FreeCell is the thinking player's solitaire. Unlike Klondike, every card is dealt face-up from the start, so there is no hidden information and no luck of the draw — the entire game sits in front of you. That single difference changes everything: winning is not about hoping the next card helps, it's about planning. And the planning pays off, because almost every deal can be won. This guide explains the principles that turn a visible board into a solved one, and why each one matters.
The goal, in one sentence
Build the four foundations upward by suit, Ace to King. You do that by arranging the eight tableau columns into descending runs of alternating colour (a red Eight on a black Nine), using the four free cells — each of which holds exactly one card — as temporary storage. If the rules are new, the quickest way to learn is to play a hand with hints on.
The one mechanic that decides everything
You can only ever move one card at a time. The reason you appear to move whole runs is that free cells and empty columns let the game shuffle the cards for you. The maximum number you can shift in a single "supermove" is:
(1 + empty free cells) × 2(empty tableau columns)
With four free cells open and no empty columns, that's five cards. Free up a single column and it doubles to ten. In other words, your empty free cells and empty columns are your mobility — they are the resource the whole game is fought over. Guarding them, and creating more of them, is the heart of FreeCell strategy.
Five principles that win games
1. Keep your free cells empty
Treat parking a card in a free cell as borrowing — a debt you must have a plan to repay. Every cell you fill cuts your supermove size and your options. Four occupied cells with no way to unload them is the single most common way to lose a winnable deal. Use a cell only when you can see how the card comes back out.
2. Work to empty a column early
An empty column is worth far more than an empty free cell, because it multiplies how much you can move rather than just adding one. Emptying even one column early transforms the board, so prioritise consolidating short piles to open a space. Just don't fill a hard-won empty column with a stray card unless it advances your plan.
3. Plan several moves ahead before committing
Because the whole deal is visible, you can — and should — read sequences out in your head before touching anything. Trace where a card will go, what it frees, and how you'll recover any cells you spend, all the way to the foundation. The best FreeCell players move slowly and deliberately; the board isn't going anywhere.
4. Send low cards up — but not the ones you still need
Getting Aces and Twos to the foundations frees space and unclogs the tableau. But don't strip the board of cards you still need to receive runs. A Five you bank too early might be exactly the landing spot a black Four and red Three were waiting for. Promote a card when it no longer has work to do on the tableau, not the instant it becomes legal.
5. Hunt for buried aces and twos — and plan the dig
Aces and Twos stuck near the bottom of a long column block everything above their suit. Spot them at the very start and plan the excavation: which cells and empty columns you'll spend to reach them, and how you'll recover afterwards. Digging out a deep Ace early often unlocks the entire deal.
Why CardHearth is a great place to learn
FreeCell rewards deliberate practice, and CardHearth is built for it: unlimited undo lets you explore a line and take it back if it dead-ends, and hints nudge you when you're genuinely stuck. Every deal is numbered and shareable, so you can replay the exact same hand to test a better plan — or hand a friend a tough deal and see who solves it first.
Common mistakes that lose games
- Filling all four free cells with no exit plan — the number-one win-killer.
- Burying an ace under a long column instead of digging it out early.
- Sending cards to the foundation too eagerly when they were still needed on the tableau.
- Never creating an empty column, leaving your supermoves tiny all game.
- Moving on autopilot — with everything visible, a few seconds of planning beats a dozen reflex moves.
Frequently asked questions
Are all FreeCell games winnable?
Almost. Of the classic 32,000 numbered Microsoft deals, only one — game #11982 — has been proven unsolvable; every other deal can be won with correct play. Because nothing is hidden, a game you lose is almost always a solvable game you misplayed rather than bad luck. That is what makes FreeCell so rewarding to study.
How many cards can I move at once?
You can only move one card at a time, but free cells and empty columns let you shuffle a run as a group. The maximum is (1 + number of empty free cells) × 2^(number of empty tableau columns). So with all four free cells open and no empty columns you can move five cards; open one column and that doubles to ten. Empty cells and columns are your mobility — guard them.
Is FreeCell harder than Klondike?
In one sense it is far easier: nearly every FreeCell deal is winnable, while many Klondike deals simply cannot be won. But FreeCell rewards careful thought over luck. There is no stock to draw and nothing hidden, so a loss is on you — which makes it the better game for learning deliberate, several-moves-ahead planning.
Keep going
Ready to put it into practice? Play FreeCell now, or branch out: how to win Klondike Solitaire and Spider Solitaire strategy reward a different kind of planning, and our guides hub covers the whole CardHearth library.