How to play FreeCell well once you know the rules: the decisions that matter, and the habits that win.
Every card is visible from the start, so the deal can be planned. Find the four aces and the twos, and count how many cards sit on top of each. The ace buried under the fewest cards is usually the place to begin.
Look also for cards that are trapped under a higher card of the same suit. A seven of clubs sitting on top of the four of clubs means the seven will need somewhere to go before the four can reach its foundation.
Each card you put in a free cell reduces how many cards you can move at once. With four free cells and no empty columns you can move a sequence of five; with one free cell, two. Filling cells to make a single convenient move is how most games are lost.
Before putting a card in a cell, know how it is coming out. If you cannot say which column or foundation will take it within a few moves, look for another move.
Any card can go into an empty column, and it doubles how long a sequence you can move. Emptying one column is usually worth several moves of setup, especially early in the game.
The cheapest column to empty is the one with the fewest cards, or the one whose cards can go straight to other columns in order. Once you have an empty column, avoid dropping a single card into it unless that card starts a sequence you can build.
Cards on the foundations are out of your way for good, but they are also no longer available to build on. It is always safe to play a card up when both cards of the opposite colour one rank lower are already there — a red five can go up once both black fours have.
Aces and twos can go up at once. Beyond that, stop and check whether you still need the card as a place to put something.
Columns that run in alternating colours from high to low are easy to work with and easy to move. Try to build them on the cards that are going to stay put, like kings at the base of a column, and avoid stacking long sequences on top of cards you still need to dig out.
If a game stalls, think back to the choices that led there and look for a different order. Almost every FreeCell deal can be solved, so a stuck position usually means an earlier choice, not a bad deal.