FreeCell Variants
Each FreeCell variant changes one or two things: how the columns build, how many cells you get or what can go into an empty column. This page compares the 6 variants on the site, from same-suit Baker's Game to Three Cells and Two Cells, which simply give you less room. Penguin changes enough to need its own guide, linked below.
If you have not met the original yet, start with how to play FreeCell, because everything here builds on it. Players who know the rules but want to sharpen their decisions can use the FreeCell strategy guide before comparing how each variant changes the value of a cell or an empty column.
What they all share
Every game on this page keeps FreeCell's basic shape. You are still filling 4 foundations, one to a suit, each climbing from the Ace to the King, and you still have a row of cells off to the side that each hold one card for a while. The whole deal is face up from the start, so once the cards are down, luck has very little say.
What changes from game to game is how you are allowed to build in the columns, how much spare room you get and what a cleared column will accept.
Baker's Game: build in suit
Baker's Game has the same 8 columns and 4 cells as FreeCell, but tableau cards must follow suit. The 9 of spades can go only on the 10 of spades. That removes many of the temporary placements available in FreeCell, even though the opening layout looks familiar.
With same-suit building, each card has only one card it can go on, so the 4 cells and any empty column you can keep reusing become the only way to shift the cards in your way. The Forty Thieves guide compares another same-suit game, where there are no free cells and each move carries only one card. A computer study by Charlie Blake and Ian Gent (their Solvitaire paper) found about 75.05% of Baker's Game deals winnable, against about 99.999% for FreeCell.
ForeCell: Kings only on an empty column
The ForeCell table here deals 48 cards into 8 columns of 6 and puts the last 4 cards in the free cells, so you start with every cell full. Columns build down in alternating colors as in FreeCell, but only a King can go into an empty column, and you can move only as many cards at once as you have empty cells plus one.
A cleared column is the most valuable space you can hold in this family, and tying it to Kings means you cannot always use the room you worked to open. Plan your spaces around where the Kings are or you will clear a column you then cannot fill.
Three Cells and Two Cells: less room to work
These two keep every FreeCell rule and simply take cells away. Three Cells removes one of the 4, and Two Cells leaves you with just 2. The cells are both your parking and part of the count for how big a stack you can shift in one go, so each missing cell costs you twice.
With 4 empty cells and no empty column, FreeCell lets you move 5 cards at once. Three Cells drops that to 4 and Two Cells to 3, and there is less space to break a column apart. Two Cells in particular asks for care, since one careless parking can leave you with nowhere to move at all. Try them when ordinary FreeCell starts to feel comfortable.
Eight Off: more cells, suited building
Eight Off deals 48 cards into 8 columns of 6 and puts the remaining 4 cards in its 8 cells. That leaves 4 empty cells at the start, just as in FreeCell. Building is by suit and only a King can fill an empty column. As you clear the full cells, the extra room lets you move longer suited runs.
All those cells make it feel roomy and forgiving, and Blake and Gent found 99.88% of Eight Off deals winnable. Suited building still leaves each card only one card it can go on in the columns, so you have to keep your suits in order. It is a good place to get comfortable with same-suit play before trying it with the 4 cells of Baker's Game.
Seahaven Towers: ten narrow towers
Seahaven Towers uses 10 columns of 5 cards, compared with FreeCell's 8 columns. The last 2 cards occupy 2 of the 4 cells. You start with shorter columns but only 2 free cells. Columns build down in suit, and only a King can fill an empty column.
The mix of narrow columns, suited runs and just 2 cells to spare makes it a tight, planning-heavy game. The same computer study found 89.33% of Seahaven Towers deals winnable. Of all the games here it looks least like the FreeCell it grew from.
Which one to try
If you want a gentle step away from FreeCell, Eight Off is the friendliest, with all those cells to lean on. For a real test, Baker's Game and Seahaven Towers both make you keep suits in order and punish a loose plan, while Three Cells and Two Cells keep the familiar color building with less room to work. ForeCell sits in the middle: the columns build as in FreeCell, but you start with every cell full and only a King can use an empty column.
Penguin Solitaire is the next step if you want a wider departure. It still exposes the full deal and builds the tableau by suit, but its 7 flippers, changing foundation rank and King-to-Ace wrap make it different enough to need its own rules guide.
Common questions
What is the difference between FreeCell and Baker's Game?
One rule. FreeCell builds the columns down in alternating colors, while Baker's Game builds them down in the same suit. The layout, the 4 cells and the foundations are identical, but suited building is stricter, which makes Baker's Game the harder of the two.
Is Eight Off easier than FreeCell?
In some ways, yes. Its 8 cells give you far more room to maneuver than FreeCell's 4. The catch is that Eight Off builds by suit, so the extra space is balanced by a stricter way of stacking. Both are almost always winnable. Blake and Gent found 99.88% of Eight Off deals winnable, against 99.999% for FreeCell.
Why does Seahaven Towers start with cards in the cells?
Because 10 columns of 5 cards use only 50 of the 52, and the last two go into cells. You begin with 2 of the 4 cells occupied and only 2 free to work with, which is a big part of why the game plays so tight.
Are these FreeCell variants winnable?
Usually, but the odds differ a lot between them. Blake and Gent's computer study found 99.88% of Eight Off deals winnable, 89.33% of Seahaven Towers deals and 75.05% of Baker's Game deals. Every Winnable deal on the site has a known solution, so a stuck game usually means an earlier choice went wrong. How we check that a deal can be won.
The supermove count in the FreeCell strategy guide assumes any card can go into an empty column. In ForeCell, Eight Off and Seahaven Towers only a King can, and an empty column adds nothing to the count, so the most you can move at once is the number of empty cells plus one.