A game of open information
FreeCell is solitaire with nothing to hide
All 52 cards are visible from the first move. There is no draw pile to rescue a bad plan later: winning comes down to how well you manage your free cells, open columns and the order of your moves.
52
cards face up
See the entire problem before your first move.
4
free cells
Temporary space is your most valuable resource.
8
tableau columns
Empty one and your ability to reorganize grows fast.
Learn how to play FreeCell →
More ways to play
Choose your challenge
A fresh board is only one way into FreeCell. Play the shared daily deal, recover a difficult position, or jump to a numbered Microsoft deal.
32,000 Microsoft deals analysed
How difficult is your FreeCell deal?
FreeCell Now's Deal Difficulty Index (DDI) compares Microsoft's original 32,000 FreeCell deals using one consistent analysis model. Look up any classic deal, see its difficulty score, rank and percentile, or browse from the easiest boards to the hardest rated challenges.
Explore the FreeCell Deal Difficulty Index
- Deals analysed
- 32,000
- Rated deals
- 31,993
- Difficulty bands
- 6
The essentials
How to play FreeCell
The rules are simple. The challenge is preserving enough space to keep useful moves available several turns ahead.
01Read the board
All 52 cards begin face up across eight tableau columns.
02Build down
Arrange tableau cards in descending rank and alternating colors.
03Protect your space
Each free cell holds one card. Empty tableau columns create even more mobility.
04Build the foundations
Move each suit from Ace through King to clear the board and win.
Read the complete rules →
Think beyond the legal move
Three ideas that win more games
Good FreeCell play is mostly resource management. A move can be legal and still make the position much harder.
◇
Keep free cells free
Filling a free cell reduces what you can move next. Use them as temporary workspace, not permanent storage.
▯
Empty columns are power
An empty tableau column is flexible working space and can dramatically increase your effective move capacity.
♠
Do not rush every card home
A foundation move can remove a card you still need for sequencing. Build home when it helps the whole position.
The deal that would not die
31,999 solved. One left.
Players worked through Microsoft's original collection of 32,000 FreeCell deals until every board had a known solution except #11982. Under standard four-free-cell rules, that last holdout is the famous exception.
- Original deals
- 32,000
- Solved
- 31,999
- The exception
- #11982