How FreeCell works
FreeCell deals all fifty-two cards face up across eight columns, so nothing is hidden and no luck of the draw is left. Four free cells sit above the tableau, each holding a single card. You build foundations up by suit from ace to king, and stack in the tableau downward in alternating colours, exactly as in Klondike.
The difference from every other solitaire is that FreeCell is a game of complete information. There is no stock, no shuffle you have not seen, and no card you cannot account for. Almost every deal is solvable, which means a loss is a planning error rather than bad luck. That is what makes it the thinker's solitaire.
Rules at a glance
| Rule | This game |
|---|---|
| Columns | 8 |
| Free cells | 4, one card each |
| Cards visible | All 52 from the start |
| Tableau builds | Down, alternating colours |
| Foundations | Up by suit, ace to king |
| Empty column | Any card or valid run |
| Free cells | Empty columns | Max run |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 2 | 2 | 12 |
| 0 | 0 | 1 |
How to win more often
- Free the aces before anything else. An ace buried under six cards is the single biggest constraint on the board. Digging it out early costs a few moves and unlocks the whole foundation for that suit.
- Treat empty columns as the real currency, not free cells. An empty column doubles how many cards you can move at once, while a free cell only adds one. Getting a column clear is worth several moves of setup.
- Do not fill all four free cells. With every cell occupied you can move exactly one card at a time, which is usually a dead position. Keep at least one open unless you can see the sequence that empties them again.
- Plan the whole sequence before your first move. Because nothing is hidden, you can verify a plan works before committing to it. The players who lose are almost always the ones improvising move to move.
- Send cards to the foundation late, not early. A low card on the foundation cannot come back to receive a card in the tableau. Twos and threes in particular are often more useful on the board.
Frequently asked questions
Is every FreeCell game winnable?
Nearly. Of the 32,000 numbered Microsoft deals, all but one are solvable, and randomly generated deals are winnable well over 99% of the time. If you lose, it is almost certainly a planning error rather than an impossible deal.
How many cards can I move at once?
(Free cells + 1) multiplied by 2 for each empty column. With four free cells and no empty columns that is five cards. With four cells and one empty column it is ten.
Is FreeCell harder than Klondike?
Harder to play well, easier to win. Klondike hides cards and loses roughly a fifth of deals to pure luck. FreeCell hides nothing, so the difficulty is entirely in your planning rather than in the shuffle.
What is a good FreeCell time?
Six to ten minutes is typical. Strong players finish in three to five. Move count matters more than time to most players, since the game rewards efficiency rather than speed.
Why can I not move a long run?
Moving several cards is really a sequence of single-card moves using your free cells and empty columns as temporary storage. If you do not have enough of either, the run is too long to shift.