How to Play FreeCell Solitaire

All 52 cards deal face-up into eight tableau piles, with four open cells alongside them for shuffling cards while you build the foundations up by suit. The goal: Move all 52 cards to four foundation piles, building each suit from Ace to King.

Setup

1. All 52 cards are dealt face-up into 8 tableau columns (4 columns with 7 cards, 4 columns with 6 cards)
2. Four empty cells sit above the tableau, each holding one card temporarily
3. Four foundation piles sit next to the cells, ready to build up by suit from Ace to King

How to play

• Build foundation piles up in suit from Ace to King—cards automatically move there once they can no longer be used elsewhere; you can customize this in Settings
• In the tableau, build downward in alternating colors (red on black, black on red), moving one rank lower
• Move the top card from any tableau pile to another pile, a cell, or a foundation
• Park a card in an empty cell to get it out of the way while you dig out cards buried underneath in the tableau
• Empty tableau columns accept any card, giving you more flexibility to maneuver

How to win

Objective: Move all 52 cards to four foundation piles, building each suit from Ace to King.

The game is won when all four foundation piles are complete from Ace to King.

Tips

• Use cells sparingly—they're most valuable for freeing up blocked cards, not for parking cards indefinitely
• Try to clear entire tableau columns to maximize your maneuvering space
• Plan moves several steps ahead; look for sequences that will unlock key cards trapped deep in piles

Play FreeCell free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes FreeCell alongside 300+ other games. It saves every move as you play, so you can close the window and pick the game up later, replay any deal, and take on a new Daily Challenge deal every day. Browse every game in the Game Gallery.

Related games

More games from the FreeCell family:

• Sea Towers — Sea Towers is a popular FreeCell variant with a different starting layout and stricter building rules.
• Stalactites — A minimal tableau puzzle where you clear 48 cards arranged in eight columns using only two temporary holding cells.
• Tuxedo — Tuxedo deals every card face up across seven tableau piles right from the start, and gives you seven free cells to help shuffle cards around while you build foundations by suit.
• Antares — Antares blends two classic tableaus into one game: four piles play by FreeCell's alternating-color, single-card rules, and four piles play by Scorpion's same-suit, flexible-group rules, all feeding the same foundations and free cells.
• Baker's — A strategic solitaire in the FreeCell family, with four temporary storage cells and eight tableau piles where you build sequences in descending order by suit only—no alternating colors.