How to Play Baker's Dozen Solitaire
Deal all 52 cards face up into thirteen columns of four and move every King to the bottom of its column. Move one top card at a time, onto a card one rank higher of any suit or up its foundation. Foundations build in suit from Ace to King. An emptied column is never refilled. Bank all 52 cards to win.
The rules, step by step
- 1Deal thirteen columns of fourAll 52 cards face up, four to a column, every card visible for the whole game.
- 2Move the Kings to the bottomBefore play starts, every King goes to the bottom of its column; a column with two keeps them in the order dealt.
- 3Move one top card at a timeOnly a column's top card is free. No run of cards ever moves as a unit.
- 4Build down, regardless of suitA top card may go onto the top card of another column that is exactly one rank higher, of any suit.
- 5Leave empty columns emptyAn emptied column can never be refilled — not with a King, not with anything.
- 6Build the foundations up in suitAces start the foundations as they come free, and each climbs to its King. All 52 there wins.
Try it — the rules above, running
New game deals a fresh shuffle, Hint highlights a legal move, and the three-dot menu at the end of the bar holds redo, auto-finish, today’s deal, the keyboard shortcuts and the rule set.
Your statistics
- Played
- 0
- Won
- 0
- Win rate
- 0%
- Streak
- 0
- Best streak
- 0
- Best time
- —
Kept in this browser, on this device only. Abandoning a deal in progress counts as a loss, so the win rate means something.
Today’s deal
Everyone playing Baker's Dozen Solitaire today gets the same deal. It changes at midnight UTC.
Track the month on the daily challenge page.
Replay a deal
Every deal is a pure function of its number, so deal #20260726 is the same shuffle on any device, any time.
Keyboard
- U / Z
- Undo
- R
- Redo
- H
- Hint
- N
- New deal (asks first)
- F
- Full screen
- A
- Auto-finish
- Esc
- Deselect, or leave full screen
How is Baker's Dozen dealt?
- 1Deal thirteen columnsFour cards face up to each of thirteen columns — 52 cards, the whole pack.
- 2Move the Kings downAny King that is not already at the bottom of its column goes there, under the other cards.
- 3Leave room for four foundationsThey start empty. The first Ace to come free starts one.
What can move where in Baker's Dozen?
| Move | Allowed |
|---|---|
| Top card onto a card one rank higher, any suit | Yes |
| Top card up its foundation | Yes, next card in suit |
| Any card into an empty column | No |
| Two or more cards at once | No |
How do you win more often?
- Get the Aces and Twos out firstThey are the only cards the foundations take at the start, and every other card of their suit waits on them. Work towards whichever is buried shallowest.
- Cover the card you need lastWhen a card could go on two or three cards of the same rank, put it on the one whose suit is furthest from its foundation. Whatever you cover now stays covered until its whole pile moves.
- Do not bank a card another card still needsA Seven in the columns is a landing spot for all four Sixes. Bank it only once every Six is up — the rule auto-finish follows.
- Untangle a column from the top downBefore starting on a column, check each card on it has somewhere to go, one rank higher and any suit. One card with nowhere to land stops the whole dig.
Common questions about baker's dozen solitaire
- What happens if a King is dealt on top of a column?
- It is moved to the bottom before play starts, under the other cards of that column. That is part of the deal, not a move.
Ready to stop reading? Play baker's dozen solitaire on the full board, with controls and statistics tailored to that game.