How is Needle different from FreeCell?

One reserve instead of four cells, and it holds up to eighteen cards with only the top one in play. Cards move one at a time rather than in runs, and the nine columns start in an uneven shape with the middle one empty.

How does the reserve work?

It is a stack. Any single card may be placed on it while it holds fewer than eighteen, and only the card on top may be taken out. Eight cards are dealt there before you start.

Can I move several cards at once?

No. Every move is a single card. To relocate a packed run you move it card by card through spaces and the reserve.

Why is the middle column empty at the start?

That is the deal. Nine columns are dealt eight, eight, four, two, none, two, four, eight and eight, so the fifth column opens as a space for any card.

The same game with the reserve capped at eight cards instead of eighteen. It is a stricter count of Needle rather than a different game, so it is not offered separately.

Needle Solitaire - Play Online & 100% Free

Play Needle Solitaire Online — One Reserve, Eighteen Deep

Needle is FreeCell with the four cells melted into one deep pocket. Eight cards start in a reserve that can hold up to eighteen; only its top card is in play, and any card may be added while there is room. Nine columns are dealt face up in the shape 8, 8, 4, 2, 0, 2, 4, 8, 8 — the middle column is empty from the start — and build down in alternating colours, one card at a time. Any card may fill a space. Four foundations build up from the ace; bank all 52 to win.

Setup

Shuffle one deck. Deal eight cards face up into the reserve, then nine columns: eight, eight, four, two, none, two, four, eight and eight cards, all face up. Nothing is hidden and there is no stock. The four foundations start empty.

Rules

Foundations build up in suit from ace to king.
Tableau builds down in alternating colours.
One card at a time. A packed run never travels as a unit.
The reserve holds up to eighteen cards. Only its top card may be played, and any single card may be placed on it while it has room.
Spaces take any card.
Win when all four foundations are complete.

Strategy

Every card is in view, so Needle is a planning game — but the one thing you cannot plan around is the order you buried cards in the reserve. It is a stack, not a shelf: the last card in is the first card out, and the eight cards dealt there are under everything you add.

Dig the reserve early. Eight cards are already in it and you have not chosen them. Play its top card whenever you can, before the tableau tempts you to park more on top.
Park in reverse. Because the reserve is last-in-first-out, put the card you will need soonest on last. Two cards that must come out in order should go in the other order.
Single-card moves make spaces precious. A run of four needs four moves and three parking places to relocate. The empty middle column is your best one; do not fill it with a card that has nowhere to go.
Bank as you go. Nothing is hidden, so there is no reason to hold a low card as a host. Send aces and twos up at once.
Count the deep columns. The four eight-deep columns hold most of the deck. Read each one from the bottom: a column with a king at its base is a column you can never fully empty until the king goes home.
Keep the reserve's top card useful. The card on top of the reserve is the only one you can use. If it has no host, you have lost the whole reserve until you free one.

Where It Sits in the FreeCell Family

Needle is the family's first capacity cell: a reserve that holds several cards yet is not a column, because nothing is built on it and only its top card plays. Haystack is the same game with the reserve capped at eight; Pitchfork closes the reserve entirely, so its eight cards come out and nothing goes back in. Limpopo takes the idea to two decks with two reserves of four.

Other Games to Try

Pitchfork — the reserve closed to new cards
Limpopo — two decks, two reserves of four
FreeCell — four single-card cells and runs that travel
Stronghold — one cell, single-card play

About This Version

Needle 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.