# FreeCell

> Solitaire with four free cells to plan with.

Every card is face up, and four free cells give you room to plan. Nothing is hidden and nothing is luck, so every deal comes down to thinking ahead, and every one we serve has been solved first. Pick Easy to Expert, chase par, and keep a streak alive. A warm mug, a quiet café table, and a deal to work out.

- Play: https://sidekickarcade.com/play/free-cells/ (in the browser, phone or computer, free, no sign-up needed)
- Neighborhood: [Card Café](https://sidekickarcade.com/category/card/index.md)
- Controls: Tap, drag, mouse or keys
- Best on: portrait screens
- Coins for goals: 3 per 1 stars, up to 9 a run

## How to play

1. Build each suit home from Ace to King. In the columns, stack cards down in alternating colors, like a red 6 on a black 7. Any card can wait in one of the four free cells, and any card can fill an empty column.
2. Tap or click a card to send it to its best spot, tap again for the next spot, or drag it where you want it. Runs move together when there's room: each empty free cell adds one card, and each empty column doubles it.
3. Keys work too. The arrows or Tab pick a card, Enter sends it to its best spot, and Space picks it up to place yourself. U undoes, H gives a hint and N deals again. Esc, then Tab, leaves the game.
4. Every deal can be won. A win earns a star, par moves or fewer earn another, and a clean win with no undo, hint or restart earns the third.

## Tips

- An empty column is worth more than a free cell: it doubles how many cards you can move at once. Think twice before dropping a single card into one.
- Find the Aces and Twos buried deepest and plan a path to them first.
- Keep free cells empty as long as you can. A full row of cells leaves no room to move runs.
- Before each move, ask what it frees up. A move that only shuffles cards around costs a move and gains nothing.

## Questions

### Is it free?

Yes. It's free to play in your browser, with no download and no sign-up needed. Coins you earn are for fun and can never be bought.

### Can every deal be won?

Yes. The game solves each deal before you see it, and that solution sets its par.

### What is par?

The number of moves the game's own solution took. Sending cards home doesn't count as a move. Win in par or fewer for a star.

### How many cards can I move at once?

One more than your empty free cells, doubled for each empty column. With four empty cells and no empty column, that's five.

### Is there a daily deal?

Yes. One deal a day, the same for everyone, with a new one at midnight UTC. Weekdays are Medium and weekends are Hard.

### Can I play on a phone?

Yes. It's built for touch first and plays the same on a phone, a tablet or a computer, with tap, drag, mouse or keys.

## Achievements

- **First solve** (bronze, 10 coins): Win a deal.
- **No take-backs** (bronze, 10 coins): Win a deal with no undo, hint or restart.
- **On par** (bronze, 10 coins): Win a deal in par moves or fewer.
- **Deal of the day** (bronze, 10 coins): Win a daily deal.
- **Twenty-five down** (silver, 25 coins): Win 25 deals.
- **Full marks** (silver, 25 coins): Win a deal with all three stars.
- **On a roll** (silver, 25 coins): Win 10 Medium or harder deals in a row.
- **Steady hands** (gold, 60 coins): Win 50 Hard or Expert deals.
- **Star ledger** (gold, 60 coins): Earn 300 stars.
- **Par for the course** (gold, 60 coins): Win 100 deals in par moves or fewer.
- **Secret achievement** (gold, 60 coins): Keep playing to find it.
- **Secret achievement** (gold, 60 coins): Keep playing to find it.
- **Expert hands** (diamond, 150 coins): Win 100 Expert deals. Earns the title "Cell Master".
- **Five hundred deals** (diamond, 150 coins): Win 500 deals. Earns the title "Café Legend".

## More to play

- [Solitaire](https://sidekickarcade.com/play/solitaire/index.md): The classic one-player card game. (Card Café)
- [Spider Solitaire](https://sidekickarcade.com/play/spider-solitaire/index.md): Build suited runs with one, two or four suits. (Card Café)
- [Golf Solitaire](https://sidekickarcade.com/play/golf-solitaire/index.md): Clear the table one card higher or lower at a time. (Card Café)
- [Pyramid Solitaire](https://sidekickarcade.com/play/pyramid-solitaire/index.md): Pair cards that add up to 13 to clear the pyramid. (Card Café)