FreeCell Solitaire
How to play FreeCell
FreeCell is a one-deck solitaire game dealt face up into eight columns, with four free cells for parking single cards and foundations built up by suit from Ace to King.
Build eight open columns down in alternating colours, with four free cells to park cards.
About FreeCell
Columns build down in alternating colours, so a red Six can go on either black Seven. With two places to land for most cards, there is often more than one way to free the card you need.
Runs only need to alternate colours, so long ones build up quickly. Build them on a column you will not need to dig into, and keep a free cell or an empty column in reserve for when a long run has to move.
The goal of FreeCell
Move every card onto the four foundations, building each one up by suit from Ace to King.
How to set up FreeCell
The whole deck is dealt face up into eight columns, the first four with seven cards and the last four with six. Four free cells and four foundations start empty above them. There is no stock, so every card is in view from the first move.
FreeCell rules
A free cell holds one card. The top card of a column, or a card in a free cell, can move onto its foundation, into an empty free cell, or onto a column where it builds. Columns build down one rank at a time: in FreeCell the colours must alternate, and in Baker's Game the suit must match. Any card can move into an empty column.
A run of cards already built in order can move together as one move. It can be at most one card longer than the number of empty free cells, doubled for each empty column, and when it moves into an empty column that column does not count, so the limit halves. A card on a foundation never comes back into play.
Click a card to play it: to its foundation if it fits, otherwise onto another column, otherwise into a free cell, and only then into an empty column. A run you click only ever moves onto a column. Drag a card or a run to choose where it goes yourself. With Autoplay off in Settings, only a drag moves a card.
How to win at FreeCell
You win when all 52 cards are on the foundations. Once every column is in descending order, the deal is as good as won, and with Auto complete switched on in Settings the game moves the remaining cards up for you. The game is stuck when every free cell is full, no column is empty and no card can go to a foundation or onto a column.
FreeCell strategy tips
Keep the free cells empty for as long as you can. Each empty one lets you move a longer run, and with all of them full there is nowhere to park the next card you uncover.
An empty column is worth more than a free cell: it doubles the longest run you can move and takes a whole run, not just one card.
Before your first move, find the four Aces and plan how to dig them out; the columns that bury them deepest need work first.
Prefer moves that free a cell or empty a column over moves that only build, and think twice before filling the last free cell.
FreeCell questions and answers
How many cards can I move at once in FreeCell?
In FreeCell a run moves in one go if it is at most one card longer than the number of empty free cells, doubled for each empty column. With two empty free cells and one empty column, that is six cards. When the run goes into an empty column, that column cannot help, so the limit halves to three. A drag of more cards than the limit is refused rather than cut short.
Can every FreeCell game be won?
Not always: a shuffled deal can turn out to have no winning line, though few do. Of 100 shuffled FreeCell deals in a test, the solver proved 94 winnable within the quick search it runs while dealing, 99 within the Hint button's longer search, and all 100 when allowed twice that. Switch on Winnable in the menu beside New deal and each new board is shuffled until the game's solver proves a win exists, unless it runs out of tries. The daily boards for FreeCell and Baker's Game, the same for everyone each day, are dealt that way too, and the Hint button asks the same solver for a winning line before it suggests a move.
What is the difference between FreeCell and Baker's Game?
Only how the columns build. In FreeCell a card goes on the next higher card of the other colour, so a red Six goes on a black Seven. In Baker's Game it must go on the next higher card of its own suit, so the Six of hearts goes only on the Seven of hearts. The deal, the four free cells, the foundations and the limit on moving runs are the same in both.
What are free cells for in FreeCell?
A free cell is a parking space for a single card. The top card of any column can go into an empty one, and a card in a free cell can move onto a column or its foundation whenever it fits. Every empty free cell also lets you move a longer run in one go, so it pays to keep them empty.
Can you move cards back off the foundations in FreeCell?
No. In FreeCell and Baker's Game a card on a foundation can never be played back to a column or a free cell. Before moving one up, check that no card still in play needs it as a place to land.
Is there a daily FreeCell game?
Yes. FreeCell and Baker's Game each have a daily board, the same deal for everyone that day, and each one is dealt the way a Winnable board is. You need to be logged in to play it.