If you’re into one-player online games, you’ll undoubtedly have come across solitaire at some point – and for good reason. This entertaining game doesn’t only promise hours of fun, but playing for a short time can actually improve memory, focus, reflexes, and mood.
If you’ve played traditional solitaire before and you’re looking for something a little different to shake things up, try the FreeCell version of this game. You can learn how to play using a freecell beginners guide.
What is FreeCell Solitaire?
FreeCell is a solitaire card game played using a standard 52-card deck, but unlike most games, this version of solitaire offers very few unsolvable deals, and the cards are dealt face-up from the beginning of the game.
How to Play FreeCell Solitaire
- The game consists of eight rows (tableaus), four foundations, and four free cells. To start, lay out the cards on the tableau. The first four tableaus consist of seven cards each, and the remaining four have six cards each. Your cards should face upwards.
Leave room above the tableaus for the foundations and free cells. You’ll need this space while you play. - The aim of the game is to move all the cards to the foundations in ascending order. That means you’ll start with Ace, and end with the King. To begin a foundation, you’ll need to move an Ace to it.
- The best strategy tends to be to move cards to the foundation whenever possible. If, however, you need the card somewhere else in the tableau, it may be better for your game to wait before moving it to the foundation.
- If and when possible, you can move a card from one tableau to another. This allows you to free up the cards below the one you move. The caveat is that the card you move must be one lower and a different color than the card you’re moving it to.
- At a certain point, you’ll be left with no available moves on the tableau. At this point, you can move a card to a free cell. While each cell can hold any card, it’s only able to hold one at a time.
Also bear in mind that using the cells limits how many cards you can move at one time. If you have four empty cells, you can move five cards at a time, with three empty cells you can move four cards, and so on. This calculation counts an empty tableau as an empty cell.
You can move a card back to the tableau or the foundation whenever. If you have an empty tableau, you can move any card or sequence of cards over to it.
- The aim of the game is to apply the moves until all your cards end up on the foundation piles. Once this happens, you’ve won!
So that’s an introduction to the wonderful world of FreeCell Solitaire. All that’s left to say is good luck and happy playing!
