FreeCell Variations and Relatives

Standard FreeCell, with four free cells and building down in alternating colors, is the version most people know, and it's the one our free FreeCell game plays. But it belongs to a whole family of open solitaire games, where every card is face up. This page covers the main variations, and explains a few settings in our game that change how play feels.

Fewer Free Cells

The easiest way to make FreeCell harder is to take away free cells. Everything else stays the same.

With fewer cells you can also move smaller groups, because the group-move limit depends on empty free cells. Players who find standard FreeCell too easy often try three cells as a next step.

Baker's Game

Baker's Game is the older parent of FreeCell. The layout, free cells and foundations are exactly the same, with one big difference: in the columns you build down by suit, not by alternating color. A 6 of hearts can go only on the 7 of hearts.

That small change makes the game much harder, because each card has only one possible place to land instead of two. Quite a few Baker's Game deals can't be won. FreeCell was created by changing that one rule to alternating colors, which turned a tough puzzle into a game you can nearly always finish.

Eight Off

Eight Off gives you eight free cells instead of four, but it isn't as easy as it sounds. Cards are dealt into eight columns of six, and the last four cards start in four of the free cells, so you begin with only four empty. Columns are built down by suit, and usually only a King can fill an empty column. It's a pleasant game with a different rhythm: lots of parking, but strict building.

Seahaven Towers

Seahaven Towers deals the cards into ten columns of five, with the last two cards placed in two of the four free cells. Columns are built down by suit, and only a King or a King-led run can go into an empty column. With ten columns, low cards are rarely buried deep, which makes it feel quick and lively.

House rule: some families play FreeCell itself with the "Kings only in empty columns" rule borrowed from these games. It makes empty columns much less flexible and the game noticeably harder.

Relatives: Klondike and Spider

FreeCell's best-known cousin is Klondike, the game most people simply call solitaire. Klondike also builds down in alternating colors, but many cards start face down and you draw from a stock pile, so luck plays a much bigger part. Our Klondike rules page explains the differences.

Spider solitaire uses two decks and ten columns. You build down regardless of suit, but only same-suit runs from King to Ace are cleared away. It's longer and slower, and a good change after a few quick FreeCell deals.

How Our Game Handles the Details

The basic FreeCell rules are settled, but computer versions differ in a few small ways. Here's how ours works.

Moving Groups of Cards (Supermoves)

The official rule is one card at a time. Moving a group in one step is a shortcut for single moves through free spaces, often called a supermove. Our game allows it, up to (empty free cells + 1) × 2 for each empty column. With 4 empty free cells and no empty column you can move 5 cards; with 2 empty free cells and 1 empty column you can move 6. If the target is the empty column itself, the limit is halved. If a group is too long, the game tells you rather than making the move. The rules page has a full table.

Auto-Move to Foundations

With Auto-move to foundations turned on, which it is by default, cards that are safe to put away go to the foundations by themselves. A card counts as safe when no card still in play could need it as a place to land. Low cards like Aces and 2s go up right away; higher cards wait until the cards of the other color below them have caught up.

If you'd rather make every move yourself, switch it off in Settings. Either way, when all the remaining cards are in order, the game finishes itself.

Deal Numbers

Every deal from 1 to 1,000,000 uses the classic numbering method from the FreeCell that came with home computers in the 1990s. So "Game #1" or "Game #11982" here is the same layout players have shared for years. To play one, open Settings, choose Play deal # and type the number.

Among the first 32,000 deals only #11982 is known to be impossible, and in the first million only about eight are believed to be. A new random game skips those, but you're welcome to try #11982 on purpose.