About FreeCell
FreeCell is a solitaire card game played with one 52-card deck, dealt face up into eight columns. The goal is to move every card to the four foundations, building each suit from Ace up to King. In the columns you build downward in alternating colours (red on black, black on red).
By the ToolFluency team · Updated October 2026
Play FreeCell free online. Daily deal, classic numbered games 1 to 32,000, hints that find a real winning line, undo, and win streaks. No download or sign-up.
How to use
- All 52 cards are dealt face up into eight columns, so nothing is hidden. The four spaces at the top left are the free cells, and the four at the top right are the foundations. You win by moving every card to the foundations, each suit built up from Ace to King.
- Drag a card where you want it, or just tap it and it goes to the best legal spot: a foundation first, then a column, then a free cell. Aces and low cards that are safe to send home move to the foundations on their own.
- Build the columns downward in alternating colours: a red 6 on a black 7, a black Jack on a red Queen. Any card can go into an empty column.
- Each free cell holds one card. Use them to get a card out of the way, and empty them again as soon as you can. A game is usually lost because all four cells are full, not because the cards were bad.
- You can move a whole run of cards at once if there is room to do it one card at a time. The limit is (empty free cells + 1), doubled for each empty column. With two free cells and one empty column you can move six cards. If a drag is refused, free a cell first.
- Stuck? Hint searches for a real winning line from where you are and shows its next move: gold on the card to move, a light outline on where it goes. Undo steps back as far as you like, and Restart deal gives you the same deal again.
- Play the Daily deal (the same deal for everyone that day) to build a streak, hit Random for a new one, or type a game number and press Play. The numbers match the classic numbered FreeCell deals, so game 1 here is the game 1 you remember.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play FreeCell?
FreeCell is a solitaire card game played with one 52-card deck, dealt face up into eight columns. The goal is to move every card to the four foundations, building each suit from Ace up to King. In the columns you build downward in alternating colours (red on black, black on red). Four free cells each hold one card as temporary storage, and any card may be placed in an empty column. Because every card is visible from the first move, FreeCell is a game of planning, not luck.
Can every FreeCell game be won?
Nearly. Of the original 32,000 numbered deals, exactly one cannot be won: game 11982. Thousands of players worked through all 32,000 deals in the 1990s in a group effort called the Internet FreeCell Project, and computer solvers later confirmed the result. Across larger sets of deals, about 99.999% are winnable. The daily and random deals on this page never give you 11982, but you can type the number in if you want to see it for yourself.
How many cards can I move at once in FreeCell?
Strictly, FreeCell moves one card at a time. Moving a run is a shortcut for shuffling the cards through free cells and empty columns. The number you can move is (empty free cells + 1), doubled for each empty column. With all four cells empty and no empty column that is 5 cards. With two cells empty and one empty column it is 6. When you move a run into an empty column, that column does not count toward the doubling.
What do the game numbers mean?
Each number is a specific deal. This page uses the same numbering as the classic computer version, so game 1, game 617 or any other number from 1 to 32,000 deals the same layout people have been solving and comparing notes on for decades. Numbers above 32,000 work too and continue the same sequence. Use it to replay a deal that beat you, or to give a friend the exact same game.
What is the daily deal?
One numbered deal is picked for each calendar day, and it is the same for everyone. Win it on the day and it counts toward your daily streak, shown in the Your record panel along with games won, win rate, current win streak and best time. You can go back and play earlier days with the arrows above the Daily deal button; those count as normal wins, not toward the streak. Your record is kept in this browser, with no account needed.
What are the best FreeCell strategies?
Read the whole layout before you move: find the Aces and 2s and work out what is on top of them. Keep free cells empty; each occupied cell cuts how many cards you can move. Open a column early: an empty column is worth more than a free cell because it can hold a whole run. Do not rush cards to the foundations if you still need them to hold a card of the other colour. And when a deal goes wrong, use Undo to go back to the decision, not just the last move.
Where did FreeCell come from?
The computer game was written by Paul Alfille in 1978 for the PLATO system at the University of Illinois, building on older card games such as Baker's Game. Jim Horne wrote the Microsoft version, which shipped widely with Windows 95 and made the game a fixture on office computers. His version introduced the 32,000 numbered deals that players still refer to.
Can I play FreeCell with the keyboard?
Yes. Press Tab until the card table is outlined, then use the arrow keys to move the gold cursor from pile to pile and up and down a column. Enter picks up the card under the cursor (with any cards on top of it), and Enter again drops it on the pile you have moved to. Space sends the card straight to its best spot, and Escape puts a held card back. H shows a hint and U or Ctrl+Z undoes a move. Each step is announced for screen readers.
Is this FreeCell free?
Yes. It runs in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer with no download and no sign-up, and a game in progress is kept if you close the tab and come back. For more card games, try
Klondike Solitaire.
Part of ToolFluency’s library of free online tools for Games & Fun. No account needed, no data leaves your device.