FreeCell

Smart multi-card moves, undo, helpful hints and a Large mode for easier reading are all built in.

How to play FreeCell

1. All 52 cards are dealt face up into eight columns. The first four columns hold seven cards each and the last four hold six.
2. The four free cells at the top left are temporary parking spaces. Each one can hold a single card.
3. The four foundations at the top right are built upward from ace to king, one suit each.
4. On the columns you build downward in alternating colours. A black 5 goes on a red 6.
5. Move one card at a time between columns, or use the free cells to move a whole sequence. The game does the juggling for you when enough cells and empty columns are available.
6. Any card can be placed in an empty column.
7. You win when all 52 cards are on the foundations.

How many cards can I move at once?

In a strict game you move a sequence one card at a time, parking cards in free cells along the way. To save effort, this version lets you pick up a whole sequence and checks whether it is possible. The limit is the number of empty free cells plus one, doubled for every empty column. With two free cells empty and one empty column, you can move six cards. If you try to move too many, the move is simply not made.

Controls: mouse, touch and keyboard

Click or tap a card to select it, then click or tap its destination. Click a free cell to park a selected card, and click a foundation to send it home. Double-click or double-tap a card to play it to a foundation or the best column automatically. Keyboard players can press Tab to reach the board, use the arrow keys to move around, Enter to pick up and put down, U to undo and H for a hint.

Auto-move to foundation plays only cards that can never be needed on the columns, and an Auto-complete button appears when the rest of the game is a certain win.

FreeCell strategy tips

• Before moving, study the layout. Find where the four aces are and plan how to reach the one buried deepest.
• Empty a column as soon as it is cheap to do so. Empty columns are worth far more than free cells.
• Do not fill all four free cells early. Once they are full, you can only move cards onto the columns.
• Prefer moves that expose an ace, a deuce, or a card you need next.
• Avoid burying low cards of a suit under higher cards of the same colour. They are slow to dig out.
• Build long sequences that end in a card you will want to move later, so you can shift them as a group.
• Think two or three moves ahead. If a plan ends with your free cells full and no empty column, look for another way.
• Use undo to test a plan. Making a move, seeing the position, and taking it back costs nothing.

Are all FreeCell deals winnable?

Almost all. In one widely circulated set of 32,000 numbered deals, exactly one cannot be won. Random deals behave the same way: unwinnable ones exist but are extremely rare. That is why this game has no winnable deal checkbox. It would almost never change anything.

Variations and a short history

FreeCell grew out of older games such as Baker's Game and Eight Off, which also use free cells. Paul Alfille wrote a computer version in the late 1970s, and the game reached millions of players once personal computers began to include it in the 1990s. Variants include Baker's Game, where columns are built by suit, and Seahaven Towers, which has ten columns and four cells and also builds by suit. If you like the clarity of FreeCell, try the hidden-card tension of Klondike or the long campaigns of Spider.

Common questions