How to Play FreeCell Solitaire
Every card is face up: plan your moves and solve the deal.
Also known as FreeCell · Free Cell
Learn FreeCell: 52 cards face up in 8 columns, 4 free cells, building down in alternating colors and how many cards a run can move. Work through one position, then play in your browser.
A run of four with two free cells empty
Column 3 ends in the run 9♠ 8♥ 7♣ 6♦ and another column ends in the 10♦. 2 free cells are empty and no column is, so at most 3 cards can move at once: the 4-card run stays. Parking the 6♦ in a cell leaves 1 cell empty and a limit of 2, no better. Empty a column instead: with 1 empty column the limit doubles to 6 and the whole run goes onto the 10♦.
| Free cells and columns empty | Longest run |
|---|---|
| 0 free cells, 0 columns | 1 card |
| 2 free cells, 0 columns | 3 cards |
| 4 free cells, 0 columns | 5 cards |
| 2 free cells, 1 column | 6 cards (3 into that empty column) |
| 4 free cells, 2 columns | 20 cards (10 into an empty column) |
A tapped card that can go to its foundation goes there at once, and once on a foundation it never comes back. The deal is lost the moment no legal move is left; Undo takes moves back as often as you like.
Practise this game in your browser🎯 Objective
Move all 52 cards onto the four foundations, one per suit, built up from the ace to the king. If you don't finish, your score is the number of cards on the foundations.
🃏 FreeCell Solitaire Setup & Rules
- One standard 52-card deck, no jokers. The app deals every card face up into eight columns: the first four get 7 cards, the last four get 6.
- Above the columns sit four free cells, each holding one card of any rank, and four foundations, one per suit.
- It is a solitaire for one: there are no other seats to fill and no setup options, so the deal starts as soon as you choose FreeCell.
▶ How to Play FreeCell Solitaire
- Tap the card you want to move, then the column, free cell or foundation it goes to. A tapped card that can go to its foundation goes there at once.
- In the columns, build down in alternating colors: a red 8 goes on a black 9. Any card can go into an empty column.
- Each free cell holds one card of any rank. A card in a free cell can come back down to a column or go up to its foundation.
- Foundations build up in suit from the ace to the king. Once a card is on a foundation it never comes back.
- A run may move at once as a shortcut for moving it card by card: with no empty columns, one more card than you have empty free cells; each empty column doubles that, unless the run is moving into it.
- Auto makes the move the app's own policy would make, Undo takes back the last move, and Give up ends the deal as a loss.
🎬 Watch: How to Play FreeCell Solitaire
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📖 Detailed Guide
Setting up your table
- From the game menu choose FreeCell. It is a solitaire for one, so there are no other seats to fill and no app opponents.
- FreeCell has no setup options: there is no deal number to enter, no timer and no scoring variant. The deal starts at once.
- The app shuffles one 52-card deck and deals every card face up into eight columns: 7, 7, 7, 7, 6, 6, 6, 6.
- Across the top are the four free cells on one side and the four foundations on the other: clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades.
Moving cards
- Tap a card, then tap where it goes. Tap it again to put it back, or tap another card to pick that one instead.
- A tapped card that can go to its foundation goes there at once; it is the one destination nobody has to choose.
- In the columns a card goes on one that is one rank higher and the other color. Any card or run can go into an empty column, but never a whole column: that would change nothing.
- Each free cell holds one card of any rank, and a card there can come back down to a column or go up to its foundation.
Moving runs
- A run steps down one rank in alternating colors. Tap the run's column and then its destination, and the app moves the longest run that fits.
- With no empty columns, the longest run you can move is one card more than the number of empty free cells: up to 5 with all 4 cells empty.
- Each empty column doubles that number, unless the run is moving into that empty column.
- If a run is too long for the free cells and empty columns you have, the app does not move it: park a card in a cell first or clear a column.
Ending the deal
- You win when all 52 cards are on the foundations; the summary shows how many moves it took.
- The deal is lost the moment no legal move is left: every free cell full and nothing fits anywhere. Your score is the cards on the foundations.
- Auto plays one move of the app's own policy each time you tap it. If Auto can find no way on from a position, it concedes the deal.
- Undo takes back the last move, as many times as you like, and Give up ends the deal as a loss, scored where it stands.
📊 FreeCell Solitaire Scoring
You win when all four foundations are complete, and the summary counts your moves. The deal is lost the moment no legal move is left: every free cell full and nothing fits anywhere. Either way your score is the number of cards on the foundations. There are no points and no timer, and the app deals a fresh random layout each time; there is no deal number to enter.
❓ FreeCell Solitaire — Frequently Asked Questions
How many players do you need for FreeCell Solitaire?
FreeCell Solitaire is a solitaire game for one player — just you and the deck.
How many cards can you move at once in FreeCell?
With no empty columns, 1 more than the number of empty free cells, so up to 5 cards with all 4 cells empty. Each empty column doubles that, unless the run is moving into that empty column. The app moves the longest run that fits when you tap its destination.
What can go into an empty column in FreeCell?
Any card or any run that fits the move limit, from a column or a free cell. The only move the app refuses is lifting a whole column into an empty column, because it changes nothing.
What ends a FreeCell deal?
Winning, when all 52 cards are on the 4 foundations, or losing, the moment no legal move is left: every free cell full and nothing fits anywhere. Give up ends it early. Either way the score is the number of cards on the foundations, and a win also counts your moves.
Can a card come back off a foundation in FreeCell?
No. Once a card is on a foundation it stays there, so it cannot be used again as a base for a run. Undo is the only way back: it takes the last move back, as many times as you like.