How to Play FreeCell

All 52 cards are dealt face up into eight columns, so nothing is hidden. Your goal is to move every card to the four foundation piles, each built from ace up to king in one suit. The free cells in the top row hold one card each and work as parking spots. When the page opens, you pick a level.

Columns build down in alternating colors, so a red six goes on a black seven. Any card or run can move into an empty column. How many cards you can move at once depends on the room you have: one more than your empty free cells, doubled for every empty column. The line under the title shows it, for example “4 free · move up to 5 cards”.

Drag a card or run, or tap it and then tap where it goes: a column, a free cell or a foundation. A single tap sends a card straight to a foundation when it fits there. The keyboard works too: H shows a hint, U or Ctrl+Z undoes a move, and R restarts the same deal.

By default the game also sends a card to its foundation by itself after your move whenever it can. A Finish button appears when that is possible, and the Finish automatically switch in Settings turns the automatic part off if you would rather decide yourself.

Cells, Suits and Scoring

The level menu sets the number of free cells. Four cells is the standard game, Three cells takes one parking spot away, and the game warns that Two cells is brutally tight. A Suits switch lets you deal from one, two or four suits. One suit uses spades only, so rank alone decides what stacks, and two suits uses spades and hearts. Fewer suits give every card more places to go and score less.

Each card sent to a foundation earns 50 points, times your multiplier and streak. An undo costs 25 points, a hint costs 50, and pulling a card back off a foundation costs 30. Finishing fast, in few moves and without help adds bonuses. Every deal has a number, Restart replays it, and your scores stay in your browser on this device.

FreeCell Tips and Strategy

• Study the whole layout before your first move. Find where the aces and twos sit and plan a way to dig them out.
• Keep free cells empty for as long as you can. Each empty cell adds one to the number of cards you can move together.
• Value an empty column above an empty cell. Each empty column doubles your move limit.
• Park a card in a cell only when that frees something useful or you know where the card goes next.
• Learn the move limit with one or two suits, then take on four.
• Test a plan with Undo. It is unlimited, and each use costs 25 points.

For a change, Klondike Solitaire adds face-down cards and a stock, and Spider Solitaire plays with two decks. Both are in the board and card games category.

FreeCell FAQ

Is FreeCell free to play online without signing up?

Yes. It is free, runs in your browser and needs no download or account.

How many cards can you move at once in FreeCell?

Take the number of empty free cells, add one, and double the result for every empty column. With three empty cells and one empty column, you can move eight cards. A column you are moving into does not count as empty.

Is every FreeCell deal winnable?

In the standard setup, with four suits and four cells, nearly every deal can be solved with careful play, so a loss usually means a better line existed. With fewer cells you have less room to work. If you get stuck, the game says “No moves left” and you can undo or take a new deal.

What is the difference between FreeCell and Klondike?

FreeCell shows every card from the start and has free cells instead of a stock. Klondike keeps cards face down and draws from a stock.