FreeCell Solitaire

How to play FreeCell

All 52 cards are dealt face up into eight columns. As in Klondike, you build columns down in alternating colours and move cards to the four foundations from Ace to King by suit. The difference is the four free cells: temporary parking spots that each hold one card. Any card can go into an empty column.

Because nothing is hidden, luck plays almost no part. When you lose a game of FreeCell, there was nearly always a way through.

How to get better at FreeCell

• Free the aces and twos first. Look for low cards buried near the top of the deal and plan how to dig them out.
• Treat free cells like money. Each one used halves how many cards you can move at once. Fill them only with a plan to empty them.
• Empty columns are worth double. An empty column doubles your move capacity, so emptying one is often the turning point.
• Think a few moves ahead. Before moving, ask which card the move uncovers and whether you can use it.

Cards go home automatically when no lower card of the opposite colour could still need them, so you can concentrate on the hard part.