If you have played FreeCell, you already know most of Eight Off. Every card is face up, there is no stock, and a row of free cells gives you room to maneuver. The twist is that there are twice as many cells, and the columns build in suit. That combination changes the game more than you might expect: you have more space, but each card has exactly one card it can sit on.
Play it here free in your browser, on a computer or a phone, with no download and no sign-up. You get unlimited undo, hints, a timer, a move counter and saved statistics.
How to Play Eight Off
Setup. The deck is dealt face up into eight columns of six cards. The four cards left over go into four of the eight free cells, so you begin with four empty cells. On a phone the foundations sit at the top, the eight free cells below them and the columns underneath. On a wide screen the cells and foundations share the top row.
Goal. Build four foundations up by suit from Ace to King. When all 52 cards are on the foundations, you win.
Moves.
- Columns build down in the same suit. The 8 of Spades goes on the 9 of Spades and nowhere else.
- Each free cell holds one card. Any free card can go into an empty cell.
- Only a King can go into an empty column.
- Cards move one at a time, but a same-suit run can be moved as a unit when there are enough empty free cells to move it card by card: up to one more card than you have empty cells.
- Any card that can go to a foundation goes there automatically. With same-suit building it is never needed on the table.
Controls. Drag a card or a run, or tap it to send it to the best legal spot (a foundation first, then a matching card, then a free cell; a King prefers an empty column). If a run is too long for your free cells, the game tells you how many cards you can move. If you turn tap-to-move off in Settings, a double-tap sends a card to a foundation. Undo and Redo are unlimited, Restart replays the same deal, and Hint looks ahead for a move that makes progress. Shortcuts: Ctrl or Cmd+Z to undo, Ctrl+Y to redo, H for a hint, N for a new game.
The toolbar shows the timer, move counter and deal number. Add ?deal=NUMBER to the page address to
replay a deal. Your statistics and any unfinished game are saved in this browser.
Eight Off Strategy
- Clear the starting cells first. Look at the four cards dealt into the cells and find where each one belongs. A cell card that can go straight onto a column or a foundation is a free cell you get back.
- Every card has exactly one parent. In FreeCell a red 6 can go on either black 7. Here the 6 of Hearts has only the 7 of Hearts. Before you start, find where each Ace and 2 sits and what is covering it, and check which parents are buried. That tells you which cards will need a cell.
- Keep at least two cells empty. Eight cells feels like plenty, but they fill quickly when a column has to be dug out. Empty cells are also what let you move runs: with only one empty cell you can move just two cards at a time.
- Kings decide the empty columns. An empty column only takes a King, so clearing one is useful only if a King is ready to move into it. A King sitting high in a column with good cards under it is the ideal candidate.
- Build runs on Kings. A same-suit run that starts with a King is finished business. It never has to move again until its cards go home. Runs built on lower cards may have to be broken up later.
- Do not fill a cell to make a pretty move. Parking a card just to place another on a column rarely pays unless it frees something you need soon, like an Ace, a low card, or a King for an empty column.
Eight Off, FreeCell and Baker’s Game
Eight Off is an older game than FreeCell and one of its inspirations, together with Baker’s Game, which also builds in suit. FreeCell kept the free cells, cut them to four, and switched the columns to alternating colors. Baker’s Game has only four cells, so Eight Off is the roomier of the two same-suit games, while the same-suit rule keeps it from being easy. If you want to compare, play a few deals of FreeCell, or try Beleaguered Castle, an open game with no free cells at all.
Eight Off FAQ
How is Eight Off different from FreeCell?
Eight Off has eight free cells instead of four, and four of them start with a card in them. The columns build down in the same suit rather than in alternating colors, and only a King can go into an empty column. The deal is eight columns of six cards.
How many cards can I move at once?
Officially one, but the game lets you move a same-suit run in one go when you could have moved it card by card through the free cells. That means up to one more card than you have empty free cells. With three empty cells you can move a run of four. Empty columns do not add to this, because only a King can rest in one.
What can go into an empty column?
Only a King, either on its own or at the head of a same-suit run below it. Any other card has to go to a free cell instead.
Why do four free cells start full?
Eight columns of six use 48 cards. The last four cards of the deck go into four of the free cells, so you start with four cells empty and four you need to clear. Freeing those cells early is a big part of the game.
Do cards go to the foundations automatically?
Yes. Because the columns build in suit, a card that can go up is never needed on the table: the only card that could sit on it is the one below it in the same suit, which is already home. So every card that can go up goes up by itself.
Can I replay a deal?
Yes. Restart replays the current deal from the beginning, and adding ?deal=NUMBER to the page address opens a specific deal again. The deal number is shown in the toolbar.
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