Game guide › Cards › FreeCell
FreeCell Free online game
- Cards
- Solo
- 4 free cells · 3 free cells
Use the free cells wisely to build every suit
What is it?
FreeCell is a solitaire where all 52 cards are dealt face up from the start. With no hidden cards, planning matters more than luck, and the key is clearing a path by parking cards in the free cells at the top left.
The 4-free-cell mode uses the standard numbered deals (#1–32,000) shared by many FreeCell programs. Of those 32,000 deals, only #11982 is known to be unsolvable — that's how much FreeCell is about planning rather than luck. Move every suit from A to K to the top right to win; faster clears rank higher.
How to play
- Drag a card onto one of the opposite color that's 1 higher. Tap to move it to the best spot
- The free cells at the top left (4 on Easy · 3 on Hard) can each hold any one card for a while
- Move every suit from A to K to the top right to win. Faster ranks higher!
Playing on PC (keyboard · mouse)
On phones you tap the screen; on PC you can also use the mouse and the keys below.
| Z · Backspace | Undo |
|---|---|
| H | Hint |
| Esc | Pause · back |
Difficulty and rankings
| Difficulty | 4 free cells · 3 free cells |
|---|---|
| About the difficulty levels | 4 free cells: the standard rules · 3 free cells: you can also move fewer cards at once |
| Ranking | Fastest clear time first · separate rankings for phone (touch) and PC (keyboard · mouse) |
There's a weekly ranking and an all-time ranking; the weekly one resets every Monday at midnight (Korea time). For details, see the Help.
Good to know on Hanpanmadang
- Cards you can move at once = (empty free cells + 1) × 2^(empty columns). When moving into an empty column, don't count that column.
- The 3-free-cell mode only deals layouts verified to be solvable.
Learn from examples
With all 4 free cells empty and no empty columns, you can move (4 + 1) × 1 = 5 cards at once. Add one empty column and it becomes (4 + 1) × 2 = 10. But when moving into that empty column it doesn't count, so the limit is 5. With only 2 free cells empty it's 3, or 6 with one empty column.
Common mistakes
- Filling up all the free cells.
- With every free cell full and no empty column, you can only move one card at a time and quickly get stuck. Always try to keep one free cell open.
- Starting without planning how to dig out the aces and twos.
- Before you start, note which column and how deep each ace and two is buried, and plan to free the shallowest first.
Tips
- Before moving a card, think two or three moves ahead about what it will uncover. With no hidden cards, the whole game can be read out.
- An empty column is worth far more than a free cell. When you see a short column, work toward clearing it completely.
- Send low cards up to the foundations as soon as you can. The fewer cards left on the board, the more room you have to move.
- Untangle columns where high cards cover low ones first, and you'll get stuck less.