This page is how this table builds, how it counts a sequence, what Auto actually collects, and how Hint differs from a drag. The comparison table separates this FreeCell table from Microsoft FreeCell, Klondike, and Baker's Game. Where a book or another program disagrees, use the house notes and the moves the table will complete.
Where a card can go
The card lands on another column. An empty column is legal; it does not need a King.
Any suit and rank can sit there. Each empty cell doubles the sequence cap.
All four Kings home wins. Auto takes every legal card and will not spare a landing spot.
How four patience games differ
| Check | This FreeCell table | Microsoft FreeCell | Klondike | Baker's Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening | 52 face up, four sevens and four sixes, no stock | Same Microsoft-numbered deals and layout | Stock and face-down cards | Usually all face up; build in suit |
| Empty column | Any card or legal run | Any card or legal run | Usually a King or a King-led run | Any card, then same-suit down |
| Building | Down, alternating colors | Down, alternating colors | Down, alternating colors | Down in suit |
| Sequence cap | 2^(free cells) × (empty columns + 1); skip the destination if it is empty | Also limited by free cells and empty columns; trust that version's drag | No free-cell formula; a built run usually moves as one | Follow that program's cap, not this formula |
| Cards already home | Cannot drag off a foundation; Undo restores the last action | Depends on the version; do not assume this Undo | Usually cannot drag off a foundation | Usually cannot drag off a foundation |
| Hint and Auto | Hint runs a solver, then marks; Auto takes every legal card | Classic Windows had neither this solver Hint nor Auto | Neither button | Neither button |
Deals 1–1,000,000 match Microsoft's numbering. Do not count a sequence the Klondike way, and do not check this table against the textbook (free cells + 1) doubled per empty column. Use this page's formula and whether the drag completes.
Layout and winning
The table has three areas: eight cascades, four free cells at top left, and four foundations at top right. There is no stock or waste. The deal ends when every foundation holds its King.
Microsoft-numbered deals
The same number always deals the same suits and ranks. Only the bottom card of a column, or a run already built down in alternating colors from that bottom card, can move. A card trapped in the middle cannot be lifted on its own.
The number fixes the start, not the line you play. You can replay, undo, or try another route. The daily deal maps the UTC date to a number and skips known unsolvable starts. Its rules match the main table.
Only the foundations win the deal
From the left, the four foundations are clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades. Each starts at the Ace and builds to the King of that suit. Empty columns or empty free cells are not the win condition. All four Kings home finishes the deal.
Building: down, alternating colors
A column accepts a card only on its bottom card. That card must be the opposite color and exactly one rank lower. A ready run can move as a group, but a drag cannot exceed the sequence cap at that moment.
Singles and runs both read the bottom card
A heart 8 takes only a spade 7 or a club 7. A club 5 takes only a heart 4 or a diamond 4. Same color, a skipped rank, or a jump will not go. A card returning from a free cell has to pass the same test.
Buried cards cannot be pulled out
A covered card becomes movable only after the cards above it leave. Parking those cards in a free cell, building them onto another column, or sending them home is how you uncover what sits underneath.
A run has to be built already
To move more than one card, the cards from the bottom up must already form an alternating, descending run. A missing link, two of the same color stacked, or a broken rank means you split first.
The move counts when it lands
After you select a run, it has to land on another column, an empty column, a free cell, or a legal foundation. An illegal drop puts the cards back and does not cost a move. Click or drag on a computer; tap or drag on a phone.
Free cells: four holding slots
The four free cells at top left each hold one card of any suit or rank. They are not a ninth cascade and they do not build in alternating colors.
One card per cell, and you can take it back
A bottom card that enters a cell fills that cell. A second card needs the first one gone: back onto a column, onto its foundation, or onto an empty column. Cards in cells are not part of a cascade run.
Empty cells change the sequence cap
On this table, each extra empty free cell doubles how many cards you can drag. With every cell full and no empty column, you can move only the bottom card. Filling the cells is not a loss, but later runs will stall.
Empty columns: not King-only
When a column is cleared, it becomes an empty column. It can take any single card or any already-built legal run. It does not have to start with a King.
An empty column is still a cascade
It still takes one card, or one already-built run. It cannot hold four unrelated cards the way the free cells can. After a card lands, the new bottom card builds down in alternating colors again.
Moving onto an empty column does not count that column as a helper
Empty columns raise the sequence cap. If the destination is itself an empty column, that column is not counted as workspace. Two empty free cells and one empty column: eight cards onto an occupied column, four cards onto that empty column.
Clearing a column early is not always worth it
An empty column is any-rank workspace and a higher cap. If you empty it by stuffing a key landing card into a free cell, you may be unable to lift what is still buried.
Sequence limit
How many ordered cards you can drag depends on empty free cells and empty columns: 2 to the power of empty free cells, times empty columns plus one. If the destination is empty, subtract that column first.
The cap binds a dragged run, not a single card
The bottom card can always go to any legal landing. If a run is built but too long, the drag will not complete; split a card into a free cell or another column first.
Zero empty cells and zero empty columns: 1 card. Two empty cells and no empty column: 4 cards onto another column. Two empty cells and one empty column: 8 cards onto an occupied column.
This is not the usual textbook formula
Some write-ups use empty cells plus one, then double for each empty column. This table does not. Do not check the current position against that rule. A drag the interface refuses is over the cap.
A second press on Hint lets the solver expand the run as single-card helpers, so it can play a sequence you cannot drag. Clicking a landing yourself, or dragging, still uses the formula above.
Foundations and collecting
Each foundation is one suit, Ace through King. The next card must be the same suit and one rank higher. Once a card is home, you cannot drag it back to a column.
Auto takes every card that fits
Auto repeatedly sends every card that currently fits a foundation, one move per card. It will not pause because that card is still a landing spot, and it does not promise the deal stays solvable. It will not rearrange columns.
One Undo restores the whole Auto batch, cards and move count. The timer does not roll back.
Collected cards come back only through Undo
A foundation is not storage. After a card goes up, you cannot drag it to a column or a free cell. If you still needed it as a landing, Undo is the only way back. A dragged run counts as one move; Auto counts each card it collects.
Worked sequences
Each diagram marks empty slots, the bottom card, and the count. The steps are event order, not a required line from a numbered deal.
Does this run exceed the table's cap
Two free cells are empty and no column is empty. An alternating run is moving onto another column's bottom card.
- Two free cells empty
- Destination already has cards
- The run is exactly four
- Two free cells empty
- Destination already has cards
- The run is five cards
With one extra empty column, and if that column is not the destination, the cap rises to eight. Onto that empty column, the cap stays four.
Can an empty column start with something other than a King
One column is clear. You want to put a heart 5, or a legal run headed by a 5, onto it.
- A column is empty
- Place the heart 5
- Then build down, alternating
- A column is empty
- Assume it must be a King
- Treat the 5 as illegal
A King may start an empty column; it is not the only legal start. Baker's Game also allows any rank, but then builds in suit, which this table does not.
If a card can go home, will Auto take it
The club 6 can go to its foundation. A heart 7 in the columns still needs a black 6 to land on.
- Club 6 stays at the bottom
- Heart 7 needs a black 6
- The 7 can move once the 6 is under it
- Club 6 goes home
- Heart 7 loses its landing
- You often spend a free cell instead
Auto is not a win button. It only collects cards that currently fit a foundation, and that can squeeze the rest of the table.
House notes
Numbered deals on the home table and the daily deal use the same rules. These notes apply only here.
Three differences from Klondike and Baker's Game
No stock, and no face-down cards. Empty columns do not require a King. Columns build in alternating colors, not in suit. How far a run can drag follows this table's formula, not “if it looks built, it moves.”
Hint, Undo, and Replay
Hint runs Freecell Solver in the browser first, then falls back to a local heuristic. The first press only marks origin and landing; a second press while that suggestion stays selected plays it. The line is not unique and not guaranteed shortest. If the current position cannot be finished, Hint says so. Solving stays on the device; the layout is not uploaded.
Unsolvable starting numbers show Unsolvable beside the table. Eight deals in this million-deal set start unsolvable. A solvable start can still be played into a dead position; Hint reads the position after your moves, not the opening label. Undo restores cards and the move count, not elapsed time. Replay returns to that number's start. Daily-deal progress is stored apart from the main table.
This page describes this table
If a physical deck or another program requires a King on an empty column, uses a different sequence formula, or Auto that skips landing cards, ignore those rules here. Use this page and the landings the table highlights.
Quick checks
Must an empty column start with a King?
No. It can take any card, or any already-built legal run. That is not how most Klondike empty columns work.
Empty-column rulesThe run is built. Why won't it drag?
A drag also has to fit this table's cap: 2 to the power of empty free cells, times empty columns plus one. Over that, the drag will not complete. A second press on Hint can walk a longer run as single-card helpers.
Sequence limitIf I move onto an empty column, does that column count as a helper?
No. Subtract it from the empty-column count. Two free cells and one empty column: eight cards onto an occupied column, four cards onto that empty column.
Sequence exampleWill Auto collect a card I still need as a landing spot?
Yes. Auto takes every legal foundation card and does not promise the deal stays solvable. One Undo restores the whole batch.
Collection exampleCan I drag a card back off a foundation?
No. Change a collection only with Undo. Undo restores the cards and the move count, not the timer.
Foundation notesDoes Hint just mark any legal move?
No. It runs a solver in the browser, then a heuristic if needed. The first press only marks; the second plays. It is not guaranteed shortest. If the position is already lost, it says so.
Hint notesBefore you move
- Check that the card builds down in alternating colors on the bottom card.
- Count empty free cells and empty columns, and whether the run fits this table's cap.
- Check whether a card that can go home is still needed as a landing; do not let Auto decide that.
Empty columns take any rank, but still only one card or one run at a time. With every free cell full and no empty column, you can move only the bottom card. When a move is unclear, trust the highlighted landings and the matching section on this page.
Deal a hand