The rules of FreeCell
In brief
All 52 cards are visible. You move them one at a time between 8 columns, 4 cells and 4 foundations. In a column, a card is placed on a card of the opposite color and one rank higher. You win when all cards have been moved to the foundations, from ace to king, suit by suit.
Setup
A 52-card deck, without jokers, is shuffled and then dealt face up into 8 columns of 7, 7, 7, 7, 6, 6, 6, 6 cards. Above the tableau are 4 free cells, empty at the start, and 4 foundations, one per suit: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs.
Allowed moves
You always move the top card of a column (the last one, the one not covered by any other) or a card from a free cell.
- On a column: the card must be of the opposite color (red on black, black on red) and exactly one rank lower. A 7 of hearts goes on a 8 of spades or clubs.
- Into a free cell: any card, if the cell is empty. A free cell holds only one card.
- Onto a foundation: the ace of the suit first, then the 2, the 3 and so on up to the king, always in the same suit and one card at a time.
- Onto an empty column: any card, or an entire sequence (see below).
Ranks run from ace (lowest) to king: ace, 2 through 10, jack, queen, king.
Moving a group
An ordered sequence in a column (alternating colors, consecutive ranks) can move as a group. This is only a shortcut: it is equivalent to taking the sequence apart card by card using free cells and empty columns, then rebuilding it. The maximum group size is therefore calculated as follows:
(free cells + 1) × 2 to the power of (empty columns)
An empty column doubles the capacity, while a free cell only adds one card. When the group goes into an empty column, that destination column doesn't count: you can't use it as a relay to move toward itself.
| Free cells | To an occupied column, 0 empty columns | To an occupied column, 1 empty column | To an occupied column, 2 empty columns | To an empty column, 1 empty in total | To an empty column, 2 empty in total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 5 | 10 |
Example: with 4 free cells and one empty column, you can move up to 10 cards to an occupied column, but only 5 to the empty column. The Examples page shows this case in a real game.
The end of the game
The game is won when all 52 cards are on the foundations. In practice, it is lost when no useful move is possible anymore: you then have to undo moves or start over.
What the app adds
These points are specific to the FreeCell Solitaire app; other versions of the game score differently.
- Number of cells: 4, 2 or 1, chosen in the New game window. Removed cells disappear from the board and no longer count toward the size of groups.
- No automatic moves to foundations: no card moves to the foundations on its own. Tapping a card once attempts to send it there; you can also drag it or tap it twice.
- Taking a card back from a foundation: the top card of a foundation can be dragged back onto the tableau.
- Undo: the last 100 actions.
- Game code: each deal has a code (for example, FC1-C4-AAAAAKH) that recreates it exactly. See the FAQ.
Scoring in the app
| Move | Points |
|---|---|
| A card placed on a foundation | +10 |
| A card from a cell placed on the tableau | +5 |
| Any other move | 0 |
Undoing a move removes the points it earned, and the score never goes below zero.