How to play FreeCell
All 52 cards are dealt face up, so FreeCell is about planning, not luck. Here are the rules in two minutes.
The layout
- 8 columns of cards: four with 7 cards and four with 6.
- 4 free cells at the top left: each holds one card.
- 4 foundations at the top right: one per suit, built from Ace up to King.
Legal moves
- Move the bottom card of a column onto another column if it is one rank lower and the opposite colour (a red 7 on a black 8).
- Move any bottom card into an empty free cell.
- Move a card from a free cell back onto a column, or onto its foundation.
- Move an Ace to an empty foundation, then the 2 of the same suit, and so on.
- Any card can go into an empty column.
Moving several cards at once
Officially you move one card at a time. Moving an ordered run is a shortcut for shuffling it through free spaces, so the limit is (empty free cells + 1) × 2 for each empty column. With 4 empty cells and no empty column you can move 5 cards; with one empty column as well, 10.
Winning
You win when all 52 cards are on the foundations. Almost every deal can be won: only 8 of Microsoft’s 1,000,000 deals cannot.
Controls on AllFreeCell
- Tap a card to send it to the best legal spot.
- Drag a card or run to place it exactly.
- Undo (Z), Hint (H), New game (N).
- Auto-move sends cards to the foundations when it is safe.