Eight Off Solitaire

How to Pay Eight off Solitaire

It’s easier than ever to play the eight off solitaire card game today. If you’re looking for a place to find eight off solitaire free online, then it’s really easy to find plenty of options for playing eight off solitaire. Just put the name of the game into any search engine and you’ll quickly be greeted by lots of options for playing eight off solitaire. 

The setup of solitaire eight off may be a bit confusing if you’re more familiar with Klondike and similar forms of the game. As mentioned, eight off solitaire is closer to FreeCell than to Klondike. One standard deck is dealt, with all cards face up, into eight tableau piles each with six cards. Four cards are dealt into one of the eight free cells. 

The aim of the game of eight off solitaire is to build up foundations by suit in the foundation piles starting with ace. 

With the basics covered, let’s turn our attention to the specific rules. 

Rules of Eight off Solitaire 

The rules of eight off solitaire are as follows: 

1. Any card can be dealt into one of the eight free cells. The free cells are so called because you can place any card into them. You still want to be careful when you place cards in them, though—a card cannot be moved back into the tableau except in sequence. 
2. Only kings can be moved into empty tableau spaces. If you have a tableau space with no cards in it, then you must place a king in that spot. You can wait as long as you need to and the king does not have to go straight into the spot, but no other card can go in an empty spot. 
3. Build tableau sequences by suit. One of the things that sets eight off solitaire apart is that sequences must be built in the same suit, rather than in alternating color. For example, a five of spades can only go on a six of spades. 
4. Foundations ascend in suit sequence. This is where eight off solitaire is similar to other forms of solitaire. The foundations are built up in suit and the game is won when all four foundations have been filled with every card from their suit.

Now you know the rules of playing the game, let’s now look at our best strategies for winning. 

How to win Eight off Solitaire

Eight off solitaire is a game of strategy, for the most part, and your odds of winning are fairly high. Still, though, that strategy is vital to prevent getting stuck:

1. Think carefully about each move. You’ve got a lot of leeway to move things around, but you’ve still got to play very carefully. You may end up getting stuck if you just make any move whenever you can. There are optimal times to make certain moves, so always try and consider a few steps ahead. You should be especially careful with the free cells, as they are a key part of play. 
2. Prioritize uncovering aces. Getting to covered up aces should always be a priority. You don’t want to simply fill up your free cells immediately, but getting to the aces early means you’ll be able to start moving any cards into them as soon as they are available. 
3. Try to build up even sequences in the tableau. The more even your sequences are, the better chance you’ll have of revealing all cards. If you build up one sequence while ignoring all the others, then you stand a higher chance of getting stuck. 
4. Think about a suit when filling an empty tableau slot. When you end up with an empty tableau slot, don’t just put any old king in there. Think carefully about which king will allow you to build up the most advantageous sequences. 

Whether you’re a fan of FreeCell or you’ve never played it before, eight off solitaire is a great variation on the classic format and one you’re sure to have great fun playing.