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FreeCell: the solitaire where everything is on the table

By Gleb Tkatchouk · last updated 2026-09-18

FreeCell is the open solitaire: all fifty-two cards are dealt face up from the start, there is no stock and no luck of the draw. What you see is everything there is, and nearly every deal can be won. That makes it the solitaire of pure planning — and the one where a careless first move is the usual cause of a loss.

FreeCell with the whole table in view, undo without penalty, and only proven deals. Free on the App Store.

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Rules of FreeCell

The layout. Fifty-two cards are dealt face up into eight columns: seven cards in the first four, six in the last four. Above them are four free cells and four foundations, all empty.

Foundations. Built up by suit from ace to king. Moving all cards to the foundations wins.

Columns. Cards are built down in rank and alternate in colour: a red nine on a black ten. An empty column takes any card, not only a king.

Free cells. Each holds one card of any kind. A card in a free cell can be moved back to a column or to a foundation at any time.

Moving several cards. Officially you move one card at a time. In practice a packet of correctly built cards may be moved as one, as long as it could have been moved card by card through the free cells and empty columns. The limit is (free cells + 1) × 2 for each empty column — with four free cells and no empty columns, five cards; with one empty column, ten. Decks enforces this limit.

Automatic moves. A card no longer needed by anyone — an ace, or a card whose lower neighbours of the opposite colour are already home — goes to its foundation by itself.

Are FreeCell deals winnable?

Almost all of them: of the original 32,000 Microsoft deals, all but one are solvable. Every FreeCell deal in Decks is drawn from a pool that a look-ahead bot has won, with the win replayed by the engine. In our measurement the bot proved 20% — a floor that says more about the bot than about FreeCell, which rewards exactly the planning a simple bot lacks. Only proven deals are dealt. Details on Is every solitaire deal winnable?.

Strategy

1. Free the aces and twos first. Look for them before the first move. A deal where the aces are buried at the bottom of long columns needs a different opening than one where they sit on top.
2. Keep the free cells free. They are your working memory. Filling all four is how most games are lost; a game with three empty cells is comfortable, with one it is on the edge.
3. Empty a column before filling a cell. An empty column is worth two free cells, and a run can be built on it. A card parked in a cell is worth nothing until it comes out.
4. Do not send cards home too early. A black five on the foundation cannot hold a red four in a column. Send a card home when nothing on the table needs it.
5. Plan the whole sequence. FreeCell rewards looking four or five moves ahead: "free cell, free cell, empty column, unwind" is the usual shape of a good move.
6. Undo is a tool, not a confession. Decks does not penalise undo. Trying a line and taking it back is how the game is meant to be played.

FreeCell in Decks

A rules page one tap away, undo without penalty, and a history of every round with its deal code. No ads, no account, works offline.

Frequently asked questions

How many cards can you move at once in FreeCell? (Empty free cells + 1), doubled for each empty column. Four free cells and no empty columns: five cards.

Can you put any card in an empty column? Yes — unlike Klondike, an empty FreeCell column takes any card.

Is every FreeCell game winnable? Nearly. Deal 11,982 of the classic Microsoft set is the famous exception. Decks deals only proven deals.

What is the difference between FreeCell and Klondike? No stock and no face-down cards: everything is visible from the first move, and free cells replace luck with planning.

FreeCell with the whole table in view, undo without penalty, and only proven deals. Free on the App Store.

Scan with your phone to install