FreeCell Rules
FreeCell is the open, thinking-person's branch of the patience family. Instead of hiding cards in a stock, it deals the whole deck face up into a tableau of columns, hands you a few free cells as temporary parking spots, and asks you to build the foundations up by suit from Ace to King. Every card is in plain sight from the very first move, so a deal is a puzzle to solve, not a gamble to survive.
This page collects the rules for every game on FreeCell.now. Each section covers the goal, the legal moves, and the small details that trip up new players - with a link to jump straight in. If you are brand new, start with plain FreeCell, warm up with the easygoing Relaxed FreeCell, or test yourself against Seahaven Towers once you feel ready.
💡 New here? Every game below shares one core idea - free the buried cards and build each suit from Ace to King. Learn one and the rest come quickly.
Classic FreeCell: FreeCell · ForeCell · Relaxed FreeCell
Suit Builders: Baker's Game · Eight Off · Seahaven
Two-Deck: Double FreeCell
Challenge: Challenge
The FreeCell family at a glance
Skim the whole lineup first, then jump to the full rules for any game below. The big difference between games is whether you build the tableau in alternating colors or strictly by suit, and how many free cells you are given to work with.
| Game | Build rule | Free cells | Decks | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FreeCell | Down, alternating colors | 4 open | 1 | Pure skill |
| ForeCell | Down, alternating colors | 4 (start full) | 1 | Tight and tactical |
| Relaxed FreeCell | Down, alternating colors | 4 open | 1 | Beginner-friendly |
| Baker's Game | Down, same suit | 4 open | 1 | Hard |
| Eight Off | Down, same suit | 8 (6 filled) | 1 | Gentle |
| Seahaven | Down, same suit | 4 (2 filled) | 1 | Expert |
| Double FreeCell | Down, alternating colors | 6 open | 2 | Marathon |
| Challenge | Down, alternating colors | 1-2 open | 1 | Brutal |
Classic FreeCell
FreeCell
1 deck · Pure skill · 99.999% of deals are winnable
FreeCell is the open, thinking-person's game of the patience family. The full 52-card deck is dealt face up into eight columns - the first four columns hold seven cards, the last four hold six - so nothing is hidden and nothing is left to luck once the cards are down. Above the board sit four free cells, each a parking spot for a single card, and four foundations that you build up by suit from Ace to King. On the tableau you stack cards downward in alternating colors, red on black and black on red. Because you can see everything, the game rewards planning over guessing: work out where each buried card needs to go before you commit. Nearly every deal you meet has a solution waiting to be found, which is exactly why FreeCell hooks people for years.
The goal
You win by moving all 52 cards up to the four foundation piles. Each foundation is a single suit, and you fill it in order from the Ace at the bottom to the King on top. When every suit reaches its King, the game is solved and the board is clear.
Eight columns
The deck is dealt into eight tableau columns, seven cards in the first four and six in the rest. Inside a column you build downward in alternating colors, so a red six can land on a black seven. Every card faces up, which means you always know precisely what you are working with from the very first move.
Four free cells
The four free cells at the top are your temporary holding spots. Each cell holds exactly one card of any kind, letting you lift a blocker out of the way to reach what is beneath it. A card in a cell can return to the tableau or jump to a foundation whenever it fits, so treat cells as a loan, not a dumping ground.
Moving several cards
You may only truly move one card at a time, but an ordered run can travel together as a supermove. The number you can shift equals (free cells + 1), doubled for each empty column, so with two open cells and one empty column you can relocate six cards at once. Fewer free resources means shorter runs, so guard them carefully.
Empty columns
When you clear a column completely, that empty space becomes hugely valuable. In FreeCell any single card may be placed into an empty column, giving you a flexible staging area. Empty columns also boost your supermove size, so opening one - and not wasting it - is often the turning point of a hard deal.
ForeCell
1 deck · Tight and tactical · About 75% winnable with careful play
ForeCell keeps the open, everything-face-up spirit of FreeCell but removes your cushion. The deck lands in eight tableau columns of six cards each, and the four free cells above are not empty - each one already holds a card at the deal. That means you start with zero spare parking, so your very first move has to create space instead of spending it. As in FreeCell you build the tableau downward in alternating colors and send cards up to four foundations by suit from Ace to King. The sharpest twist is the empty-column rule: only a King may move into a cleared column, so gaps are harder to use and far more precious. All of this makes the opening notably tense, rewarding players who unload the free cells early and plan several moves deep before touching a single card.
What you're building
Your target is the four foundations, one per suit, each stacked up in order from Ace to King. Clear all 52 cards onto them and you win. Because the cells start occupied, planning the route for those Aces and twos matters even more than in FreeCell.
The tableau
Eight columns of six cards form the playing field, all dealt face up. You stack downward in alternating colors, so a black five sits under a red six. Seeing every card lets you plan, but the tighter setup means you must plan harder.
Cells that start full
Each of the four free cells holds a card from the very first deal, so you begin with no open parking at all. Your earliest goal is usually to empty one or two cells by playing their cards onto the tableau or up to a foundation, buying yourself room to move.
Sliding a sequence
An ordered run of alternating colors can move as one supermove. The size still follows (free cells + 1), doubled per empty column, but since you start with no free cells, early supermoves are short. Free up cells first to lengthen the runs you can carry.
Kings only
When a column empties, only a King may be placed there - no other card qualifies. This makes empty columns scarcer and more strategic than in FreeCell, so plan to have a King ready before you clear a column, or the space may sit useless.
Relaxed FreeCell
1 deck · Beginner-friendly · Almost every deal is winnable
Relaxed FreeCell is FreeCell with the training wheels left on, and it is the perfect place to start if the classic version feels intimidating. The board is identical: the full deck deals face up into eight columns, four free cells sit above, you build the tableau down in alternating colors, and you fill four foundations up by suit from Ace to King. What changes is how kindly the rules treat you. You may lift and drop a whole ordered run in one smooth gesture without sweating the strict cell-and-column math that limits supermoves in standard play, and any card at all can slide into an empty column. Those two allowances remove the most common ways beginners get stuck, so deals flow easily and satisfying wins come often. It is a gentle, confidence-building on-ramp that still teaches the core FreeCell instincts you will carry everywhere else.
Aim of the game
You are trying to build all four foundations from Ace up to King, one suit each, until the whole deck is stacked and the board is clear. The objective is exactly the same as classic FreeCell - only the path there is smoother.
Reading the eight columns
All 52 cards are dealt face up across eight columns. You build downward in alternating colors, red on black and black on red. With nothing hidden, take a moment to read the layout and picture where the low cards you need are buried.
Your four cells
The four free cells each hold one card and act as temporary parking while you rearrange the tableau. Use them to lift a blocker out of the way, but try to send parked cards back into play soon so your cells stay available.
Generous supermoves
Here is the relaxed part: you can move an entire ordered run in one action without the tight cell-count limit that classic FreeCell enforces. That freedom lets you reorganize big groups quickly and keeps beginners from getting boxed in by the math.
Any card to a gap
When you empty a column, any card - not just a King - can fill it. This makes empty columns easy, flexible workspaces where you can park sequences and untangle the board, one of the biggest reasons this version feels so forgiving.
Suit Builders
Baker's Game
1 deck · Hard · Around 75% winnable with strong play
Baker's Game is the game FreeCell grew from, and playing it shows you just how clever that one famous rule change really was. The setup is familiar: the whole deck deals face up into eight columns, four free cells wait above, and you build the four foundations up by suit from Ace to King. The difference lives in the tableau, where you build downward in the same suit rather than alternating colors. A six of spades will only accept a five of spades, which roughly halves the number of legal landing spots on any given move and makes the whole puzzle noticeably tighter. Any card may still fill an empty column, so spaces remain valuable escape hatches. The result is a demanding, satisfying game that rewards patient sequencing and long-range planning. If FreeCell feels solved to you, Baker's Game restores the difficulty the alternating-color rule quietly removed.
The target
You win by building all four foundations up by suit, Ace through King, until every card has left the tableau. The goal matches FreeCell exactly - it is the route there that is harder, because your tableau moves are more restricted.
Building by suit
Inside the columns you build downward in the same suit, not alternating colors. That means a five of hearts can only sit on a six of hearts. This single rule cuts your available moves dramatically and is the heart of what makes Baker's Game tough.
The four cells
Four free cells sit above the board, each holding one card as temporary storage. With fewer legal tableau moves available, these cells become even more precious than in FreeCell, so spend them carefully and reclaim them whenever you can.
Carrying a suited run
An ordered same-suit run can travel together as a supermove, sized by the usual (free cells + 1), doubled per empty column. But same-suit sequences are harder to assemble, so you will often move fewer cards at a time than you would in FreeCell.
Filling a vacancy
When you clear a column, any card may be placed into the empty space. This flexibility is a lifeline in such a strict game, giving you somewhere to unload an awkward card and untangle a suit, so protect your empty columns and use them wisely.
Eight Off
1 deck · Gentle · Over 80% winnable
Eight Off is the roomy, same-suit game that FreeCell can trace its lineage back through. The deck deals face up into eight columns of six cards, and above the board sit eight free cells - a generous number - though six of them already hold a card when the game begins, leaving you two open to start. You build the tableau downward in the same suit, so a five of clubs lands only on a six of clubs, and you fill four foundations up by suit from Ace to King. Empty columns are reserved for Kings alone. That combination sounds strict, but the sheer number of cells makes Eight Off surprisingly forgiving: there is almost always somewhere to tuck a troublesome card while you sort a suit. Over four in five deals can be won, making this a relaxed, welcoming corner of the family that still teaches the discipline of building by suit.
Winning position
The game is won when all four foundations are complete, each suit stacked up from Ace to King and the tableau emptied. It is the same finish as every FreeCell relative - the eight cells simply give you more comfortable ways to get there.
Same-suit columns
You build the tableau downward in a single suit, so a four of diamonds only goes on a five of diamonds. This is the stricter same-suit rule shared with Baker's Game, and it means you should always be thinking about keeping each suit's cards reachable.
Eight cells, six taken
There are eight free cells, far more than FreeCell's four, but six of them start the game already holding a card. You begin with two open cells and can free the others by playing their cards, giving you plenty of parking as the game unfolds.
Shifting a run
An ordered same-suit run moves as a supermove, and with up to eight cells available the runs you can carry grow large. The capacity still follows your open cells and empty columns, so clearing cells widens the groups you can relocate in one go.
Kings claim empties
When a column is emptied, only a King may move into it. This makes empty columns less flexible than in FreeCell, so plan to have a King ready before you clear a column, and lean on your abundant cells for everyday maneuvering instead.
Seahaven Towers
1 deck · Expert · About 90% winnable, but demanding
Seahaven Towers spreads the whole deck wide and asks you to think three steps ahead on every move. Fifty cards are dealt face up into ten columns of five - the towers - and the last two cards go into two of the four free cells, so you start with two cells filled and two open. You build the tableau downward in the same suit, sending cards up to four foundations by suit from Ace to King, and only a King may move into an empty column. Most deals can technically be solved - roughly nine in ten - yet the game earns its expert label because the same-suit rule and the Kings-only gaps punish loose play mercilessly. With only two spare cells and ten piles to manage, you must plan long chains of moves in advance. Seahaven Towers is where careful FreeCell players go to prove they can handle the family's most planning-heavy layout.
The finish line
You win by completing all four foundations, each suit stacked from Ace up to King, until every tower is cleared. The objective is standard for the family, but with ten columns and only two starting cells, reaching it takes serious foresight.
Ten towers, one suit
The cards form ten columns of five, and you build each tableau sequence downward in the same suit. A seven of hearts accepts only the six of hearts, so keeping every suit's cards reachable across ten piles is the core challenge.
Two towers, two cells
There are four free cells, but two of them start filled with the deck's last two cards, leaving you just two open. That thin margin of spare parking is why Seahaven demands such careful, deliberate play from the very first move.
Relaying a suited chain
An ordered same-suit run can move as a supermove, sized by your open cells and empty columns. With only two cells free at the start, early runs are short, so freeing cells and opening a tower are the keys to moving bigger chains.
Only Kings fill a tower
When a column is emptied, only a King may be placed into it. Empty towers are therefore both scarce and valuable, and you should aim to have a King ready to claim one, because a gap you cannot fill offers little help across such a wide board.
Two-Deck
Double FreeCell
2 decks · Marathon · Winnable but long - expect 20-minute games
Double FreeCell takes everything you love about the classic and doubles the scale. Two full decks - 104 cards - are dealt face up into ten columns, with six free cells above and eight foundations waiting, two for each suit, every one built up from Ace to King. The tableau still builds downward in alternating colours, any card may fill an empty column, and your supermove size grows with free cells and empty columns exactly as it does in one-deck FreeCell. What changes is the sheer amount happening at once. With two of every card in play, there are far more simultaneous plays to track, more ways to tangle a column, and a longer road to a clean board. A single game can stretch past twenty minutes of steady, absorbing play. If you want the familiar FreeCell logic to sink your teeth into for a good while, this is the marathon version to settle in with.
Eight foundations to fill
Because two decks are in play, there are eight foundations - two per suit - and each one builds up from Ace to King. You win when all eight are complete, which means shepherding two of every card home rather than one.
Two decks on the table
The full 104-card double deck is dealt face up, so nothing is hidden but there is twice as much to read. Two copies of every card means more options and more tangles, and it pays to scan the whole wide board before you plan your opening.
Ten columns, six cells
The cards spread across ten tableau columns, and six free cells sit above as temporary parking. You build the columns downward in alternating colours, just like classic FreeCell, only across a much larger playing field.
Moving long alternating runs
Ordered alternating-colour runs move as supermoves, sized by the usual (free cells + 1), doubled per empty column. With six cells available and a wide board, you can build and shift impressively long runs when you manage your resources well.
Empty a column, gain power
Any card may fill an empty column, and clearing one boosts your supermove capacity just as in FreeCell. On a ten-column, two-deck board, a well-used empty column is a major asset, so open one when you can and protect it.
Challenge
Challenge FreeCell
1 deck · Brutal · Far lower - a real skill test
Challenge FreeCell keeps the classic layout and strips away your safety net. The deck deals face up into eight columns and you build downward in alternating colors toward four foundations by suit from Ace to King - all completely standard. The twist is the number of free cells: Two Cells mode gives you just two, and One Cell mode leaves you a single solitary spot. Since your supermove size depends directly on how many cells you have, cutting them slashes how many cards you can move at once, sometimes down to a single card. That makes empty columns absolutely everything - often the only way to shift a run at all. Any card can still fill an empty column, so clearing and guarding those spaces becomes the whole game. Many deals that are trivial in normal FreeCell turn genuinely hard, and some become unwinnable. This is the mode for players hunting a serious test.
The uphill goal
You still aim to build all four foundations up by suit from Ace to King, but with only one or two cells the climb is far steeper. Every move must count, because you have almost no spare room to fix a mistake.
Eight tight columns
The familiar eight columns are dealt face up, and you build downward in alternating colors as always. Nothing about the tableau rule changes - what changes is that you have to navigate it with a fraction of the usual maneuvering room.
Just two free cells
In Two Cells mode you get two free cells; in One Cell mode, just one. That small number is the whole point: with so little parking, you cannot lift many blockers at once, and every cell you use must be earned back quickly.
Squeezing a short run
Supermove size is (free cells + 1), doubled per empty column, so with one cell you can move only two cards - or one with none free. Empty columns become the main way to move any real sequence, which makes them the key to the whole game.
Guard every empty column
Any card may fill an empty column, and here those spaces are your lifeline. With cells so scarce, an empty column is often the only way to relocate a run, so open one as early as you can and never waste it carelessly.
A few terms that apply everywhere
Tableau
The main playing area where the whole deck is dealt into columns. Every card is face up, so all of your work happens in the open. Each game sets its own build rule - down in alternating colors or down in a single suit.
Foundation
The goal piles, one per suit, built up from Ace to King. Fill every foundation and you win. The two-deck game has eight foundations instead of four, but the idea does not change.
Free cell
A single-card parking spot above the board. Each cell holds one card of any kind, letting you lift a blocker out of the way. Games differ on how many cells you get and whether they start empty or full.
Empty column
A column you have cleared of every card. Empty columns are prime work space and they multiply how many cards you can move at once. Some games let any card fill one; others allow only a King.
Ready to put the rules to work? Try today's Daily Challenge, race a friend in Multiplayer, or check the FAQ for common questions about the FreeCell family.
FreeCell rules FAQ
How do you play FreeCell?
FreeCell deals all 52 cards face up into eight columns. On the tableau you stack cards downward in alternating colors, park single cards in the four free cells when you need to dig, and build four foundations up by suit from Ace to King. Move every card to the foundations and you win. Because nothing is hidden, good planning matters far more than luck.
What is the goal of FreeCell?
The goal in every FreeCell game is to move all the cards onto the foundations, built up one suit at a time from Ace to King. In the two-deck game there are eight foundations to fill instead of four, but the idea is the same: clear the whole table and finish each suit in order.
Which FreeCell game is the easiest to learn?
Relaxed FreeCell is the gentlest start - it lets you move long runs freely and drop any card into an empty column. Eight Off is also friendly, since its eight cells give you plenty of room to work even though you build by suit.
Which FreeCell game is the hardest?
Challenge FreeCell is the toughest, because it hands you only one or two free cells instead of four. Baker's Game and Seahaven Towers are close behind, since building by suit removes many of the landing spots you get in ordinary FreeCell.
Are all FreeCell deals winnable?
Almost every standard FreeCell deal can be solved - about 99.999% of them. Of the 32,000 numbered Microsoft deals, only one has ever been proven impossible. Suit-building and low-cell variants are winnable less often, but a lost deal is still usually a fixable mistake rather than bad luck.
Want more answers? See the full FreeCell FAQ or look up any term in the glossary.