How to Play FreeCell
Solitaire with no luck and no hidden cards. All 52 are face up from the start, so nearly every deal can be won if you plan properly.
The table
- 8 tableau columns with every card face up
- 4 free cells, each holding exactly one card
- 4 foundations, built A♣ up to K♣ in suit
The rules
- Foundations build up in suit from the ace.
- Columns build down in alternating colours: a black 9♣ goes on a red 10♦.
- A free cell holds one card, any card, for as long as you like.
- An empty column takes any card, not just a king.
- Moving several cards at once is really several single moves, so how many you can shift depends on how many free cells and empty columns you have spare.
The move limit
(free cells + 1) × 2 ^ (empty columns)
With 4 free cells and no empty column you can move 5 cards as a unit. Free one column and it becomes 10. This is why emptying a column is worth so much.
Quick tips
- Plan before you touch anything. Every card is visible; the information is already there.
- Keep free cells empty. A full cell is a card you can't use and a move you can't make.
- Dig out the aces early, especially any buried deep in a column.
- Empty a column above all else. It doubles what you can move.
- A card stuck under its own suit: a 2♠ buried below the A♠. Is the problem to solve first.
How many cards you can actually move
FreeCell shows a sequence moving as one, but underneath it's moving cards one at a time through the free cells. That's why the number you can move is limited, and the limit is worth knowing:
(free cells + 1) × 2 ^ (empty columns)
With all four cells free and no empty columns, that's five cards. Free one column and it doubles to ten. Free two and it's twenty.
This is the single most useful piece of arithmetic in the game. It tells you that an empty column is worth far more than a free cell, and that filling your last free cell can cut what you're able to move in half.
The order to think in
- Send aces and twos up immediately. They're never useful below.
- Look at the whole board before moving anything. Unlike Klondike, there's nothing hidden, so a plan is actually possible.
- Work out which card you need to reach, and count what has to come off above it.
- Check you can afford it using the formula above. With the cells you'll still have free once the sequence is parked.
- Prefer moves that empty a column over moves that merely tidy one.
Free cells are a loan, not storage
The tempting mistake is treating the cells as a place to put cards you don't want. Every card sitting in a cell is a card out of play and a reduction in what you can move. Four occupied cells means you can move exactly one card at a time, which is usually the end of the game.
Put a card in a cell when you have a plan for taking it out. If you can't say where it's going, you probably shouldn't be parking it.
Holding cards back, again
As in Klondike, sending everything to the foundations too early strands the tableau. If both black fives are still buried and you send the red fours up, nothing can be built on them.
The safe rule: a card is safe to send up when both cards of the opposite colour one rank lower are already on the foundations, because nothing will ever need it. Below that, think first.
Nearly every deal is winnable
Of the classic 32,000 numbered deals, all are winnable except one. Deal number 11,982, which has been proven impossible. Modern implementations generate far more deals than that, and a very small proportion are unwinnable, but the practical point stands: when you lose at FreeCell, you made a mistake.
That's the game's real appeal. There's no hidden information and no luck of the draw to blame, so improvement is direct: play the same deal again and you will usually find what you missed.
Common variations
| Variation | What changes |
|---|---|
| Fewer free cells | Three, two or one cell. Sharply harder each time |
| More free cells | Five or six; nearly every deal becomes trivial |
| Baker's Game | Sequences build in the same suit, not alternating colours |
| Eight Off | Eight cells, and columns start with fewer cards |
| Any card to an empty column | Standard in FreeCell, unlike Klondike |
The version here is standard FreeCell: eight columns, four cells, four foundations, any card may fill an empty column.
Frequently asked
Can I put any card in an empty column? Yes. Unlike Klondike, an empty column takes any card, which is what makes empty columns so powerful for moving sequences.
Why will it not let me move these five cards? Because you don't have enough free cells and empty columns. The move is performed one card at a time underneath, and the formula above sets the limit.
Can I move cards off the foundations? Not here. Plan before you send a card up.
Is every deal winnable? Almost. Of the original 32,000, exactly one isn't. Treat a loss as your mistake and replay it.
Does it matter which order I fill the cells? No. The cells are interchangeable; only the number free matters.
Last updated 2026-09-02