FreeCell

01Discover the game

FreeCell is a success where all the cards are visible from the start. So you can plan your shots. The four small free boxes serve as parking, but they fill quickly. The difficulty comes from the preparation of the trips, not the number of rules.

02Equipment

It takes 52 ordinary cards, without joker: 13 cards in each of the four signs. Plan a table with eight columns, four free cells and four foundation locations. No tokens or dice are required.

03The goal

Build four foundations, one per sign, from Ace to King. All cards must leave columns and cells to join these foundations.

04Preparing the game

Mix the 52 cards. Distribute them all face up, one by one, from left to right in eight columns: the first four contain seven cards, the last four six. Declare the cards to read each value. Only the card at the bottom of each column is accessible.

Leave the four cells free and the four empty foundations above the columns. Observe the Aces and the small cards before moving anything: a visible card can still be blocked by several others.

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05Play, one move at a time

Move an accessible map to one of the following locations. You can freely choose the order of your travels; there is neither picket nor opposing turn.

• A column: Place the card on a card of immediately higher value and of opposite color. A red 6 goes on a black 7. The reds are heart and tile; the blacks are prick and clover.
• An empty free cell: it holds only one card. An occupied cell does not accept any other card.
• An empty column: it hosts any accessible map, not just a King.
• A foundation: first put the Ace, then the 2, the 3 and so on, in the same sign. In the convention of this chapter, a card entered into foundation does not come out.

An accessible card is the last card in a column or the only card in a cell. You cannot take a card in the middle of a column. After moving the last card, the one above becomes accessible.

A sequence of several cards does not teleport. You can move it together only if the same result is achievable by moving the cards one by one, thanks to the cells and columns actually empty. To learn, make every little move by hand: you will see immediately if you have enough places.

06An example to understand

One column ends with a black 9, a red 8 and a black 7. Another ends with a red 10. Two free cells are empty. Move the 7 to one cell and the 8 to the other. Move the 9 onto the 10. Put the 8 back onto the 9 and then the 7 onto the 8. The sequence has moved in five legal moves.

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If no cell was free and no column was empty, you couldn't do this manoeuvre. The fact that the three cards form a good suite is not enough to allow it to move.

07Win or see a blockage

You win when the four Kings finish the four foundations: the 52 cards are then placed there. There are no points in this version. You lose if you can no longer progress and no sequence of legal moves unlocks the position. However, an apparent blockage deserves a second examination.

To practice, you can write down your moves and go back: it is a learning aid, not a new action of the game. Some distributions are very difficult and some are impossible.

08Frequent errors

Do not place two cards in a cell. Do not use a busy cell as if it were free during a transfer. An empty column is more powerful than a cell, as it will be able to receive a reconstituted suite. Finally, do not send a foundation card too quickly if it can still be used as a support for a card of the other color.

09Start well

Look for a small card to be released and count the cards that block it. Plan where each one will go before starting. Keep at least one cell available as soon as possible. Try to empty a short column and rebuild a long orderly suite.