FreeCell

FreeCell is an open-information solitaire card game in which all 52 cards are dealt face-up, so nothing is hidden and almost every deal can be won. Created by Paul Alfille in 1978, it uses 8 tableau columns and 4 free cells for temporary storage, and the goal is to build four foundations by suit from Ace to King. A single click moves a card automatically; drag it instead when you want to choose the destination yourself.

Setup

• Tableau: 8 columns of cards dealt entirely face-up (7 cards each in the first 4 columns, 6 cards each in the last 4).
• Free Cells: 4 empty temporary storage slots at the top left.
• Foundations: 4 empty target piles at the top right.
• Difficulty: a start screen offers Easy, Normal and Hard, plus a Time Limit switch. All three difficulty labels stay on the toolbar during play, so one click deals a fresh hand at a different setting.

Controls

• Move a card: a single click sends it to a legal destination on its own, a foundation first if one will take it.
• Choose the destination yourself: drag the card instead of clicking. This is how you park a card in a free cell.
• Get a hint: click Hint and a playable card is tinted purple.
• Undo / Redo: use the Undo and Redo buttons on the toolbar.
• Restart: click Restart to replay the same deal from the beginning; Pause stops the timer.
• Toolbar readout: elapsed time and a move counter sit at the right-hand end.
• Mobile: tap and drag gestures work the same way on a touchscreen.

Rules

1. Only the bottom card of a tableau column or a card in a free cell is available for play.
2. Build tableau columns downward in alternating colors (a red 7 goes on a black 8).
3. Each free cell holds exactly one card of any rank or suit.
4. Any card, or any legal run, can be placed into an empty tableau column.
5. Move cards to foundations by suit in ascending order, Ace up to King.
6. You only ever move one card at a time. A run moves only when there is enough empty space to carry it: C = 2^M x (N+1), where N is the number of empty free cells and M the number of empty columns. Moving into an empty column instead halves that total.

Tips

• Send Aces and 2s to the foundations early to open up the tableau.
• Keep free cells empty. A full set of cells drops your maximum run from five cards to one.
• Chase empty columns harder than empty cells: a column doubles your capacity, a cell adds one.
• Do not send every low card to the foundations. One left in the tableau is often the only landing spot for a card you still need to move.
• Work on the six-card columns first; they are the cheapest to empty.