How to play FreeCell

The goal

Move all 52 cards to the four foundations, one per suit, from Ace up to King.

Setting up

• Deal every card face up into 8 columns: four columns of 7 cards and four of 6.
• Four free cells (top left) each hold one card. Four foundations (top right) start empty.
• Every card is visible from the start: you can plan the whole game.

A turn, step by step

1. 1

   Send Aces home. Any Ace that's free goes to a foundation, then the 2 of that suit, then the 3, and so on.

2. 2

   Build down, alternate colours. A card can go on a column card one rank higher of the opposite colour: a red 6 on a black 7.

3. 3

   Park in a free cell. Any single card can wait in an empty free cell. Use them to dig out the card you need.

4. 4

   Use empty columns. Any card, or a valid sequence, can fill an empty column. It's the most powerful space on the board.

5. 5

   Move sequences. You can move several cards at once if you have room: (free cells + 1) × 2 for each empty column.

Beginner mistakes

✗ Filling the free cells early

Every full free cell shrinks your options. Keep at least one or two empty as long as you can.

✗ Moving without a target

Before parking a card, know which card it frees and where that card goes.

✗ Wasting an empty column

Don't drop a single low card into an empty column if a free cell would do.

✗ Leaving low cards buried

Aces and 2s at the bottom of long columns block everything. Plan to dig them out first.

Three real situations. Pick a move, then read why it works.

Frequently asked questions