- Is every game of FreeCell winnable?
- Almost. All the cards are face up from the start, so there is no hidden luck, and of the 32,000 numbered deals in the original Microsoft version exactly one — number 11982 — has been proven impossible.
- How many cards can you move at once in FreeCell?
- Strictly one, but a run can be moved when there is room to shuffle it through the free cells card by card. With no empty columns that is one more than the number of empty free cells, and every empty column doubles it. The column you are moving into does not count.
- What are the free cells for?
- Parking. Each of the four cells holds a single card of any kind, which you can later move to a column or a foundation. Every card in a cell makes the next move harder, so a cell is best filled only when it opens something up.
- What can go in an empty column?
- Any card at all, or a run you have room to move. That is the big difference from Klondike, where only a king may fill one.
- How is FreeCell different from Klondike?
- Nothing is hidden and nothing is dealt later. All 52 cards are face up in eight columns from the first move, there is no stock, and any card can go in an empty column. A lost game of FreeCell is almost always a mistake rather than a bad deal.
- What is the best FreeCell strategy?
- Start by finding the aces and counting how many cards sit on top of each. Keep free cells empty for as long as you can, and value an empty column above a free cell, because it lets you move twice as many cards.