How to Play FreeCell Solitaire

The goal

Your goal is to move all 52 cards onto the four foundation piles, building each one up by suit from Ace to King. Once every card has been sorted into its foundation, you've won. The challenge is finding the right order of moves, since you have limited free cells and empty space to work with.

Setting up the board

The full 52-card deck is dealt face-up into eight columns called cascades — the first four columns hold seven cards each and the last four hold six cards each. Above the columns are two sets of four slots: four free cells on one side (each empty and able to hold a single card) and four foundations on the other (empty, waiting to be built up by suit starting with the Aces).

How to play, step by step

1. Read the whole boardSince all cards are face-up, take a moment to study every column before moving. Plan a few moves ahead so you don't trap cards you need later.
2. Build down in alternating coloursWithin the cascades, you can stack a card onto another card of the opposite colour and one rank higher (for example, a red 6 onto a black 7). This is how you rearrange the tableau to free up the cards you need.
3. Use the free cellsEach of the four free cells can hold exactly one card of your choice as temporary storage. Park a card there to get it out of the way, then move it back onto a cascade or up to a foundation when the time is right.
4. Send cards to the foundationsMove Aces up to the foundations as soon as you can, then build each foundation upward by suit (A, 2, 3, and so on up to King). Don't rush every card up too early, though — you may need some of them to keep stacking in the cascades.
5. Make supermovesYou can appear to move several stacked cards at once (a supermove), but the game is really moving them one at a time using your empty free cells and empty columns. The more free cells and empty columns you have, the longer the run you can shift in a single move.
6. Clear columns and finishEmpty an entire column when you can — empty columns are powerful workspace that let you move bigger groups. Keep sorting until all four foundations reach the King and the deal is solved.

Beginner tips

• Try to keep your free cells empty. They are your most valuable resource, and filling all four at once can leave you with no room to maneuver.
• Bring Aces and 2s to the foundations early to open up space, but hold back higher cards you might still need for stacking in the columns.
• An empty column is even more useful than a free cell, because it can hold a whole sequence — work toward emptying a short column when you can.
• Count your available moves before starting a supermove: a long run only shifts if you have enough empty free cells and columns to support it.
• When you're stuck, look for a card buried in a cascade that's blocking your progress, then plan backward to figure out how to free it.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Filling all four free cells too quickly, which leaves you no temporary storage and often grinds the game to a halt.
• Rushing every card up to the foundations as soon as it's playable, then realizing you needed that card to stack on another in the cascades.
• Making moves reactively without a plan, instead of reading the whole face-up board and thinking several steps ahead.
• Wasting an empty column by dropping a single random card into it, when it could have held a much longer sequence.
• Forgetting that a long multi-card move requires enough free cells and empty columns to actually be legal.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cards are used in FreeCell?

FreeCell uses a single standard deck of 52 cards. All of them are dealt face-up at the start across the eight columns, with no cards left in a draw pile.

Is every FreeCell game winnable?

Almost every deal is solvable with the right strategy — the vast majority of random deals can be won. A very small number of deals are impossible, but you can win nearly all of them with careful planning.

How do the free cells work?

There are four free cells, and each one can hold exactly one card at a time as temporary storage. You can move a card from a free cell back onto a cascade or up to a foundation whenever it fits, which is the key to untangling difficult positions.

What is a supermove?

A supermove is when you shift a sequence of several cards in one action. It works by using your empty free cells and empty columns behind the scenes — the more of those you have open, the more cards you can move at once.

What's the hardest part of FreeCell?

The toughest part is planning ahead so you don't accidentally bury a card you need or use up all your free cells too soon. Thinking several moves in advance, rather than reacting one move at a time, is what separates beginners from skilled players.

Is FreeCell a game of luck or skill?

FreeCell is overwhelmingly a game of skill. Because every card is visible from the start, there's no hidden information and no luck of the draw — your success depends entirely on the moves you choose.