How to Play Lasker Solitaire

A Chessboard variant where the foundation base rank is randomly chosen each deal. You build tableau sequences in the same suit, moving multiple cards together, and play cards to a flexible foundation that adapts to each hand.

Setup

1. A random rank (Ace through King) is chosen as the base for each deal
2. A card of that rank is dealt to each of the four foundation piles, revealing the base rank and starting every pile; there's no stock in this game
3. The rest of the deck (48 cards) is dealt face up across the 10 tableau piles

How to play

• Build the foundations up by the base rank with wrapping (so if the base is 5, build 5→6→7→...→K→A→2→3→4)
• Each of the 4 foundation piles is built in a single suit, matching the suit of the card that started it
• Cards move automatically to the foundations when they can no longer be built on the tableau
• In the tableau, build up or down by one rank in the same suit, and ranks wrap here too (a King can sit next to an Ace)
• Move multiple cards together as a same-suit sequence in either direction
• Any card or sequence can go into an empty tableau pile

How to win

Objective: Move all 52 cards to the four foundations, building in sequence by the randomly chosen base rank.

You win when all four foundations are complete with the full wraparound sequence. You're stuck when no more moves are available.

Tips

• Plan sequences that work in both directions (up or down) to maintain flexibility
• Notice the base rank and think ahead about the wrapping sequence
• Use empty tableau piles to rearrange sequences for foundation plays

Play Lasker free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Lasker alongside 300+ other games. It saves every move as you play, so you can close the window and pick the game up later, replay any deal, and take on a new Daily Challenge deal every day. Browse every game in the Game Gallery.

Related games

More games from the FreeCell family:

• Opus — Opus is a harder variant of Penguin solitaire with a randomly chosen base rank each deal, five cells for temporary storage, and seven tableau piles where you build in the same suit one rank at a time.
• Skippy — A modern game with a clever mechanic: each deal starts with a random base rank for the foundations, making every game feel fresh.
• Big FreeCell — Play FreeCell with two full decks spread across ten tableau piles and eight temporary cells, building foundations up by suit.