Card Games 🇺🇸United States20th century

FreeCell

Solitaire card game where ALL 52 cards are dealt face-up + 4 FREE CELLS for temporary card holding. Invented ~1960s by Paul Alfille (Illinois computer teacher). Popularized by MICROSOFT WINDOWS 95 (bundled version). Notably 99.999% of dealt hands are WINNABLE with perfect play (only 1 known unwinnable — #11982). Game of pure skill, minimal luck.

📐table + card layout⏱~5 min🌤indoor

What is FreeCell?

FreeCell is SOLITAIRE CARD GAME distinct from Klondike due to (1) ALL 52 CARDS DEALT FACE-UP + (2) 4 FREE CELLS for temporary card holding. Invented ~1960s (some claim earlier) by PAUL ALFILLE (Illinois computer science teacher) as PLATO computer system game. Popularized GLOBALLY by MICROSOFT bundling with Windows 95 (bundled as demo of Win32 capabilities); Microsoft's version includes numbered 32,000 unique deals. NOTABLE MATHEMATICAL FACT: Of Microsoft's 32,000 numbered hands, ONLY GAME #11982 IS PROVABLY UNWINNABLE with perfect play (99.99+% win rate). Considered GAME OF PURE SKILL — no hidden cards + minimal luck = solving = intelligent problem-solving. SETUP: 8 TABLEAU COLUMNS (52 cards face-up), 4 FREE CELLS (empty), 4 FOUNDATIONS (empty). GAMEPLAY: like Klondike but tableau built DOWN ALTERNATING COLOR, single-card moves plus free-cell parking, no stock pile draws. WIN = all cards to foundations A→K by suit. HARDER than Klondike due to no drawing but rewards planning. WINDOWS FREECELL popular workplace 'productivity killer' 1995-present. VARIANTS: BAKER'S GAME (build DOWN by SAME SUIT — harder), EIGHT OFF (variant with 8 free cells).

Quick facts

How it works

Objective

Move all 52 cards to 4 foundations (A→K per suit) using tableau + 4 free cells.

Rules

Basic rules

Setup: 8 tableau columns, all cards face-up
Columns 1-4 have 7 cards; columns 5-8 have 6 cards.
4 FREE CELLS empty at start (temporary parking)
Only ONE card per free cell at any time.
Foundations built UP A → 2 → K by suit
One foundation per suit.
Tableau built DOWN alternating COLOR
Red 7 on Black 8, etc.
Move sequences (only 1 card at time officially)
Modern implementations allow super-moves (multi-card if enough free cells + empty columns).
Win: all cards on foundations
99.99+% win rate with perfect play.

Scoring

Not scored typically. Win/lose. Some track games won + fastest times.

Action	Points
Win	Solving the game
Windows FreeCell statistics	Games won + longest streak tracked
Time bonus	Faster wins = more score in some scoring versions

Win condition · All 52 cards on foundations (A→K each suit).

Playing area

Called

table + card layout

Dimensions

layout requires ~2ft × 1.5ft

8 tableau columns + 4 free cells + 4 foundations.

Equipment

Standard 52-card deck
€2-10
Or digital app (Microsoft, PySolFC, Solitaired)
Free

Strategies

Never fill all free cells early
Free cells = flexibility; running out = stuck.
Move Aces + 2s to foundations quickly
Immediate progress + tableau cleared.
Plan sequences before moving
Think 3-5 moves ahead.
Watch for buried Kings
Kings underneath obstruct — extract early.
Super-moves calculation: (empty cells+1) × 2^(empty columns) cards
How many cards can move at once.

Terminology

Free cell: One of 4 temporary parking spots for single card.
Foundation: One of 4 A→K by suit piles.
Tableau: 8 columns of face-up cards.
Super-move: Multi-card move enabled by free cells + empty columns.
Auto-play: Application auto-moves cards to foundations when safe.
Winnable deal: Deal solvable with perfect play.
Deal #11982: Only Microsoft numbered deal PROVABLY UNWINNABLE.

Major competitions

Microsoft Solitaire Collection Star Club
ongoing · worldwide · since 2016
FreeCell Pro deal solving community
ongoing · worldwide · since 1995

Where it is played

🇬🇱🇴🇧🇦🇱🇅𡆹🇅🇻🇮🇦🇅🇲🇮🇨🇷🇴🇸🇴🇫🇹🇅🇼🇮🇳🇩🇴🇼🇸global — via Microsoft Windows

Governing bodies

No official governing body
n/a

Famous names & records

Famous athletes

Paul Alfille (USA) — Inventor 1960s via PLATO
Wes Cherry (USA) — Windows Solitaire developer (also FreeCell)
Various speed-solving competitors in online communities

Learn this sport

beginner

1
Play Microsoft FreeCell (free Windows) OR PySolFC (multi-platform)
Learn basic mechanics.

intermediate

1
Deep planning: 3-5 moves ahead
Elite play requires reading multiple moves.
2
Try Baker's Game variant
Build DOWN by same suit — much harder.

advanced

1
Solve Microsoft deals in order 1-32000
Community project — deal #11982 unwinnable.
2
Speed solving competitions
Sub-90-second wins possible.

Frequently asked

What is FreeCell?+

SOLITAIRE CARD GAME distinct from Klondike due to (1) ALL 52 CARDS DEALT FACE-UP + (2) 4 FREE CELLS for temporary parking. Invented ~1960s by PAUL ALFILLE via PLATO computer system. GLOBALLY POPULARIZED by MICROSOFT WINDOWS 95 bundle. Considered GAME OF PURE SKILL — no hidden cards + 99.99+% of hands winnable with perfect play. HARDER than Klondike due to no stock pile drawing but MORE REWARDING due to pure skill. Windows FreeCell has 32,000 numbered deals; deal #11982 is only one PROVABLY UNWINNABLE.

How is FreeCell different from Klondike Solitaire?+

KLONDIKE = HIDDEN CARDS (tableau face-down), STOCK PILE draws, cards built DOWN alternating color. FREECELL = ALL CARDS FACE-UP, NO STOCK PILE, 4 FREE CELLS for temporary parking. Klondike ~30-80% win rate depending draw variant (luck involved). FreeCell 99.99%+ win rate (skill involved). Both build foundations A→K by suit. FreeCell considered CHESS-LIKE (skill); Klondike considered POKER-LIKE (skill + luck).

What is deal #11982?+

Microsoft FreeCell has 32,000 NUMBERED DEALS (seeded PRNG). Analysis over years found ALL WINNABLE except DEAL #11982 — provably UNWINNABLE by any strategy. Also #146692 (in extended deal sets) unwinnable. All others solved by community + computer solvers. Famous 'Internet FreeCell Project' (Dave Ring 1994) systematically solved all 32000 deals — earliest crowd-sourced computer problem-solving. Considered FASCINATING mathematical fact of specific-deal solvability.

Sources & provenance

Wikipedia — FreeCell— Wikipedia

Last verified 2026-08-25.verified