All 52 cards are dealt face up and you get four free cells to work with. Nearly every deal can be won.
Want to win more often? Read the FreeCell strategy guide →
How to play FreeCell
The goal is to move every card to the four foundations at the top right, building each suit up from Ace to King. Nothing is hidden, so you can plan every move ahead.
The layout
- All 52 cards are dealt face up into eight columns. Four columns get seven cards and four get six.
- The four free cells at the top left each hold one card while you work.
Rules
- In the columns, build downward in alternating colours, for example a black 6 on a red 7.
- Any card can go into an empty free cell or an empty column.
- Officially you move one card at a time. To save clicks, this site lets you move an ordered group whenever your free cells and empty columns would let you move it card by card. The limit is (free cells + 1) × 2 for every empty column.
- Cards that are safe to play are sent to the foundations for you.
Tips
- Free cells fill up fast. Try to keep at least one empty.
- Free up Aces and twos early, especially ones buried near the top of a column.
- An empty column is worth more than a free cell, because it doubles how many cards you can move at once.
A little history
FreeCell grew out of older patience games such as Baker's Game, which Martin Gardner wrote about in Scientific American in the 1960s. Baker's Game builds columns by suit. FreeCell changed that to alternating colours, which made far more deals winnable.
The first computer version was written by Paul Alfille in 1978, for the PLATO educational computer system at the University of Illinois. Jim Horne later wrote the version Microsoft shipped, which came with Windows 95 and became one of the most played games on the PC.
Windows FreeCell numbered its deals from 1 to 32,000, and players set out to solve every one. A large internet project in the 1990s did just that, and found only one deal, number 11982, that can't be won.
FreeCell FAQ
Can every FreeCell deal be won?
Almost. FreeCell is famous because nearly every deal can be solved with the right moves. A very small number can't. Microsoft's original 32,000 numbered deals had just one that is impossible, deal 11982.
Are the deal numbers the same as Windows FreeCell?
No. This site shuffles its own way, so deal 11982 here is not the famous unsolvable Windows deal. Our numbers are for replaying and sharing deals on this site.
How many cards can I move at once?
As many as your free cells and empty columns would let you move one at a time: (free cells + 1), doubled for each empty column. With two free cells and one empty column that's six cards.
What goes in a free cell?
Any single card. Each of the four free cells holds one card while you work. They fill up fast, so use them sparingly.
Why do cards move to the foundations by themselves?
When a card can never be needed in the columns again, it's sent to its foundation for you, to save clicks. Cards that might still be useful stay where they are.
Is FreeCell luck or skill?
Mostly skill. Every card is face up from the start, so there are no surprises. If you lose, there was almost always a way to win.
Ready for more? The FreeCell strategy guide → covers what to do in every phase of a game.