FreeCell, deal #1

Rated gentle, deal #1 is one of the easier deals in this series. It is winnable: the solver's line takes 56 moves.

Notes on this deal

• 1 Ace lies uncovered at the end of a column, ready to go home with your first move.
• 2 Aces sit deep in their columns. The worst is in column 3, with 4 cards on top of it.
• 3 pairs of cards already lie in order in the columns, a head start worth keeping.
• Obvious moves take you some of the way, 12 of 52 cards home, and then the deal asks for a plan.
• The solver's line parks a card in a free cell 6 times and fills an empty column 7 times.
• At one point the solver moves a run of 6 cards in one go.

Stuck? The solver's first moves

These are the first moves of the solver's winning line, with automatic moves to the foundations switched on.

#	Card	From	To
1	6♣	column 4	7♦, column 8
2	5♦	column 6	6♣, column 8
3	2♥	column 6	3♣, column 2
4	3♣ +1	column 2	4♦, column 6
5	4♦ +2	column 6	5♠, column 1
6	7♦ +2	column 8	8♠, column 2

FreeCell in a nutshell

All cards are face up. Build the foundations by suit from Ace, build the eight columns down in alternating colours, and use the four free cells to hold one card each. Any card may fill an empty column.

How to play FreeCell → · Play a random FreeCell deal →