How the FreeCell board is laid out
FreeCell deals all 52 cards face up into eight columns, so unlike regular Solitaire there is nothing hidden and nothing left in a deck. That one change turns it into a game of pure planning. Your job is to move every card up to the four home piles at the top right, one pile for each suit, starting with the ace and building up in order to the king. When all four suits are complete, you win.
On the table you build the columns going down, and the colors have to switch every time, so a red nine can only sit on a black ten. At the top left sit the four free cells, and this is the part that gives the game its name. Each cell is a parking space that holds exactly one card. Slide a card into a cell to get it out of the way, reach the card you needed underneath, then bring the parked card back into play when there is a spot for it. Tap a card to lift it and tap where it should go.
How to move more than one card at a time
You can only truly move one card at a time, but the game lets you slide a whole ordered run in one motion as long as you have enough space to have done it one card at a time. The rule is simple to feel out: the more free cells you leave empty and the more empty columns you have, the longer the run you can pick up. So the strongest habit is to keep at least one free cell open. Fill all four and you box yourself in, able to move only a single card until you clear one out again. Work an empty column open when you can, because an empty column is the most valuable space on the board.
The planning it builds
Because every card is visible from the first second, FreeCell rewards looking ahead instead of hoping for a lucky draw. A child learns to hold a plan in mind, to weigh which card to free first, and to keep an escape route open rather than using up every space at once. It is patient, quiet thinking, and it slips in a little practice with number order and matching along the way. Almost every deal can be solved, so a loss is usually a nudge to try a different order, and the Undo button makes it safe to experiment.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play FreeCell?
Every card is dealt face up in eight columns, so you can see the whole game from the start. The goal is to move all 52 cards up to the four home piles at the top, one per suit, from the ace up to the king. On the table you build columns downward with the colors switching each time, so a black six goes on a red seven. The four open cells at the top left are parking spots, and each one holds a single card while you free up the cards below it.
What are the four free cells for?
Each free cell holds exactly one card. Use them to lift a card out of the way so you can reach the card underneath, then bring it back into play later. The more cells you leave empty, the longer the run of cards you are allowed to move in one go, so try not to fill all four unless you have a plan to empty them again.
Can every FreeCell game be won?
Almost every deal can be solved, which is what makes FreeCell different from regular Solitaire, where some deals are impossible. Because you can see all the cards, a win is about planning rather than luck. If you get stuck, the Undo button lets you walk back your moves, or New Game deals a fresh one to try.