Freecell Solitaire Rules
Objective:
The objective in Freecell solitaire is to move all of the cards to the foundation. Do this by building up the foundations, with each pile a single suit running from Ace up to King.
Setup:
After shuffling, the cards are dealt as evenly as possible to the tableau. The empty foundations and free cells await your cards.
Moves:
- Move a run of cards in the tableau. A run is a sequence of cards descending in rank and alternating in color. Strictly speaking, in Freecell only individual cards can be moved, but Cara Games Freecell Solitaire enables you to move a run in one action. It does this by automatically computing the in-between single-card moves (using empty columns and free cells) needed to make it look like an entire run is moving from one column to another. This means that the number of empty columns and free cells determines the limit on run length; fewer empties means shorter runs.
- Move a single card to the foundation. Build each foundation up from Ace to King in each of the four suits. Do this with all cards to win.
- Move a single card to or from a free cell. Use these to help you organize your runs.
Winning:
You win the game of Freecell when you have moved all cards to the foundation.
Strategy and Hints:
- First, find the Aces. Then find a way to uncover them, so that you can begin moving cards to the foundations.
- Organize the tableau into runs of cards. This is the main activity over the course of the game. As you arrange longer and longer runs, lower-ranked cards will become available for moving to the foundations.
- Use the free cells as a temporary staging area while digging into columns and organizing runs.
- In between bursts of activity, aim to keep free cells free. Allowing free cells to clog up with unmovable cards will restrict your freedom.
- Aim to make an empty column or two.
- A mixture of empty columns and free cells will help you move longer columns of cards. Two of each will let you move runs of 12 cards at once.
- When a run is too long to move in one go, split the run into parts and find a way to re-assemble it at its destination.
