Repair is FreeCell played with two packs, and it opens in the tightest position the family offers. Ten columns are dealt ten cards each, all face up, and the last four cards of the deal go straight into the four cells — so the game begins with no free cell at all. Cards build down in alternating colour, a packed run travels as a unit, any card may fill an empty column, and there are eight foundations rather than four, two for each suit. That last point matters more than it sounds: a second ace of spades opens a second spade foundation rather than waiting behind the first king, so the two packs unwind in parallel. Nothing is hidden, so every deal is a pure planning problem. Free in your browser, no sign-up, and it works offline once the page has loaded.
Goal: build all 104 cards onto the eight foundations, each up in suit from an ace.
Repair takes FreeCell — the most respected open patience there is — and doubles the pack without doubling the cells. The single-deck game gives you eight columns and four cells for fifty-two cards; Repair gives you ten columns and the same four cells for a hundred and four, and then fills those cells before you have played a card. The result is a game that feels cramped in a way FreeCell never does, and one where the first three or four moves matter more than any others. What keeps it fair is the foundations: eight rather than four, two per suit, so both packs can unwind at once. The open-source PySolFC collection, whose rules this version follows, tags it as an open game and rates it mostly skill — the same rating it gives FreeCell itself. The name is apt: the deal looks broken, and the game is putting it back together.
This Repair runs in your browser — free, no download, no sign-up. Install it as an app on your phone or computer; once installed it works offline. Unlimited undo, statistics, and a daily challenge that gives every player the same deal that day.
Two decks rather than one. Ten columns of ten cards, still only four cells, and eight foundations — two for each suit, one per deck.
One per suit per deck. It means a second ace of spades can open its own foundation rather than waiting behind the first king, so both packs unwind in parallel.
The deal puts its last four cards there. It is the game's opening problem: with no free cell you can move only one card at a time until you empty one.
One plus the number of free cells, doubled for each empty column. Starting with no free cells and no empty columns, that is exactly one.
Yes, as in FreeCell. That is why an empty column is worth more than a free cell — it doubles the move limit rather than adding one to it.
Not all, but it is a game of skill rather than luck: nothing is hidden and there is no stock, so a deal is solvable or not from the first move. Undo is free — use it.