Easthaven: a one-deck game that deals like Spider
Easthaven borrows from both sides of this site. Its layout is small, like one-deck Klondike: seven columns of three cards, one standard deck, four foundations. Its stock behaves like two-deck Spider's: each click drops one card on every column, with no waste pile and no second pass. The result is a 52-card game that still makes you think about timing the way the big 104-card games do.
How much does a single deck leave for the player? A "thoughtful" solver, one that knows the face-down cards and the stock order, won 97.6% of 3,000 deals on this site's rules (95% range 97.0%–98.1%) and proved none impossible (0.0%–0.1%). That is a ceiling, since no one sees hidden cards. There is no two-deck Easthaven on this site and we ran none, so this page compares Easthaven with the site's two-deck games only where we have figures for them.
At a glance: one deck, dealt Spider-style
| Measure (one 52-card deck, thoughtful solver) | Result | 95% range | Deals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solved, runs move as a unit (this site) | 97.6% | 97.0–98.1% | 3,000 |
| Proven impossible (this site) | 0.0% | 0.0–0.1% | 3,000 |
| Undecided (this site) | 2.4% | 1.9–3.0% | 3,000 |
| Single-card moves only (not this site): solved | 14.0% | 10.5–18.4% | 300 |
| Single-card moves only: proven impossible | 42.3% | 36.9–48.0% | 300 |
| No move among the 7 face-up cards at the start | 8.2% | 7.2–9.2% | 3,000 |
The rule that lets ordered runs move together is worth more than anything about the deck: without it, at least 36.9% of deals are provably lost. With it, none of 3,000 were.
Easthaven next to the two-deck games
The two-deck games here are long. The solver's first winning line in FreeCell Two Decks averaged 148.0 moves (145.9–150.1, 352 solved deals), and our program's wins in Solitaire Double took about 268 moves. Easthaven packs its stock-dealing tension into 52 cards and a 31-card stock. We did not record move counts for Easthaven, so we can't give you a length to compare.
Easthaven rules on this site
- Deck: one standard 52-card deck.
- Tableau: seven columns of three, top card face up.
- Stock: 31 cards. Each click deals one face-up card to every column; the last deal gives three cards to the first three columns.
- No waste and no redeal.
- Dealing over a gap: allowed.
- Building: down in alternating colors; ordered runs move as a unit.
- Empty columns: any card or run.
- Foundations: four, one per suit, Ace to King.
Playing a small deck with a big-deck stock
Use the table fully before each deal
Every deal covers all seven columns at once. Make every useful move first. Only in 8.2% of deals does the opening leave you no choice but to deal.
Four Aces, not eight
With one deck there is one foundation per suit and one Ace to find for each. On average 1.06 Aces start face down (1.03–1.09, 3,000 deals), so most of the early work is building, not digging.
Build runs you can move
Long alternating-color runs travel as a block. Break one only to reach a face-down card or the foundation.
An empty column before a deal
Any card can fill a gap, and you may deal over one. A gap kept free lets you absorb the awkward card the next deal brings.
The last deal is small
After the three-card final deal, nothing is hidden in the stock. Use Undo to try different orders from there.
Playing on freecell-two-decks.com
Easthaven is free in any current browser on computer, tablet or phone, with no account. Unlimited Undo lets you deal, look and take it back. Hint, Restart, Auto Play, zoom, fullscreen, drag or tap moves, a wins, time and moves counter, and sound and table-color settings are included.
How the figures were made
The freecell-two-decks.com team ran this test in September 2026 on this site's own Easthaven rules, in Python.
- Rules from the code: seven columns of three, a 31-card stock dealt across every column with no recycle, dealing allowed over a gap, alternating colors, runs moving together, any card in a gap.
- Two versions: the site rule (seeds 1 to 3,000) and a single-card version (seeds 1 to 300).
- A thoughtful solver that knows face-down cards and the stock order, with up to 100,000 positions per deal. Its result is an upper limit for a person.
- Published figure: Blake and Gent (2026) give 82.844% for East Haven under a stricter single-card rule. Our single-card run did not match it, so our reading of their rules differs in a way we have not found. We rely only on the site-rule figure.
- Limits: no two-deck version, no no-peeking player, and 2.4% of deals undecided.
- 95% ranges: Wilson score intervals for percentages, normal intervals for averages.
Claude, an AI assistant by Anthropic, helped write and review the code and draft this page. Every figure comes from running the code, and the team checked them.
Easthaven questions
Is every deal winnable?
A solver that sees every card won 97.6% and proved none impossible. You can't see hidden cards, so expect some losses.
Is it like Spider?
The stock is. But Spider uses 104 cards and here you have 52. Try Spider to feel the difference.
Can I deal onto an empty column?
Yes, in Easthaven you can.
What next?
For a two-deck game with no hidden cards, play FreeCell Two Decks. Everything else is on the games page.
By Admin, freecell-two-decks.com (Forty Media). Research run September 2026.