Play Baker's Game Online
Baker's Game looks close to FreeCell until the first stack move asks more of you. The layout is familiar: 4 free cells, 4 foundations and 8 face-up tableau columns. The change is in the build rule. Tableau cards descend in the same suit, so a 7 of spades can sit only on the 8 of spades. An open red 8 is no help. Baker's Game is actually the older of the two. Martin Gardner described it in Scientific American in 1968, and FreeCell grew out of it when Paul Alfille switched the tableau to alternating colors.
A rank may have 2 opposite-color landing cards in FreeCell, but only one same-suit landing card in Baker's Game. If that card is buried, the moving card needs an empty cell or column instead. You can see the obstruction from the start and work backward through the cards that cover it.
Every Card in View
Every card is visible from the deal, so you can read the whole puzzle before your first move. The 4 cells at the top left are temporary parking spaces. Foundations build upward by suit from Ace to King. Most of the play happens in the 8 tableau columns, and each column can be extended only with the next lower card of the same suit.
The Same-Suit Rule
In Klondike and FreeCell, alternating color often gives you several legal landing spots. Baker's Game removes that comfort. If the moving card is a 6 of clubs, the target card must be the 7 of clubs. This is the rule that catches most new players because the table can appear open while the legal path is actually very narrow.
Free Cells Are Short-Term Tools
Before filling a cell, check what the move releases and where the parked card could go next. With all 4 cells occupied, you can still move individual cards. Group moves then depend on empty tableau columns. Without one, only one card can travel at a time.
Build One Suit at a Time
The strongest positions often come from finishing one unbroken same-suit run before starting a second. If hearts are starting to run downward in a column, protect it. A run like that lets you move several cards at once and can free a buried Ace or low card without spending every free cell.
Compare that with Yukon, where a stack can move even when the cards in it are out of order. In Baker's Game the whole stack must already be in suit order before it can travel.
Playing Around Suit Order
- Look for Aces and low cards first, but do not spend every cell to reach one card.
- Keep an empty column open until it lets you join or move a same-suit run.
- Before moving a stack, check whether its suit order will still give you a landing spot afterward.
- If a move only tidies the table, wait. With one landing card per rank, wasted moves cost space.
Every Winnable deal has a known solution, while a Random deal may have none. If you lose your way, Is it winnable? shows whether the position can still be finished, and a signed-in win without hints or undo goes on the Baker's Game leaderboard. For how Baker's Game sits beside Eight Off, Seahaven Towers and the other cousins, see the FreeCell variants guide.