Play FreeCell Solitaire online for free
FreeCell is the solitaire game where nothing is hidden. All 52 cards are dealt face up, so every game is a puzzle you can think through instead of a matter of luck. This version runs in your browser with no download and no account: drag a card or just tap it, undo as often as you like, and play on a full-screen table with real-looking cards.
Every new game here can be won. If you get stuck, Hint shows a move from a real solution, and the game tells you when a position can no longer be won and takes you back to the last point where it still could. You can also type in a game number from 1 to 1,000,000 and get exactly the same cards as in Windows FreeCell, or play the daily deal that is the same for everyone.
How to play FreeCell
The goal is to move all 52 cards to the four foundations at the top right, one pile for each suit, in order from ace to king.
- The deal. The whole deck is dealt face up into eight columns: seven cards in the first four columns, six in the last four.
- Only the bottom card of a column can move. That is the card lying fully uncovered at the end of the column.
- Build down in alternating colours. A card can go onto a column whose last card is one rank higher and of the other colour: a red 6 on a black 7, a black jack on a red queen.
- Use the four free cells. Each cell at the top left holds one card of any kind for as long as you like. They are your working space, and the fuller they are, the less you can do.
- Empty columns take anything. Any card, or a run of cards, can start a new column in an empty space.
- Build the foundations up by suit. Aces go up first, then the 2 of the same suit, and so on to the king. Cards that are safe to put up go there by themselves.
- You win when all four foundations show a king.
On this page you can drag a card to where you want it, or simply tap it and it goes to the best place: a foundation first, then a column where it fits, then an empty column, then a free cell. Keys: Ctrl+Z undo, Ctrl+Y redo, H hint, N new game, F full screen.
How many cards can you move at once?
Strictly, FreeCell moves one card at a time. A run of cards in order, such as black 7, red 6, black 5, can still travel together, because the game does the single moves for you through the free cells and empty columns. How long a run can be depends on how much room you have:
(empty free cells + 1) × 2 for each empty column. An empty column you are moving into does not count.
| Empty free cells | No empty column | 1 empty column | 2 empty columns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 card | 2 | 4 |
| 1 | 2 cards | 4 | 8 |
| 2 | 3 cards | 6 | 12 |
| 3 | 4 cards | 8 | 16 |
| 4 | 5 cards | 10 | 20 |
So with two free cells open and one empty column you can move a run of six cards onto another column, but only three into that empty column itself. If a run is too long, the cards shake and the game tells you how many would fit.
FreeCell strategy: 7 tips
- Read the deal before you move. Find the aces and the 2s. If they are buried deep, digging them out is your first job, and it decides which columns you empty.
- An empty column is worth more than a free cell. A cell holds one card; an empty column holds a whole run and doubles how many cards you can move at once. Open one early and do not fill it with the first card that fits.
- Keep the free cells free. Every card you park cuts your moves. Before putting a card in a cell, know how it is going to come out again.
- Do not park kings and high cards. A king in a cell can only leave to an empty column. Low cards leave quickly, high cards sit there.
- Build long runs on high cards. A run that starts with a king never has to move again. A run that starts with a 7 will have to be moved, and may be too long to move.
- Do not rush cards to the foundations. A red 5 on the foundation can no longer hold a black 4. The game only puts a card up by itself when no lower card of the other colour could still need it.
- Undo is part of the game. Since everything is visible, trying a line and taking it back is how you find the way through. Nothing here counts undos against you.
Are all FreeCell games winnable?
Almost all. In the original Windows FreeCell with its 32,000 numbered games, exactly one cannot be won: game #11982. When Microsoft extended the numbering to one million games, computer searches found just eight impossible deals in total:
11982 · 146692 · 186216 · 455889 · 495505 · 512118 · 517776 · 781948
That is 99.999% of deals with a solution. The New game button on this page never deals one of those eight, so every game it gives you can be won. If you type one of them in as a game number, the game warns you and lets you try anyway.
Being winnable does not mean staying winnable. A few careless moves can lock a game for good. That is why this page checks your position after every move: when no solution is left, a red bar appears and one tap takes you back to the last position that could still be won.
FreeCell game numbers
In Windows FreeCell every deal has a number, and the same number always gives the same cards. Players have swapped favourite and feared numbers for decades. This page uses the same dealing method, so game #1 here is game #1 there, and so is every other number up to 1,000,000.
To play a number, click the Game # button at the top, type the number and press Play. The number of the game you are playing is always shown there, and it is also in the page address, so you can bookmark a deal or send it to a friend.
The same dialog has the daily deal: one game a day, the same cards for everyone. Your result and your run of days in a row are kept on your device, and you can share your moves and time when you finish.
Easy FreeCell and hard FreeCell
Not all deals are equally hard. In some, the aces lie near the surface and the first empty column comes almost for free. In others, every low card sits under a king. To sort them, a solver played the first 20,000 Microsoft games and noted how much searching each one took and how long the solution was.
- Easy deals come from the tenth of the games that fell fastest and need fewer moves than usual. A good place to start, or to relax.
- Hard deals come from the 4% that took the most searching. All of them can be won, but usually only in one narrow way.
- Any deal picks from all one million numbers, leaving out the eight impossible ones.
Choose the level under the Game # button; the New game button remembers it.
Want it easier still, or much harder? FreeCell with two decks gives you eight free cells and plenty of room, while Baker's Game uses the same table with a stricter rule and is the hardest of the family.
Where FreeCell comes from
FreeCell grew out of an older game, Baker's Game, which Martin Gardner described in Scientific American in 1968. In Baker's Game the columns are built down in the same suit, which makes it much harder. In 1978 Paul Alfille changed the rule to alternating colours and wrote the first computer version on the PLATO system, and that is FreeCell as we know it. Jim Horne's version for Windows, shipped with Windows 95, made it one of the most played computer games in the world and gave us the game numbers.
The family has other members you can play here: FreeCell Two Decks with 104 cards and eight cells, Eight Off, where columns are built in suit and only kings fill an empty column, and Baker's Game itself, for when FreeCell has become too easy. And if you would rather turn cards over than see them all at once, there is Spider Solitaire with one, two or four suits.
If you like games where everything is in view and logic decides, try Minesweeper here, where no board ever forces a guess, or the Water Sort Puzzle, which has the same kind of "free a space, then use it" thinking. For a classic at the table instead, there is a domino game and Yatzy with rolling dice.
FAQ
Is this FreeCell game free?
Yes. It runs in your browser for free, with no download and no account, on a computer, tablet or phone. Your game, settings and statistics are saved on your device.
Are all FreeCell games winnable?
Almost all. Of the one million numbered Microsoft games, only eight cannot be won: 11982, 146692, 186216, 455889, 495505, 512118, 517776 and 781948. The New game button here never deals those, so every game it gives you has a solution.
What is the hardest FreeCell game?
Game #11982 is the famous one: it is the only game of the original 32,000 that cannot be won at all. Among the games that can be won, choose Hard under the Game # button to get deals that took a solver the most searching.
How do I play a specific FreeCell game number?
Click the Game # button at the top, type a number from 1 to 1,000,000 and press Play. The cards are dealt the same way as in Windows FreeCell, so the same number gives the same game.
How many cards can I move at once in FreeCell?
Multiply the number of empty free cells plus one by two for every empty column. With all four cells empty and no empty column that is 5 cards; with one empty column as well it is 10. An empty column you are moving into does not count.
What is the difference between FreeCell and Solitaire?
Solitaire is the name for the whole family of one-player card games, and on its own it usually means Klondike, where many cards start face down and you turn over a stock. In FreeCell all 52 cards are face up from the start and there is no stock, so skill decides nearly every game.
What do I do when I am stuck in FreeCell?
Press Hint to see a move from a real solution of your position. If the position can no longer be won, a red bar appears with a button that takes you back to the last position that still could. You can also undo as far as you like or restart the same deal.
Can I play FreeCell full screen?
Yes. Open Options and choose Full screen, or press F on a keyboard. The table and the cards grow to fill the screen. Options also has other table colours and a four-colour deck that is easier to read.
What is the daily deal?
One FreeCell game each day, the same cards for everyone. Your moves, time and how many days in a row you have solved it are saved on your device, and you can share your result.