Play FreeCell Solitaire Online — Free

Every card face up from the first move. Nothing is hidden, so nothing is luck.

The thinking player's solitaire

FreeCell deals all fifty-two cards face up across eight columns and gives you four free cells to park a card in while you dig. Because there is no stock and nothing is hidden, every game is a puzzle you can actually solve rather than a hand you hope for — which is why FreeCell is the solitaire people play when they want to think.

What makes it different from Klondike

In Klondike a third of the cards start face down and the stock decides how the game goes. FreeCell has neither: you see everything from the start, so a lost game is a misplay you can learn from, not a bad deal. The trade is that you must plan several moves ahead, because a cell you fill carelessly is a cell you cannot use later.

How to play FreeCell

The goal is to move all fifty-two cards to the four foundations, each built up from Ace to King in one suit.

1. The layout: all fifty-two cards are dealt face up into eight columns — seven each in the first four, six in the rest. Above them sit four empty free cells and four empty foundations.
2. Build the columns down in alternating colours: a red six goes on a black seven.
3. Move a card to an empty free cell to get it out of the way — but only one card fits in each.
4. Send Aces to the foundations as soon as they are free, then build each foundation up in suit.
5. Any card may start an empty column, unlike Klondike where only a King can.
6. Move a whole run at once when there is room: the number of cards you can shift is (1 + empty cells) doubled for each empty column.

Almost every FreeCell deal can be won

Unlike Klondike, where a large share of random deals are impossible, essentially every FreeCell deal has a solution. If you lose, the cards were not against you — so use undo, take the game back, and find the line you missed.

Tips that actually help

• Empty a column early. An empty column doubles how many cards you can move at once, and it is worth more than an empty cell.
• Do not fill all four cells. Cards parked in cells are cards you cannot use, and a full board of cells is usually a lost game.
• Dig for the low cards first — the Aces and twos buried deepest decide whether the foundations ever get going.
• Think before the first move. The whole deal is visible, so the plan is available to you from the start.

Why play it here

• Free, in the browser, with no download and no sign-up.
• Drag a card or simply tap it — the game finds its best home.
• A hint that lights up every legal move when you are stuck.
• Unlimited undo, so a mistake costs a tap and not the game.
• Klondike and TriPeaks are one tap away, and your progress carries across all of them.

Questions