FreeCell is the solitaire for people who like to think. All 52 cards are dealt face up, so nothing is hidden and there is no stock to bail you out. Nearly every deal can be won, which means a loss is a puzzle you can go back and solve. Play it here free in your browser, on desktop or phone, with no download and no sign-up.
Deals use the classic Microsoft numbering, so Game #1 here is the same layout as Game #1 in Windows. Undo goes back up to 500 moves. Hints, saved stats and safe automatic moves to the foundations are built in.
How to Play FreeCell
Setup. One 52-card deck, dealt face up into eight columns. The first four columns get seven cards, the last four get six. Above them are four free cells on the left, each holding one card, and four foundations on the right.
Goal. Build each foundation up by suit from Ace to King. All 52 cards up and you have won.
Moves.
- Columns build down in alternating colors. A red 7 goes on a black 8, then a black 6 on the red 7.
- Only the card at the bottom of each column (the one fully showing) can be moved on its own.
- A free cell holds one card. Think of it as a short-term parking space.
- Any card can go into an empty column.
- Foundations start with an Ace and go up one card at a time in the same suit.
Moving several cards at once. Strictly, you move one card at a time. In practice you can carry a whole run if you have room to shuffle it through the free cells and empty columns. The number is (empty free cells + 1), doubled for each empty column. Two empty cells and no empty column: 3 cards. Two empty cells and one empty column: 6. The game works this out for you when you drag a run. The FreeCell strategy guide explains why the formula works, with examples.
Controls. Drag cards with a mouse or finger, or tap a card and it goes to the best legal spot: a foundation first, then another column, then a free cell, then an empty column. Cards that can no longer be useful on the table move up to the foundations on their own.
Deal Numbers
There is one mode here: standard FreeCell with eight columns and four free cells. Every game shows its deal
number in the toolbar. Restart replays the same deal from the start, and ?deal=NUMBER in the page
address opens any deal you like. Game #1 is a good warm-up. The sixth column
ends A♠ A♣ 2♣ 3♦: park the 3♦ and the 2♣ in free cells, and the A♣, 2♣ and A♠ go up on their own.
FreeCell Strategy Tips
- Look before you touch anything. Every card is visible, so spend thirty seconds finding the Aces and 2s. The most deeply buried low card usually decides the game.
- Treat free cells as a loan. Each card you park is something you have to pay back. Before you fill a cell, know which move will empty it again.
- An empty column beats a free cell. It holds a whole run, and it doubles how many cards you can move at once. Going from 2 empty cells to 2 cells plus one empty column takes you from 3 cards to 6.
- Don't spend an empty column on a single card. Unless that card unlocks something right away, you have traded your best resource for a parking space.
- Check what you are covering. Putting a red 6 on a black 7 is fine, unless the 2♠ you need next is buried two cards under that 7.
- Send cards up early, but not too early. Aces and 2s, always. A black 5 might be the only home for a red 4 you still need to move. The game's auto-move only plays cards that are safe to send up.
- Count your moves ahead. Trace the next four or five moves before committing. If the plan ends with four full cells and nothing to play, back up.
- Use Undo as a teacher. Try an idea. If it fails, undo and find out where it went wrong.
How Many Deals Can Be Won?
We ran all 32,000 classic Microsoft deals through our own solver. It won 31,999 of them and proved the last one, #11982, impossible. That matches what FreeCell players have known for decades. Random games here skip #11982, so you will only meet it if you ask for it. The full numbers, plus Klondike and Spider, are in our solitaire odds guide.
A Little History
Paul Alfille wrote FreeCell in 1978 on the PLATO computer system at the University of Illinois. Microsoft put it in front of millions of people with Windows 95, and its numbered deals became a shared language: "Have you beaten 11982?" is a trick question every FreeCell fan learns sooner or later. If you would rather have hidden cards and a stock, try Klondike Solitaire.
FreeCell FAQ
Is every FreeCell deal winnable?
Almost. Of the original Microsoft deals 1 to 32,000, only #11982 cannot be won. We checked: our solver won the other 31,999 and proved #11982 impossible. Numbers above 32,000 use the same generator and only a handful of them are known to be unwinnable, so a random game here is all but certain to have a solution.
Is FreeCell free to play here?
Yes. No download, no sign-up, no time limit. Open the page and start a game.
How many cards can I move at once?
Add one to the number of empty free cells, then double that for every empty column. Three empty cells and one empty column lets you move (3 + 1) × 2 = 8 cards. If you are moving into an empty column, that column does not count, so the same position lets you move 4 cards into it. The game does this math for you.
What is the difference between FreeCell and Klondike?
Klondike hides cards face down and feeds you new ones from a stock. FreeCell deals every card face up and has no stock, so the whole game is in front of you from the first move. Luck matters much less.
Do I need to start from the Aces?
Not on move one, but the game turns on them. Find where the Aces and 2s are buried before you start, and plan to dig them out without clogging your free cells.
Is there an undo button, and are there hints?
Yes. Undo goes back up to 500 moves, and Hint (or the H key) shows a move when you cannot see one. When the solver finds a win from your position, the hint is the first move of that line.
Can I play a specific deal, like Game #11982?
Yes. Deals use the classic Microsoft numbering, so Game #1 here is the same layout as Game #1 in Windows. Add ?deal=NUMBER to the page address to open any deal, for example /freecell/?deal=11982.
What is the best strategy for FreeCell?
Study the board before moving, keep free cells empty, and work toward an empty column early. Our FreeCell strategy guide walks through the opening of deal #1 move by move.
Can I play FreeCell on my phone?
Yes, in any modern mobile browser. Tap a card and it jumps to the best legal spot, or drag it with your finger.
Read more
- Odds of winning solitaire We ran thousands of deals through our own solver. Here is how often Klondike, Spider and FreeCell can be won, and what the numbers do and do not mean.
- FreeCell strategy How many cards you can really move at once, with worked examples, plus a move-by-move walk through the opening of deal #1.
- Types of solitaire games Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid, TriPeaks, Golf and four more, compared by difficulty, luck and time per game.
More solitaire games
- Klondike Solitaire The classic. Build four suits from Ace to King. Draw 1 or Draw 3, winnable deals.
- Spider Solitaire Two decks, ten columns. Clear runs from King down to Ace. 1, 2 or 4 suits.
- Pyramid Solitaire Pair cards that add up to 13 and clear the pyramid. Kings go alone. 1, 3 or unlimited passes.
- TriPeaks Solitaire Clear three peaks with cards one higher or lower. Long runs build a streak score.
- Golf Solitaire Seven columns, one waste pile. Play one rank up or down and finish with no cards left.
- Yukon Solitaire No stock to draw from. Move any face-up card with everything on top of it.
- Scorpion Solitaire Build same-suit runs from King to Ace. Move any face-up stack, one small deal.
- Forty Thieves Two decks, ten columns, one card at a time, one pass through the stock.
- Canfield Solitaire Empty the 13-card reserve. Foundations start at a random rank and wrap King to Ace.
- Baker’s Dozen Thirteen open columns, Kings tucked underneath. Build down in any suit, one card at a time.
- Beleaguered Castle The Aces start on the foundations. Eight open rows, single-card moves, no free cells.
- Eight Off FreeCell’s roomier cousin: eight free cells, same-suit building, Kings only in empty columns.
- La Belle Lucie Eighteen fans of cards, same-suit building and two reshuffles. Play it classic or with the merci.
- Accordion Solitaire Squeeze a row of 52 cards into one pile by matching suit or rank, one or three spaces to the left.
- All games