FreeCell Strategy: How to Win (and the Supermove Math Explained)

FreeCell is the fairest solitaire there is. Every card is face up from the start, and of the 32,000 classic Windows deals only one, #11982, can't be won. (We checked all 32,000 with our solver.) So when a game gets away from you, the problem was a move, not the shuffle. This guide is about finding those moves.

How many cards can you move at once?

Officially FreeCell moves one card at a time. In practice, most computer versions, this one included, let you drag a whole run when you have room to shuffle it through the free cells and empty columns one card at a time. Players call this a supermove. Knowing the limit tells you when a plan will work before you try it.

The formula: (empty free cells + 1) × 2 for each empty column.
If you are moving into an empty column, don't count that column.

Why the free cells add one

Say you have two empty cells and want to move 9♠ 8♥ 7♣ onto the 10♦. Put the 7♣ in a cell, the 8♥ in the other, move the 9♠ across, then bring back the 8♥ and the 7♣. Each cell holds one card, and the bottom card of the run moves directly. Two cells, three cards.

Why an empty column doubles it

An empty column can hold a whole short run, not just one card. Take one empty cell and one empty column, and the run 8♠ 7♥ 6♣ 5♦ to move onto the 9♦:

1. 5♦ to the free cell, 6♣ to the empty column, 5♦ onto the 6♣. The cell is free again.
2. 7♥ to the free cell, 8♠ onto the 9♦, 7♥ onto the 8♠.
3. 5♦ to the cell, 6♣ onto the 7♥, 5♦ onto the 6♣.

Four cards, which is (1 + 1) × 2. The empty column worked as a second staging area, and each one you add doubles the run again. The game does all of this for you in a single drag. If the run is too long, it tells you so.

The empty-column trap

With three empty cells and one empty column you can move 8 cards onto another card. But move a run into that empty column and the limit drops to (3 + 1) = 4, because the column you are filling can't also be your staging area. Plenty of players learn this one the hard way, halfway through a plan.

Walking through deal #1

Deal #1 is the same layout here as in Windows. Open it and follow along. Columns are numbered left to right, and the cards are listed from the top of each column down to the card you can play:

Scan for low cards first. Column 6 is a gift: two Aces and the 2♣ under a single 3♦. The A♥ is under three cards in column 7, and the A♦ is under four in column 5. That one will take a while.

This is the line our solver found. It is not the only way through, but every step is easy to follow.

1. Harvest column 6. Put the 3♦ and then the 2♣ in free cells. The A♣, the 2♣ and the A♠ go up by themselves. One cell used.
2. Open column 7. Put the 6♠ and the 6♦ from column 1 in cells, then the 8♣ from column 7. All four cells are full. That looks reckless, but watch how fast they empty.
3. Build. J♥ onto the Q♣ (column 6). 10♣ onto the J♥. 2♥ onto the 3♠ (column 1). 8♦ onto the 9♣ (column 2). The 3♦ comes out of its cell onto the 4♠ (column 3). Three cells used.
4. Free the hearts. 7♦ to a cell. 7♠ onto the 8♦. 6♦ from its cell onto the 7♠. 4♦ to a cell. The A♥ and the 2♥ go up on their own. Send the 3♣ and the 3♥ up after them. All four cells are full again: 6♠, 8♣, 7♦, 4♦.
5. Clear column 8. The 5♥ goes onto the 6♣ (column 5), and column 8 is empty. Put the 3♠ from column 1 into it, the 4♣ onto the 5♥, and the 2♠ goes up, with the 3♠ right behind it. Column 8 is empty again.
6. Unload the cells. 7♦ into the empty column. 4♣ to a cell for a moment, 6♠ onto the 7♦, 5♥ onto the 6♠, 4♣ back onto the 5♥. Two cells free.
7. The payoff. Drag Q♣ J♥ 10♣ from column 6 onto the K♦ in column 1. Three cards, two free cells: (2 + 1) = 3, exactly the limit.

Look at what happened. All four cells were full twice, and both times there was a clear way to empty them. That is the difference between a bold move and a desperate one. Before you fill your last cell, know which move frees it.

Habits that win FreeCell games

Find the buried low cards before your first move

The deepest Ace or 2 usually decides the game. In deal #1 that is the 2♦, under six cards at the top of column 2, with the A♦ (under four in column 5) close behind. Every plan should be heading toward it, even when you are working somewhere else.

Treat free cells as a loan

A card in a cell is a debt. A good working rule is to finish each burst of moves with at least two cells free. When you can't, make sure the cards you parked have somewhere to go soon.

An empty column is worth more than two cells

The table shows it: two free cells and no empty column moves 3 cards; one cell and one column moves 4, and the column can also hold a whole run. Go for an empty column early. The shortest column, or the one with the fewest cards out of order, is usually the place to start.

Don't waste an empty column on a single card

Dropping one card into an empty column turns your most flexible space into a one-card cell. Do it only if it unlocks something right away. A King is the exception: a King can only ever sit on an empty column, so a King leading a run is the best possible use of one.

Watch for low cards buried under Kings

A King can only move to an empty column. So any card underneath a King is stuck until you have a column for it. In deal #1, the 2♦ sits at the very top of column 2 with the K♣ and the K♠ on it. Freeing that 2 means finding two empty columns at some point. Spot these early and plan for them.

Let the foundations wait, a little

Aces and 2s go up as soon as they are free. The game sends other cards up on its own only when no card on the table could still need them. When you send a card up by hand, ask whether it is the only spot for a card one rank lower in the other color.

When it all goes wrong, undo further back

If you are out of cells and out of moves, the mistake is rarely the last move. It is usually where you filled the third cell without a way out. Undo back to that point, and press Hint if you want a nudge. When our solver finds a win from your position, the hint is the first move of it.

About deal #11982

Every FreeCell fan eventually hears about deal #11982, the one classic deal that can't be won. Our solver tried every possibility and confirmed it. Random games here skip it, but you are welcome to open it by number and see for yourself. The numbers behind this and the other games are in our solitaire odds guide.