Play Lasker Solitaire Online — Chessboard With Runs

Lasker, also called Xantia, is Chessboard with its one restriction lifted. The deal is Fortress's — ten open piles, two of six and eight of five — and the rules are Chessboard's: the four foundations start empty and unranked, the first card you bank chooses the base rank for all four, and everything builds up or down in suit, wrapping past the king. The change: a packed run — all up or all down — moves as a unit. Any card or run may fill a space. No stock; bank all 52 to win.

Setup

Shuffle one deck. Deal ten piles face up: six cards in each of the first two, five in each of the other eight. The four foundations start empty.

Rules

• The base rank: while all four foundations are empty, any available card may found one, and its rank becomes the base for all four.
• Foundations build up in suit from the base, wrapping past the king to the ace, until each holds thirteen.
• Tableau builds up or down by one in the same suit, wrapping both ways.
• Runs travel: a packed run that runs all one way — up or down — moves as a unit. A run that changes direction does not.
• Spaces take any card or any packed run.
• Win when all four foundations are complete.

Strategy

Chessboard is a game of single-card patience; Lasker lets you carry a run, which turns the same board into a game of assembly. The base rank is still the whole opening, and it should still be chosen late.

• Do not found first. Every top card is a legal founding play at the start, and the one you choose binds all four foundations. Move cards around in suit until you can see which rank has all four copies near the tops.
• Build one way. Only a monotone run travels. A pile that goes 4, 5, 4 is three legal placements and no run; keep each pile running one direction so the whole thing can move later.
• Think around the corner. A king hosts an ace and an ace a king, in the tableau and on the foundations. A run K, A, 2 of hearts is a run.
• Use spaces to reverse a run. A descending run moved into a space and rebuilt onto its other end becomes an ascending one; with runs travelling, that costs one move.
• Bank the rank below the base last. With a base of 7, the sixes are the last cards of their suits to bank; never bury a six.
• Keep suits apart. Two suits mixed in one pile cannot travel together; sort by suit as you go.

Where It Sits in the Castle Family

Lasker is Chessboard with run moves, the first castle-family member to carry them: the same axis that American Canister and Canister use on the Canister board, and the one the Cruel line will need. Morphy is Chessboard with an alternating-colour build instead.

Other Games to Try

• Chessboard — the same game one card at a time
• Fortress — the deal, with ace foundations and no wrap
• American Canister — runs on an alternating-colour castle board
• Selective Castle — a chosen base on Beleaguered Castle's board

About This Version

Lasker runs in your browser — free, no download, no sign-up. Install it as an app on your phone or computer and it works offline. You get unlimited undo, a hint button that names a legal move, statistics that track your wins and times, and seeded deals: every game has a seed you can replay, so a board you enjoyed (or lost) can be played again exactly.