Freecell Solitaire

The Rise of FreeCell

Freecell first rose to prominence thanks to its inclusion on Microsoft Windows 95 operating system. The game instantly became a hit on PC's of the time and spawned numerous imitators, implementations and shareware versions, many of these versions are still available on the internet today, the original has remained a constant on every Windows OS to date. Freecell is commonly known as an "open solitaire" game, this is because of the visibility of all cards at the start. Freecell (like many other Solitaire variations) is based on other versions of the game, most notably Eight Off and Baker's Game.

Rules of FreeCell

The aim of the game is to build four columns - one in each suit. Each column must start with an Ace and ascend in order, ending with the king.

Like most other versions of solitaire, only one deck of cards is used, the deck is dealt face up in eight columns: four of which contain eight cards and four with four cards; the latter four columns are known as the free cell columns and act as the holding areas for cards to be held during play.

The columns with eight cards are known as tableau piles and only the fully exposed card from each pile can be played along with the cell cards (cards in free cell columns). Piles can be built down, alternating in color. Only one card at a given turn can be moved. Exposed cards in the tableau pile can be pushed to any cell and cards in the cell can be moved to any tableau pile or foundation pile and back again. Multiple cards can be moved but only when they are in a correct sequence.

A game is over when all foundation piles are complete or when there are no more moves available. The good news with Freecell is that winning is possible - most of the time, although it will take practice and plenty of it, but then that's what makes the game so enthralling. After all, where would the fun be if it was too easy?