How to Play

Baker's Dozen is a one-player open-information solitaire: the full 52-card deck is dealt face-up into 13 columns of 4 cards, with Kings moved to the bottom before play. Because every card is visible from the first move, the game is a pure sequencing puzzle rather than a game of luck.

Baker's Dozen is a one-player open solitaire in which the full 52-card deck is dealt face-up into 13 columns of 4 cards, with every King moved to the bottom of its column before play. Because all cards are visible from the first move, Baker's Dozen is a pure puzzle of sequence and sequencing; luck plays no role once the deal is set. A typical game takes 5–10 minutes and is winnable roughly 75–80% of the time with careful play.

Players

1 player. Baker's Dozen is strictly solitary.

Card Deck

One standard 52-card deck. All four suits (clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades) and all thirteen ranks are used. No jokers. All 52 cards are in play from the opening deal; there is no stock or waste pile.

Objective

Build all 52 cards onto the four foundations, each foundation running from Ace up to King in a single suit: …, …, …, ….

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the full 52-card deck.
2. Deal 13 columns of 4 cards each, face-up and overlapping downward so every card is readable. These 13 columns form the tableau. The name 'Baker's Dozen' refers to this 13-column layout (a baker's dozen = 13).
3. Kings rule: scan each column for Kings that are not already at the bottom. Slide every such King to the bottom of its own column, preserving the relative order of the other cards above. If a column contains two or more Kings, move all of them to the bottom while keeping their relative order to each other.
4. Leave four empty slots above the tableau for the foundations, one per suit. No card starts on a foundation; the first Aces released during play begin them.

Gameplay

1. Available cards: Only the top card (the bottom-most card of the overlapping stack) of each tableau column is available for play. Cards underneath become available as the cards on top of them leave.
2. Tableau building: You may move the top card of any column onto the top card of another column if it is exactly one rank lower, regardless of suit or colour. For example, a may be placed on any 8; a red 5 on any 6. Sequence on the tableau therefore runs strictly downward in rank, one card at a time.7♣
3. Moving only one card at a time: You cannot pick up a sequence of cards and move it as a group; only single top cards move.
4. Foundation building: Move an available card to a foundation if it is the next rank up in the same suit: Aces start a foundation, then 2, 3, … up to King. Foundations never accept cards out of order or of a different suit.A♠K♠
5. Foundation lock: Once a card is placed on a foundation, it stays there for the rest of the game.
6. Empty columns stay empty: When a column is fully emptied it is permanently out of play; no card of any rank may be placed into an empty column. Emptying a column is therefore a one-way loss of a manoeuvring slot.
7. Stuck state: The game ends when no legal tableau or foundation move remains. If every foundation is complete (…, …, …, …) the game is a win; otherwise it is a loss.A♠K♠A♥K♥A♦K♦A♣K♣

Winning

You win when all four foundations are complete from Ace to King in their suit. Any end state with one or more cards still in the tableau or blocked is a loss. There are no tie-breakers (the game is solitary) and no partial-credit scoring.

Tips and Strategy

• Because all cards are visible, plan several moves ahead before touching anything; the deal has a solution or it does not, and sloppy ordering is the usual cause of losses.
• Free the four Aces first, then the Twos. Buried low cards near the top of a column (close to a King) are the hardest to extract; target them early.
• Avoid emptying a column unless every card that would have needed that column already has a safe home; empty columns are lost real estate in this game.
• A Queen on top of a King is fine; a King on top of a Queen is a deadlock. Check column heads for rank-inversion traps before moving cards onto them.

Variations

• Good Measure: 10 columns of 5 cards; 2 Aces are placed on foundations before play begins. A closely related variant.
• Spanish Patience: Foundations must be built up in strict suit and/or colour sequence. A much harder variant.
• House-rule easy mode: Allow any single card to be placed into an empty column, or allow moving an in-sequence group as a unit. Greatly raises the win rate.

Glossary

• Tableau: The 13-column spread of playing cards in front of the player.
• Foundation: One of the four target piles (one per suit), built upward from Ace to King.A♠K♠
• Top card (of a column): The card currently sitting at the bottom of the overlapping stack: the only card that can be taken from that column.
• Stock / waste: Reserve piles used in many solitaires; Baker's Dozen has neither.