How to play FreeCell
FreeCell is a card game for one player, played with every card face up. You deal the whole deck into eight columns and try to move all 52 cards onto four piles, one for each suit, in order from the ace up to the king. Four empty spaces, the free cells, give you room to park cards on the way. Because nothing is hidden, FreeCell is a game of planning rather than luck: almost every deal can be won.
Practice this game. Rules make more sense once you have held the cards. Play FreeCell in your browser, with a coach beside the cards, a Hint button that explains one good move, and Undo as often as you like.
Practice FreeCellFreeCell at a glance
- Players: One.
- Cards: A full 52-card deck. The ace is the lowest card and the king is the highest.
- Dealing: Eight columns, every card face up: 7 cards in each of the first four columns and 6 in each of the last four.
- Also on the table: four free cells, each of which holds one card, and four home piles.
- Goal: Move all 52 cards onto the four home piles, one for each suit, in order from the ace up to the king.
- How play goes: Move one card at a time: onto a card of the other color one rank higher, into a free cell, into an empty column, or home.
- Winning: You win when all 52 cards are on the home piles. Almost every deal can be won.
What you need
A full 52-card deck without jokers, and a table with room for eight columns of cards side by side and a row of eight spaces above them. Cards go in this order, from lowest to highest: ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king. A card's place in this order is its rank, so a 7 is one rank higher than a 6. The ace is always the lowest card. The suits are red (hearts and diamonds) and black (spades and clubs).
Dealing the cards
- Shuffle the deck. Deal the cards face up in a row of eight, from left to right, then deal another row on top, overlapping the first so you can see each card's corner, and keep going until the deck is used up.
- That makes eight columns. The first four have 7 cards each and the last four have 6 cards each: 28 plus 24 is 52. Every card is face up.
- Above the columns, leave room for eight spaces: four free cells on the left and four home piles on the right. All eight start empty.
Moving cards
There are no turns, because you are the only player. You move one card at a time, in any order you like. The cards you can pick up are the last card of each column (the one not covered by another card) and any card in a free cell. A card can go to one of four places:
- Onto another column, if the last card there is one rank higher and the other color. A red 6 goes onto a black 7, and a black 7 onto a red 8. A card cannot go onto a card of its own color, and it cannot skip a rank.
- Into an empty free cell. A free cell holds exactly one card, of any rank and suit. The card can leave again at any time, onto a column or home.
- Into an empty column. When every card has left a column, any card can go there, not only a king.
- Home, if it is the next card of its suit's home pile.
A column built this way runs downward and alternates red and black, for example 9♣ 8♦ 7♠ 6♥.
Moving several cards at once
The rules move one card at a time. But a run of cards that are already in order (each one rank lower than the card above it, and the other color) can be moved one card at a time through the empty free cells and empty columns, and put back together in its new place. So most computer versions, and the practice game, let you move such a run in one go, as long as you could have done it one card at a time. The most cards you can move together is:
(empty free cells + 1) × 2 for each empty column
- With 3 empty free cells and no empty column: 3 + 1 = 4 cards.
- With 2 empty free cells and 1 empty column: (2 + 1) × 2 = 6 cards.
- With no empty free cell and no empty column: 1 card, the last card alone.
When the run goes into an empty column, that column cannot help, so count one empty column fewer: with 2 empty free cells and 1 empty column, a run of at most 3 cards can go into that column. If you play with real cards, you can always move the cards one at a time instead; the result is the same.
The home piles
The four piles at the top right are the home piles, one for each suit. Each pile starts with the ace of its suit. Then you add the 2 of the same suit, then the 3, and so on up to the king, one card at a time and always in order. You can send home the last card of a column or a card from a free cell.
You never have to send a card home; you may leave it where it is. Once a card is home, it stays home. Some computer versions let you take it back down (see Common variations), but the practice game does not.
Winning, and when you are stuck
You win when all 52 cards are on the home piles. You are stuck when no card can move anywhere useful, which usually happens when all four free cells are full and no column is empty. Press on with care: most lost games are lost by filling the free cells too early.
Almost every deal can be won. The FreeCell game that came with Microsoft Windows numbered its deals from 1 to 32,000. Players and computer programs have won every one of them except deal number 11982, which is believed to be impossible. Over much larger sets of deals, computer studies put the share that cannot be won at about 1 deal in 84,000. So when you are stuck, it is almost always because of an earlier move, and Undo can get you out. The practice game tells you when it has checked every way to go on and none wins; when a position is too big to check in a few seconds, it says nothing.
Worked example. The A♥ is in column 3, covered by the 7♣ and the Q♦. Column 6 ends with the K♠. A red queen goes onto a black king, so you move the Q♦ onto the K♠. The 7♣ fits nowhere, so you park it in a free cell. The A♥ is now the last card of column 3, and you send it home. Later, when a red 8 is the last card of a column, the 7♣ leaves its free cell and goes onto it, and the cell is empty again.
Play a practice game of FreeCell
Rules make more sense once you have held the cards. The practice game deals a deal for you, lists where the cards you pick up can go, shows how many cards can move together right now, and explains one good move whenever you press Hint. It has no timer, and Undo has no limit, so you can try things without fear.
Free, in your browser, with the rules and the common beginner mistakes beside the cards while you play.
Play a practice gameQuick quiz: test yourself on the rules of FreeCell
Six questions on the rules above. Pick an answer to see whether it is right, and why.
-
A column ends with the 8 of hearts. Which card can go onto it?
- The 7 of diamonds
- The 7 of clubs
- The 9 of spades
Show the answer
The 7 of clubs. In the columns each card goes onto a card of the other color that is exactly one rank higher. A black 7 goes onto a red 8. The 7 of diamonds is the same color as the 8 of hearts, and the 9 is higher, not lower.
-
How many cards can one free cell hold?
- One card, of any rank and suit
- A run of cards in order
- One card, but only a king
Show the answer
One card, of any rank and suit. The card can leave the free cell at any time, onto a column or home.
-
A column is empty. What may go into it?
- Only a king
- Only an ace
- Any card, or a run of cards in order
Show the answer
Any card, or a run of cards in order. This is a difference from Solitaire (Klondike), where only a king can go into an empty column.
-
You have 2 empty free cells and 1 empty column. How many cards in order can you move together onto a card in another column?
- 3
- 6
- 4
Show the answer
6. The most is (empty free cells + 1) × 2 for each empty column: (2 + 1) × 2 = 6. It is the number of cards you could move one at a time through the free cells and the empty column.
-
A home pile holds the ace and the 2 of spades. Which card can go on it next?
- The 3 of clubs, because it is black too
- Any 3
- The 3 of spades
Show the answer
The 3 of spades. Each home pile is one suit, built up one card at a time in order, from the ace to the king.
-
How many FreeCell deals can be won?
- About half
- Almost all of them
- Every single one
Show the answer
Almost all of them. Of the 32,000 numbered deals in the Windows game, only deal 11982 is believed to be impossible. A few other deals that cannot be won are known, but they are very rare.
Four things beginners miss
Keep the free cells empty
Four free cells feel like plenty, but every full cell is one less place to park a card, and it cuts how many cards you can move together. With all four full and no empty column, you can move only one card at a time. Park a card only to reach a card you need, and bring it back out as soon as it fits onto a column.
Dig out the aces and other low cards first
Look for the card each home pile needs next, and start with the one that has the fewest cards on top of it. Move those cards onto columns where they fit before you use a free cell.
Treat an empty column as treasure
An empty column takes any card, and while it is empty it doubles how many cards you can move together. Do not fill one with a single low card if you can help it. A king, or a long run headed by a king, is the best thing to put there, because a king can never go onto another card.
Send a card home when nothing needs it
An ace or a 2 can always go home. A higher card is safe to send home once both cards of the other color that are one rank lower are already home: for example, the black 5 is safe once both red 4s are home, because no card can still need to go on it. Sending a card home earlier is often fine in FreeCell, but check first.
Questions people ask
Can I move more than one card at a time?
In the rules, no: one card at a time. In practice, a run of cards in order can be moved one card at a time through the empty free cells and columns, so most computer versions move it for you in one go when there is room. The most is (empty free cells + 1) × 2 for each empty column.
Is every deal winnable?
Almost. Of the 32,000 numbered deals in the Windows game, only deal 11982 is believed to be impossible, and over billions of deals computer studies found about 1 in 84,000 that cannot be won.
Can a card come back out of a free cell?
Yes, at any time: onto a column where it fits, into an empty column, or home.
Do I have to send a card home when I can?
No. You may leave it in the column. The practice game's Auto button sends home only the cards that are safe to send, and a double-click sends any card that can go.
How is FreeCell different from Solitaire?
In Solitaire (Klondike) many cards start face down and you turn cards over from a draw pile. In FreeCell every card is face up from the start, there is no draw pile, any card can go into an empty column, and the four free cells give you room to move.
Common variations
Rule books and computer versions differ on a few points. If you play with other people's rules, check which of these they use. Pagat, the card game rules site, does not keep its own FreeCell page; it points to Michael Keller's FreeCell pages, whose answers to common questions describe moving runs the same way as this page. The FreeCell rules most players know today are those of the game in Microsoft Windows, which this page follows.
- One card at a time only. Played strictly, with real cards, every card moves alone. That gives the same results as moving runs, just with more steps.
- Fewer free cells. Some versions use one, two or three free cells, which makes the game much harder. The first computer version, written in 1978 by Paul Alfille, allowed from 1 to 10 free cells.
- Baker's Game. The older game that FreeCell came from builds the columns by suit (a 6 of hearts onto the 7 of hearts) instead of alternating colors. It is harder, and more of its deals cannot be won.
- Moving runs freely. Some computer versions let you move a run of any length, however few cells are empty. That makes the game easier.
- Taking a card back down from a home pile. Some computer versions let you move the top card of a home pile back onto a column. The practice game does not.
- Cards that go home by themselves. Many computer versions send a card home automatically once nothing can need it. The practice game leaves that to you, with the Auto button.
Other names you may hear
At a real card table, in an older rule book or in a computer game, you will hear other words for some of these things. Our glossary explains them.
- FreeCell: also written Free Cell or Freecell. It is one of the family of one-player card games called solitaire in the United States and patience in Britain.
- columns: card players call them the tableau, and some FreeCell programs call each column a cascade.
- home piles: card players call them the foundations.
- free cells: sometimes called cells, reserve spaces or holding cells.
- moving a run of cards together: FreeCell players call it a supermove.
- an empty column: card players call it a space or an open column.
- a run of cards in order: card players call it a sequence.
Keep going
- Practice FreeCell against the cards
- How to play Solitaire, the other classic game for one player
- All the rules pages