FreeCell Strategy: How to Solve Almost Every Deal
Nearly every FreeCell deal can be won. Learn how to plan ahead, keep your free cells open and move long runs of cards the easy way.
Sunroom Games · Updated
FreeCell is the solitaire for people who like to think. All 52 cards are dealt face up, so there are no hidden cards and very little luck: if you lose, there was almost always a way to win. That's what makes it so satisfying — and why a little strategy goes a long way.
If you're new to the game, start with how to play FreeCell. This guide is about winning.
Why FreeCell is different
In Klondike, you can't see most of the cards, so good play is about uncovering them in a sensible order. In FreeCell you can see everything from the first move. The question is never "what's under there?" but "in what order can I get these cards out of each other's way?"
That's also why nearly every deal can be won. When Microsoft put FreeCell on Windows, its version came with 32,000 numbered deals — and players around the world eventually showed that all but one of them can be solved. (You can try the famous exception, deal #11982, at the end of this guide.)
1. Look at the whole layout before your first move
Find the four Aces and notice how deep each one is buried. Then look at the Twos. A deal where the Aces sit near the bottom of their columns needs a plan for digging them out; a deal with an Ace on top lets you start straight away.
It also helps to spot which column is closest to being empty. An empty column is the most powerful thing you can earn in FreeCell, and the shortest column is usually the cheapest one to clear.
2. Treat the free cells as precious
The four free cells at the top left can each hold any one card, and it's tempting to use them whenever a card is in the way. Resist. Every card you park in a free cell is a card you'll have to find a home for later, and when all four cells are full you can only move one card at a time.
A good habit is to keep at least one free cell empty whenever you can. Before you put a card into a cell, ask yourself where it will go next. If you don't know, look for another move first.
3. An empty column is worth more than a free cell
A free cell holds one card. An empty column can hold any card — and a whole run of cards built on top of it. That's why experienced players aim to empty a column early in the game, even if it takes a few moves to do it.
Once you have an empty column, don't fill it carelessly. Putting a single card there "just for now" throws away most of its value. The best things to put in an empty column are a long run of cards, or a King with cards built on it, because a King-led run never needs to move again.
4. Use the free space to move long runs
The game lets you move a whole ordered run of cards — say, a black 9, red 8 and black 7 — from one column to another in a single step. It isn't magic: it's a shortcut for moving the cards one by one through your empty free cells and columns. That's why the number of cards you can move at once depends on how much free space you have.
| Empty free cells | Empty columns | Cards you can move at once |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | 1 | 10 |
The rule behind the table: add one to the number of empty free cells, then double it for every empty column. If you're moving a run into an empty column, that column doesn't count, because you're filling it.
5. Free the low cards first
The game is won by building each suit up from the Ace, so Aces and Twos are the cards that unlock everything else. When you're choosing which column to dig into, prefer the one with a low card near the bottom. A buried Ace in a tall column is often the first problem of the game, and it's worth spending a free cell or two to reach it early.
Our FreeCell can also move "safe" cards up to the foundations for you. It only does this when no card in play could ever need to sit on that card, so it never makes a move you'd regret. You can turn this off in Settings if you'd rather do every move yourself.
6. Build runs that won't have to be broken up
When you place a red 6 on a black 7, you're making a small promise: these cards will move together from now on. Try to build runs in columns you won't need to dig into later. Stacking a long run on top of a buried Ace means moving the whole run again before you can free the Ace — and you may not have the space to do it.
7. Think a few moves ahead — and use Undo
Because you can see every card, you can plan. Before a big move, try to answer: "After this, what will I do next?" If you can see three or four moves ahead, you'll rarely paint yourself into a corner.
When you're not sure, try it. Our FreeCell lets you undo hundreds of moves, so you can test a plan, watch where it leads, and undo back if it goes nowhere. Many good players solve the hardest deals exactly this way.
8. When you're stuck, count your free space
If the game seems stuck, count the empty free cells and empty columns. Often the way out is to spend a few moves freeing one more cell, which suddenly lets you move the long run that's been in your way all along.
Try the deal nobody can win
Deal #11982 is famous among FreeCell fans: it's the only one of Microsoft's original 32,000 deals that can't be solved, however well you play. It's a good one to try once, just to see what an impossible deal feels like — then go back to a regular game, where you know a solution exists.
Almost every other deal can be won, so if one beats you, write down its number (shown under the game's title) and come back to it another day.