FreeCell – Rules

Play FreeCell against the computer

1. Quick overview

What is it about? In FreeCell all cards are face up from the start. Four free cells serve as temporary storage. If you think ahead you can solve almost every deal – which is why FreeCell is the brain-teaser patience par excellence.

2. Cards and material

• Deck: 52 French cards, no jokers.
• Ranking (low → high): A, 2 … 10, J, Q, K.
• Colours: hearts and diamonds are red, spades and clubs black.

3. Setup and start

1. Shuffle and deal all cards face up into eight columns: four columns of 7, four of 6 cards.
2. Cells and foundations stay empty.

Starting example: At the bottom of column 3 lies the Ace of hearts – it goes straight onto a foundation.

4. Goal and winning

• Won: All 52 cards are on the foundations.
• Lost: No move possible (very rare).

5. Play in detail

In the tableau.

1. The bottom (front) card of a column may be placed on a card one rank higher and of the other colour.
2. An empty column takes any card.

Free cells.

• Each cell takes exactly one card; it may move on from there at any time.

Foundations.

• Start with the Ace, then build up in the same suit.

Moving sequences.

• Strictly speaking you always move one card at a time. With free cells and empty columns, however, sequences can be “restacked”. A sequence of at most (free cells + 1) × 2^(empty columns) cards is allowed.
• Example: 2 free cells, 1 empty column → (2 + 1) × 2 = 6 cards.

Example.

1. Ace of hearts onto a foundation.
2. King of spades into a free cell to free the 2 of diamonds beneath it.
3. 2 of diamonds onto its foundation? Only once the Ace of diamonds is there – so first put the 2 of diamonds on a black 3.

6. Scoring

• Only won counts – and, if you like, the number of moves or the time.

7. Special rules and important situations

• Cells full: Then sequences can hardly be moved – empty the cells again quickly.
• Empty column as target: When a sequence is moved into an empty column, that column does not count in the calculation.
• Unsolvable: Only very few deals cannot be solved.

8. Variants

On cardgames.zone you choose easy, medium or hard; the deals are ones the solver could solve. Moves can be taken back, and the 💡 hint shows the next move.

9. Tips for beginners

1. Free the Aces: Plan how to reach the Aces and twos.
2. Save cells: Every occupied cell makes you less flexible.
3. Create empty columns: They are worth more than a cell.
4. Think ahead: Play moves through in your head before you start.

10. Summary in 10 steps

1. Shuffle 52 cards.
2. All face up in eight columns (4 × 7, 4 × 6).
3. Four free cells, four foundations.
4. Build down, alternating red/black.
5. Cells take one card each.
6. Empty columns take any card.
7. Foundations: Ace to King per suit.
8. Sequences only as long as there is room to restack.
9. Keep cells free if possible.
10. All cards placed: won.

11. Frequently asked questions

Is every game solvable?

Almost. Among many thousands of deals there are only a handful of unsolvable ones.

May I take cards back from a foundation?

Not in the basic form.

Why can I not move a long sequence?

There are not enough free cells or empty columns to restack it.

Origin & history

FreeCell goes back to the older “Baker’s Game”. In 1978 Paul Alfille programmed today’s version with alternating colours on the PLATO system. Windows (from 1995) made it world-famous – almost every deal can be solved.