FreeCell Strategy
FreeCell is a planning game: all 52 cards are face up from the first move, so luck is gone once the deal is dealt. Before you touch a card, find where the aces and twos are buried and count how long a run your free cells and empty cascades let you move.
The best moment to think is before the first move. This guide shows what to look for and how to count. It is written for the FreeCell page, whose rules you should know first. Words you do not recognize are in the glossary.
How solvable is it?
In the site’s own measurements, our solver found a winning line for nearly every random FreeCell deal. The deals offered here come from a pool where it found one for each. So when you lose a pool deal, the win was there. That is a reason to rewind with undo and look again instead of blaming the cards.
The capacity formula
Everything in FreeCell rests on one number: how long a run can move at once. With n empty free cells and m empty cascades, a run of up to (n + 1) times 2 to the power of m cards can move onto a cascade that already holds cards. If the target is itself an empty cascade, it does not count toward m, so the same room carries half as many.
Some values to remember, for a run that lands on a cascade already holding cards:
| Empty cells | Empty cascades | Cards that can move |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | 2 | 20 |
With two empty cells and one empty cascade, a move into that empty cascade carries only 3 cards. Twenty cards is more room than you will need, since no ordered run is longer than 13 cards.
The game does the shuffling for you and refuses a run that is too long. You still need to know the number, because it tells you whether a plan is possible before you start.
Decision rules, in order
- Find the aces and twos. Note which cascades bury them, and how many cards sit above each. Dig the shallowest first.
- Count the cheapest way to empty a cascade. The shortest cascade, or the one whose cards all have homes, is the first target.
- Move to uncover before you move to tidy. A move that exposes a low card or a card with a home beats one that only sorts a pile.
- Park in a cell only to free something better. A card in a cell is a card that did not move toward the foundation. Fill a cell when it opens a cascade or an ace.
- Keep at least one cell free. With zero free cells, the longest run you can move is one card, and one mistake traps you.
- Check capacity before you start a long sequence. If a run will not fit, find out now.
Worked examples
Two aces, two routes
The ace of clubs sits under three cards in cascade 2. The ace of hearts sits under five cards in cascade 6. Start with cascade 2. Suppose two of its three covering cards have homes on other cascades, and the third needs a cell. Three moves later the ace is up, one cell is spent, and cascade 2 is a card or two from empty. The hearts route costs five moves and probably two cells before anything is gained. Cheap ace first, and look at the next ace only after the cells are back.
Counting before a long move
Cascade 5 is empty and two cells are free, but the other two cells hold a red 3 and a black 2 that have no homes yet. A five-card run in cascade 1 needs to go into cascade 5. With two free cells and the target being the only empty cascade, the limit is 3, so the move fails. Count what changes if those two parked cards go home first: four free cells give 5, exactly enough. The plan was fine, only its order was wrong.
The expensive cell
You park a red 4 in the last free cell to expose a card that has a home. It looks tidy. But the red 4 needs a black 5, and the black 5 lies under three cards that each need a cell. Now every cell is taken and the 4 cannot leave. Before you park, ask where the card goes next. If you cannot name a route within two or three moves, look for another line.
Common mistakes
- Moving before looking. The first moves shape everything after them, so make them last.
- Filling the cells early. Every cell you fill shrinks the runs you can move.
- Dropping any card into an empty cascade. A lone stray card there is easy to bury. Put in a run you want to keep moving, or a card that its partners will follow.
- Ignoring what you bury. A long run laid over a low card makes every card beneath it expensive to reach.
- Counting capacity after the cells are full. Count first.
Endgame
Once the low cards are home, the tableau is usually a set of long, ordered runs. Foundations will take cards in bulk. The danger is a low card lying under a long run you built earlier. If the spade 6 sits under such a run, spades cannot continue until every card above it has moved, and that needs room. Plan that dismantling while the cells are still open.
Autoplay moves cards to the foundations only when that cannot hurt, and it never takes a card back down. So when a card does not move by itself, there is usually a reason: another card still needs it as a landing spot.
Checklist before each move
- Where are the aces and twos, and how deep?
- Which cascade is cheapest to empty?
- How many cells and empty cascades do I have, and what run size does that allow?
- Does this move park a card I will need next?
- Can I leave a cell free?
Frequently asked questions
Should I always empty a cascade?
Not always, but it is worth more than an empty cell, because it doubles how far a run can travel. Empty one when it is cheap.
When is it right to fill a cell?
When the card you park frees an ace, a low card or a whole cascade. Parking just to tidy up wastes room.
How do I know a deal is hopeless?
On a pool deal, you cannot. A winning line exists. Rewind and try the other cascade first.
Is the hint reliable?
It shows a legal move, not a good one. Treat it as a prompt, not a plan.
Is there a score?
Only moves and time. Fewer moves is the usual way to compare two wins.
Keep reading
Play FreeCell, review the rules, or open the glossary. For hidden-card planning, see the Klondike strategy guide.