How many cards can you move at once in FreeCell?

New players often wonder how a big stack of cards slides across the board in one move. The secret is a simple formula built on your open spaces.

Quick answer: By the strict rules you only ever move one card at a time, but free cells and empty columns let you shift a whole run in one motion. The formula is (free cells + 1) times 2 to the power of empty columns. With all four cells open and no empty columns, that means five cards at once.

The supermove formula

The number of cards you can shift as a group is (free cells + 1) x 2 ^ (empty columns). Each open free cell is a temporary parking spot, and each empty column doubles your reach. The game handles the shuffling behind the scenes, but it is really just moving one card at a time, very fast.

Working an example

Say you have three free cells open and one empty column. That is (3 + 1) x 2 ^ 1 = 8 cards in a single move. Open all four cells and keep two columns empty and you can move (4 + 1) x 2 ^ 2 = 20 cards at once. This is why keeping cells and columns free is so powerful. Our glossary defines every term here.

Why it matters for strategy

Because your moving power grows fast as spaces open, protecting free cells is one of the core skills in FreeCell. Fill all four cells carelessly and suddenly you can only move a single card, and the board can lock up. Learn the exact moves on the rules page.

See the full rules

Related questions

What are the free cells for?

The four free cells are open spaces that each hold exactly one card. They give the game its name and its strategy: you use them to park cards temporarily, freeing up moves and letting you shuffle stacks around. Think of them as four extra hands that can each carry one card.

Should you always empty a column in FreeCell?

Empty columns are powerful, but emptying one is not always the right move. An empty column lets you move far more cards at once and store cards you cannot place elsewhere. Still, sometimes holding a useful sequence in place beats clearing the column, so it depends on the position.

How do you win FreeCell?

You win by moving all 52 cards to the four foundations, each built up from Ace to King in a single suit. The path there is about planning: get the Aces and low cards up early, keep free cells and columns open, and always think a few moves ahead before you commit.