How to Beat Freecell, Freecell Solutions, Hints, Tips and Strategies

1. At the start of the game, look over the cards identifying where the aces are and other key cards. Also identify problem cards, eg aces or low numbered cards buried deep under many cards, two cards of the same colour and number buried deep in the same column, etc.

2. Your first moves should be all the small moves which don't require moving cards to a freecell or moves that may require a card being moved to a freecell but you can immediately see how it may be moved back down. In other words don't start off wasting your freecells. After these simple moves then move onto the more complex ones which require you to calculate several positions ahead.

3. Usually you shouldn't move a card to a freecell without a plan to move it back down, or unless moving a card up to the freecell allows you to move another card down from the freecell. So in other words only make moves that improve your position - always plan it out fully in your mind, envisioning it step by step, and then only make that move if you evaluate that it leaves you better off than before.

4. An early goal should be freeing up a column. This will take a lot of pressure off you and be a key to winning. A free colum is better than a freecell because it can hold many cards in order, and it gives more room for transferring cards than a single freecell does. So if you have a single card in a column you are better off to move it up to a frecell.

As a general measure I usually think of a free column being about as good as two freecells. Of course this is not an exact rule - sometimes I will trade two freecells to get an empty column, sometimes not. It depends on the situation.

5. Try to get aces moved up to the foundations early to ease the pressure. The less cards left in the playing field the easier the game will be. Of course do not go sacrificing your freecells carelessly just to move aces up though.

6. Be careful about manually moving cards up to foundations. Often moving a card up to a foundation to get it out of the way can get you out of tricky spots and even be the difference between wining and losing a game, but remember that once a card is moved up to the foundation it cannot be brought back down so do it with caution. You may later wish you still had that card in the playing field to stack another card on top of.

Eg if you have two red 3's in the playing field and you move a black 4 up to the foundation, this could cause a problem later since you only have one black 4 to stack the two red 3's on.

7. If you are stuck be patient. Often you might have to wait 5 or 10 minutes sitting there looking for the move to bail you out of trouble. Take your time and don't give into impatience and make a reckless move. It might help to get up and go away and then come back. The new perspective often helps to see things you couldn't see before.

One thing I sometimes try is selecting a card then moving the pointer over other cards. The pointer will turn to a downward arrow showing anywhere you can place the card legally. Don't give up unless you are certain there are no more possible moves.

8. When you have only two freecells or less left then you are in extreme danger. Be very careful choosing the next moves you make.

9. Don't forget to use the undo button (F10). It can save you from losing a game by reversing a mistake. You can also use it to help you see what the playing field would look like an extra move ahead and then be able to reverse it.

10. To see what suit a covered card is, right click on it.

FreeCell Cheats

To win instantly, press Ctrl-Shift-F10 while in a game. It will ask if you wish to Abort, Retry, Ignore. Select Abort. Move any card and you will be given an instant win.

If you cannot win a game and you want to avoid the loss, press ctrl-alt-delete. Then from the Task Manager's Applications tab, choose to end the FreeCell process. If FreeCell asks if you want to quit the current game, click No. When an End Program window pops up, click End Now. Freecell will close and your loss will not be recorded.

Unwinnable FreeCell Games

Click "Select Game" from the Game menu. Enter -1 or -2 for the game number. In these games the cards are arranged in the most difficult sequences. Game #11,982 has also been found to be unsolveable.