How to play FreeCell: FreeCell Solitaire rules

How to play FreeCell: the cards and the deal

FreeCell is played with one 52-card deck, no jokers: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs; each suit has an Ace (A), the numbers 2 to 10, Jack (J), Queen (Q) and King (K). Spades and clubs are black, hearts and diamonds red.

• All the cards are dealt into 8 columns: the first 4 columns get 7 cards each, the other 4 get 6 each.
• Every card is face up. There is no stock; you see every card in the game from the start.
• At the top left are 4 free cells, and along the top row 4 foundations; all are empty at the start.

Free cells

Each free cell holds one card. You can put any card from the end of a column into an empty cell, and move the card in a cell to a suitable column or a foundation whenever you like.

Cells let you set aside the cards that are in the way of the card you want. But once all four are full, you have very little room left, so not wasting cells is the real skill of FreeCell.

Building in the columns and empty columns

In the columns cards are built downward in alternating red and black: a red 7 on a black 8, a black 6 on a red 7. Only the colour matters, not the suit.

When every card of a column has been moved, the column is empty. Unlike Klondike, in FreeCell any card or ordered run can go into an empty column. An empty column is worth much more than a cell: it can hold a whole run, not just one card.

Moving several cards at once

Strictly speaking, cards move one at a time. But by using empty cells and empty columns as stopovers, an ordered run can be moved card by card to another column. Our game works this out for you and moves the run in one go. The most cards you can move at once:

(empty cells + 1) × 2^(empty columns)

If you are moving the run into an empty column, that column is the target and does not count. For example, with 2 empty cells and 1 empty column you can move 6 cards to another column, but at most 3 into the empty column itself.

Foundations and winning

Each of the four foundations holds one suit and starts with the Ace: first the Ace, then the 2 of the same suit, the 3 and so on up to the King. Cards from the end of a column and cards in the cells can go to a foundation, one at a time.

If needed, you can bring the top card of a foundation back down to a column. When all 52 cards are on the foundations, you win.

Can every FreeCell deal be solved?

It is widely known that almost every FreeCell deal can be solved; unsolvable deals are very rare. With every card face up there is no room for luck: if you lost, there was most likely a better way somewhere.

In our game, with Solvable deals only turned on, a solution to every deal has been found by computer and checked by playing it through from start to finish under the rules. With the setting off, you get completely random deals.

FreeCell strategy

1. Plan first. Every card is visible; before your first move, look at where the Aces and 2s are and which are easiest to reach.
2. Do not waste cells. Before you put a card in a cell, think about how you will get it out again. If all four cells fill up, the game can lock.
3. Try to win an empty column. Clear short columns; an empty column does twice the work of a cell and lengthens the runs you can move.
4. Do not fill an empty column with a single card. If you can, put a long run there, or one that starts with a King.
5. Free the Aces. An Ace buried at the bottom of a column holds up that whole foundation.
6. Use Undo. Undo is unlimited in our game; if a plan does not work out, you can go back.

FreeCell on CetinsGame

The rules are exactly as described above, plus a few things that make the game comfortable:

• Tap or drag: Tap a card and it goes to the best place it can; tap the same card again to try the next possible place. You can also drag and drop a card or a run. When you move several cards, the game works out the capacity.
• Auto-move to foundations: When on (the default), Aces, 2s and other cards that cannot hurt your game go to the foundations by themselves. You can turn it off in Settings.
• Finish: Once every column is in order, it sends the remaining cards to the foundations with one tap.
• Unlimited Undo and Hint: Hint highlights a good next move.
• Rescue: When you are stuck, it looks for a way out of the current position. If it finds one and you choose to watch a short ad, the next 5 moves are played for you. If there is no way out, no ad is shown.
• Deal number: from 1 to 999999; the same number gives everyone the same deal.
• Daily Deal: One of the three deals everyone gets each day is FreeCell. When you finish, you see how long other players took that day.

Common mistakes

• Filling the cells in the first few moves: once all four are full, you cannot set any card aside.
• Trying to put cards of the same colour on each other: in the columns red and black must alternate.
• Trying to move a run longer than the capacity: if there are not enough empty cells and columns, make room first.
• Filling an empty column with a single card: an empty column is worth much more than a cell.
• Counting the empty column you are moving into: the target column does not count towards the capacity.
• Playing without a plan: with every card visible, you can think several moves ahead.