FreeCell is the solitaire where you can see everything. All fifty two cards are dealt face up into eight columns, four free cells sit above them as temporary storage, and there is nothing hidden anywhere.
That single property changes what the game is. Klondike is a game of chance with skill attached. FreeCell is a puzzle, and the overwhelming majority of deals can be solved by correct play, which means a loss is information rather than luck.
The traditional hidden card version is Classic Solitaire if you want the other kind.
How to play FreeCell Solitaire
- Build the four foundations up by suit from ace to king.
- Build the columns downward in alternating colours.
- Any single card may be moved to an empty free cell.
- An empty column will take any card, not just a king.
- Win by moving all fifty two cards to the foundations.
How many cards can move at once
This is the rule that decides every game, and most players never learn it explicitly. Moving a run of cards is really a sequence of single moves using the free cells as scratch space, so the number you can shift is limited by how much space you have.
With one free cell empty you can move two cards. With two, three cards. With three, four. An empty column roughly doubles it. Which is why filling your last free cell is so often the move that ends the game.
Tips and strategy
Free cells are not storage
Treat every card parked in a free cell as a debt. It is doing nothing, it is occupying capacity you need for real moves, and a card put there without a plan for taking it out again is how a winnable deal is lost.
Priorities
- Empty a column if you can. It is worth more than any free cell.
- Get aces and twos out early, since they can never help on the tableau.
- Dig out the low cards buried deep in long columns. Those are what jam the endgame.
- Do not send mid value cards to the foundations while they might still hold something.
Reading the deal
Before your first move, look for where the trouble is. Usually it is one column with a high card sitting on the ace or two you need, and everything you do in the first ten moves should be aimed at getting to it.
Undo and restart
Because the deal is solvable, an undo button is a legitimate tool rather than cheating. Working backwards from a jam teaches you which move was actually wrong, and that lesson transfers to every future deal in a way that a fresh shuffle does not.
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Frequently asked questions
Can every FreeCell deal be won?
Almost all of them. The proportion that cannot is tiny, which is why a lost game in FreeCell usually points to a wrong move rather than a bad shuffle.
How many cards can I move at once?
It depends on your free space. One empty cell lets you move two cards, two cells three cards, three cells four, and an empty column roughly doubles the total.
What can go into an empty column in FreeCell?
Any card, unlike Klondike where only a king may go there. That flexibility is what makes an empty column the most valuable thing on the board.
Should I fill the free cells?
Only with a plan for emptying them. Each occupied cell reduces how many cards you can move, and a full set of cells is the usual cause of a stuck position.
Is FreeCell Solitaire free to play?
Yes, free in the browser with nothing to install.