FreeCell
Park cards in four free cells and clear the table
How to play
FreeCell on Matsuri is free online FreeCell solitaire: all 52 cards face up in eight columns, four free cells, and a deal a solver has checked can be won. It plays in any browser on phone or desktop and inside Telegram via @MatsuriGamesBot, with no download. The daily deal is the same for everyone, and a challenge link gives a friend your exact deal.
This is classic FreeCell solitaire. All 52 cards are dealt face up into eight columns, so nothing is hidden and almost every deal can be won with careful play. Build the four foundations up from ace to king by suit, and build the columns down in alternating colours. The four free cells in the corner each hold one card while you dig for the one you need, and any card or ordered run may fill an empty column. A run moves in one go as long as the free cells and empty columns could carry it card by card, and cards no column needs any more go up to the foundations by themselves. Drag cards, or tap one and it jumps to the best place. Every deal is checked by a solver before you see it; if you play into a dead end, the table offers to rewind to the nearest position that still wins, and the bulb shows a good next move. Each card home scores 10, a win adds 500 and up to 300 more for finishing near the deal's par, while each undo costs 20 and a rewind 50. The daily deal is the same for everyone, so you can rank on the leaderboard or send a friend the very same deal.
- Drag cards, or click one and it hops to the best spot (its foundation first, then a column, then a free cell).
- Build columns down in alternating colours and foundations up from A to K. The four free cells hold one card each; any card or run can fill an empty column.
- A run moves in one go if free cells and empty columns could carry it card by card. Z undoes (−20), H or 💡 shows a good move; cards nobody needs go up by themselves.
How to play FreeCell
The whole deck is dealt face up into eight columns: seven cards in each of the first four and six in the other four. Build the four foundations up by suit from ace to king. In the columns, a card goes on a card one rank higher of the other colour, so a red six takes a black five. Each of the four free cells holds any one card for as long as you like, and an empty column takes any card or any ordered run. Get every card onto the foundations to win.
Strictly you move one card at a time, but an ordered run moves in one go when the free cells and empty columns could have carried it card by card: (free cells + 1), doubled for every empty column that is not the target. Nothing comes back off a foundation. A card that no column can ever need again, such as an ace, a two, or a card whose two lower cards of the other colour are already home, goes up by itself after your move.
FreeCell strategy and tips
- Treat the free cells as a short-term loan. Every card you park there shrinks the runs you can move, so park a card only when it frees something, and bring it back down as soon as it fits.
- Aim for an empty column early. It is worth more than any free cell: it doubles the size of run you can move and can hold a whole run rather than one card.
- Look at where the aces and twos are before your first move, and plan to dig out the most deeply buried low cards first. A low card under a long mixed column is the usual reason a game gets stuck.
- Build long ordered runs where they won't block anything, ideally on kings at the bottom of a column. A run sitting on a low card has to be moved again later.
- When two moves look alike, pick the one that keeps more free cells and empty columns open. Flexibility wins FreeCell far more often than speed.
Modes and difficulty
The daily deal is the same for everyone and changes at 00:00 UTC; your first try goes on the daily leaderboard. Practice deals a new solver-checked game as often as you like. After a game you can send it as a challenge: your friend gets the very same deal with your score to beat.
Playing FreeCell on Matsuri
Every deal is checked by a solver before you see it, and the bulb button shows a move from a winning line whenever you want one, free of charge. If you play into a position that can no longer be won, the table notices and offers to rewind, for a flat 50 points, to the nearest earlier position that still wins. Each card home scores 10, a win adds 500 and up to 300 more for finishing near the deal's par, and an undo costs 20. Scores are rebuilt on the server from your moves, and Telegram groups get their own ranking.
A little history
FreeCell was written by Paul Alfille in 1978 for the PLATO teaching computer system. Jim Horne's version came to Windows in the Microsoft Entertainment Pack and then shipped with Windows 95, which made it one of the most played games on the planet. Its 32,000 numbered deals became famous because only one of them, deal 11982, has no solution.
Questions
- Is FreeCell free to play online without downloading?
- Yes. It is free, needs no download or account, and plays in any browser on phone or desktop, or inside Telegram through @MatsuriGamesBot.
- Is every FreeCell deal winnable?
- Almost every FreeCell deal can be won, and here every one is: a solver checks each deal before you see it. If you play into a dead end, the table offers to rewind to the nearest position that can still be won.
- How many cards can I move at once?
- As many as your free cells and empty columns could carry one by one: (free cells + 1) doubled for every empty column. With four free cells and no empty column that is five cards; one empty column makes it ten.
- How does scoring work, and is there a daily deal?
- Each card on a foundation scores 10; a win adds 500 and up to 300 more for finishing close to the deal's par; an undo costs 20 and a rewind 50. The daily deal is the same for everyone and has a leaderboard.