences are built by suit. As mentioned, unlike in FreeCell, you can only place cards onto the next card in the sequence by suit. A nine of clubs can only be placed on a ten of clubs, for instance.
- Any card can be placed in an empty tableau.
These are all the rules you’ll need to know to get started. Now, let’s turn to tips for winning the solitaire bakers game.
How to Win in Baker’s 8 Solitaire
Winning baker game solitaire relies on a few different steps. Here are the best tips for winning:
- Have plans of action and play strategically. Baker’s solitaire is harder than the already difficult FreeCell because you can only build by suit and thus your mobility is severely limited. Always try and think several steps ahead about how you can move the most cards around and create the most possibilities.
- Moving cards straight into the foundation is always the right move. There are reasons, in FreeCell, that you might want to keep cards out of the foundation—in baker solitaire, this is never the case. Always move cards straight to the foundation when you can.
- Focus on building up suited runs. You want to have as many tableau sequences as you can so that they can all go straight into the foundation at once where possible.
- Make use of the free cells. Using the free cells is an important, but delicate, part of the game. Remember that once cards are in there they cannot be moved out unless into sequence, so think carefully about the advantages of putting a given card in a free cell.
Baker’s solitaire is a great variation on the more well-known FreeCell that makes the game a little bit more challenging. The odds are more or less in your favor, mathematically speaking—but you’re still going to have to think carefully about every move you make if you want to win at baker’s 8 solitaire, and this is what makes it so much fun to play.