Play Panopticon Solitaire Online — Four Full Cells Over a Hidden Band

Panopticon is a Yukon game with a shape of its own. Eight columns of six are dealt so that the face-down cards form a band across the middle — one hidden card in the outer columns, then two, three and four in the centre — with every hidden card beneath the open ones. Four cells stand above the columns and all four start full. Columns build down in suit with Yukon's move — any face-up card travels with everything above it — and only a king fills a space. Four foundations build up from the ace; bank all 52 to win.

Setup

Shuffle one deck. Deal eight columns of six cards. The outer columns show five cards over one hidden; the next pair show four over two; the next three over three; the two central columns show two over four. Deal the last four cards face up into the four cells. The foundations start empty.

Rules

• Foundations build up in suit from ace to king.
• Building: a card goes only on the card one rank higher of the same suit.
• The Yukon move: any face-up card may be moved with every card above it, packed or not.
• Turning up: an exposed hidden card is turned.
• The cells each hold one card. They start full; a cell's card may return onto its suit host, into a space as a king, or to a foundation, and only then may a lone card be parked in its place.
• Only a king may enter an empty column.
• Win when all four foundations are complete.

Strategy

Four full cells mean you start with no storage and four cards you must find homes for. The outer columns are nearly open and the centre is nearly closed; the game is played from the edges inward.

• Empty a cell first. Look at the four cell cards and find the one with a host showing. Playing it out gives you the first parking place, and everything else follows from that.
• Work the outer columns. They hide one card each and show five, so their hidden card is a short dig. Two clear outer columns are two spaces for kings.
• Save the centre for last. The two middle columns hide four cards under two; nothing there is reachable until the edges are open.
• Park only to turn or free. With one host per card, a cell is worth spending only on a card whose removal turns a hidden card or exposes a host.
• Carry tails to make tops. A card with cards on it cannot park. Yukon's move lets you lift the tail and drop it onto any suit host or a king in a space.
• Bank early. Aces and twos in the cells or on top should go up at once; a banked card is one fewer host you need.

Where It Sits in the Yukon Family

Panopticon is an original of PySolFC's, built on Ten Across's layout — eight columns with a hidden diamond and four reserves — but with ordinary ace-based foundations where Ten Across collects whole suits like Spider. That makes it a Yukon game, and here it lives beside Yukon Cells and Russian Cell as the family's four-cell member, its cells dealt full where theirs start empty.

Other Games to Try

• Russian Cell — the suit build with two empty cells
• Yukon Cells — two cells in alternating colours
• Russian Solitaire — the suit build without cells
• Bastion — a FreeCell board with two cells dealt full

About This Version

Panopticon 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.