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Baker's Game Online
Baker's Game deals all 52 cards face up into eight columns and leaves four free cells empty. Its layout resembles FreeCell, but tableau cards build down by suit. Move every card to the four foundations, from Ace to King.
Baker’s Game rules: suit order and working space
- Same-suit tableau: an 8 of Clubs fits a 9 of Clubs. Alternating color is not the rule here.
- Free cells: each holds one exposed card. A cell cannot hold a whole sequence.
- Packets: move a descending same-suit sequence only when your available cells and columns provide enough capacity.
- Empty columns: accept any single card or movable sequence; you do not need a King.
- No stock: all cards are already on the board. Build foundations upward by suit from Ace to King.
See how space changes a Baker’s Game move
These simplified positions illustrate decisions in this game; they are not your current deal.
1. A suited run needs both the right destination and enough space
A 9 of Spades is not a valid destination, even though both cards are black. A red 9 is not valid either. Look for the exact suit as well as the next rank.
This version limits a packet to (empty cells + 1) × 2spare empty columns cards. Do not count an empty destination as a spare column. With two empty cells and one empty column, the limit is six cards onto an occupied column but three into that empty column.
2. The destination changes the moving limit
| Empty columns before the move | Onto an occupied column | Into an empty column |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3 cards | No empty destination |
| 1 | 6 cards | 3 cards |
| 2 | 12 cards | 6 cards |
Count the spaces before the move, and exclude the destination if it is empty. A column that the move would empty is not available as extra storage during that same move.
3. Freeing an Ace can cost two storage cells
A column ends in an Ace of Clubs, King of Hearts, and 8 of Spades, in that order. The 8 is exposed. Assume two cells are empty and neither blocker has another legal destination.
- Move the 8 of Spades into one cell, exposing the King of Hearts.
- Move that King into the second cell, exposing the Ace of Clubs.
- Send the Ace to its foundation.
You reached a foundation, but both storage cells are now occupied. Before choosing this line, look for the later exits of the King and 8. Freeing the Ace does not itself release those cells, and other packet moves may now be shorter than before.
Budget storage before uncovering a low card
Before moving a card into a free cell, find its next destination. Because each rank has only one matching-suit parent in a one-deck game, placing a card in a cell without access to that parent can occupy the cell for a long time.
Work toward an empty column that can help you separate suits or carry longer runs. Filling that column too soon removes it from your spare-space count, so check your next intended packet before using the space.
Common questions
Why does a move that works in FreeCell fail here?
FreeCell builds alternating colors; Baker's Game builds the same suit. Both the selected packet and its destination must follow that suit rule. The moving limit can also reject a run that is too long for your available space.
Can the column I am about to empty increase my moving limit?
No. The game checks the available spaces before moving the packet. Its source column only becomes empty afterward, so you cannot count that future gap as temporary storage for the same move.
Why does a packet fail when every card is the same suit?
Same suit is not enough by itself. The ranks must descend by one all the way to the exposed end, the destination must fit, and the packet must be within the current moving limit.
Choose between a cell and a tableau column
A free cell accepts a single card; a tableau column can accept an allowed packet. Select the highest card of the suited run you want to move, then choose the intended pile. If the move is rejected after you filled a cell, recount the empty spaces rather than checking only the suits.
- Click or tap a card, then its destination. For a packet, select the first card you want to carry. Select it again to cancel. The message below the board explains the current selection or move.
- Undo reverses your last action. Hint highlights a legal action and describes it below the board; it does not calculate a complete winning route.
- New starts a fresh shuffle. Daily starts this game's dated challenge. Both replace the current board.
- Full Screen gives the board more room. On a narrow screen, scroll sideways inside the board to reach all its piles.
Compare related games
Compare the FreeCell moving-limit example. Eight Off gives you eight cells but limits empty columns to Kings. Sea Towers uses ten columns and starts with two of its four cells occupied.