Ordinary kings-only empty columns and single-card moves.

← On a small screen, scroll the diagram horizontally. →

Exact initial deal: 8 face-up columns of 6 and another 4 cards in eight cells. Other cells and four foundations are empty; no stock.
Exact initial deal: 8 face-up columns of 6 and another 4 cards in eight cells. Other cells and four foundations are empty; no stock.

01 /

Aim and equipment

A patience for 1 player with 52 cards and no jokers. Build four suit foundations from A to K. Tableau order is descending: K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 A. This selects the ordinary kings-only empty-column profile with eight reserve cells, each holding one card.

02 /

Setup and deal

Shuffle and deal 48 face-up cards into 8 columns of 6. Put the other 4 face up in the left reserve cells; another 4 cells are empty. Four foundations start empty. A column’s available top is its last card, nearest you; earlier cards are overlapped but visible. There is no concealed stock or draw: all cards are visible from the start.

03 /

Legal actions

Move one available card at a time. A nonempty column accepts the same suit one rank below its top: 6♥ fits 7♥, not 7♦. Any available column top may be parked in an empty cell. A cell card may move to a legal column or foundation. A cell never holds a packet. An emptied column accepts only K; ordinary cards cannot use it as general parking.

04 /

Scoring

An available ace starts its suit foundation. Add 2, 3 and onward to K without gaps. This profile allows no foundation returns. A group move is only shorthand for legal single-card moves: the intermediate parking must really exist. Do not apply an ordinary FreeCell capacity formula automatically, since empty columns are kings-only. There are no speed or suit points; optionally record foundation cards, up to 52.

05 /

Ending the game

All 52 cards on four complete foundations win. With incomplete foundations and no legal progress, the deal is lost. No new stock appears and columns cannot be redealt. Shuffle the whole pack for a separate attempt. Moving between equivalent empty cells does not create meaningful progress.

06 /

Context and variants

Eight Off belongs to open-cell patience alongside Baker’s Game and FreeCell. BVS confirms its deal and single-card moves; CRP also states the selected kings-only restriction. The sources establish neither a sole inventor nor a reliable earliest date. FreeCell’s alternating colours are not imported: exact suit matters here.

07 /

Worked example

One column ends in 7♥ and a reserve cell holds 6♥. Move 6♥ onto 7♥, freeing that cell. If 8♣ lies behind 7♥, the pair cannot be built onto it: suits differ. To uncover a king below that pair, first find legal destinations for each covering card; a promise of future space is not a legal move.

← On a small screen, scroll the diagram horizontally. →

Before the move. Reserve cell: 6♥. Column fragment: 9♣, 7♥. 6♥ is available in reserve; 7♥ is the column top. After the move. Reserve cell: Empty. Column fragment: 9♣, 7♥, 6♥. The cell is empty; 6♥ rests on 7♥. Other column cards do not participate. 6♥ moves from a cell onto same-suit 7♥, freeing a reserve space.
6♥ moves from a cell onto same-suit 7♥, freeing a reserve space.

Common questions

Do colours alternate?+

No: columns build in the same suit.

Can any card fill an empty column?+

No: only a king.

Is there a concealed stock?+

No: all cards are face up from the start.