FreeCell vs. Solitaire: Differences in Rules & Strategies

Both FreeCell and Solitaire share the same objective—clear the tableau by completing four foundation piles in ascending order by suit. While a FreeCell game plays very similar to

Solitaire, this version is easier because you get four free cells to use as temporary placeholders for cards while you arrange columns on the tableau.

You can learn how to play FreeCell very easily if you know how to play Klondike Solitaire, but the differences in their set up and rules require adjusting your strategy to win. However, playing both can strengthen specific techniques that apply to each variation and even have cognitive benefits.

Learn how to play both games and then practice the strategies we explain in this post by playing FreeCell and Klondike Solitaire online.

FreeCell vs. Solitaire Key Differences

If you know how to play Solitaire, you’ll find a lot of similarities with FreeCell. Both Solitaire games use one standard 52-card deck. And the objective to win is the same—build foundation piles in ascending order, from ace to king, by suit.

You build tableau columns the same way, too, in descending order and alternating in color. But the rules for layout and gameplay have some slight differences that affect how to best arrange the cards and strategize to win.

The tableau for Solitaire has seven columns. Each column has the number of cards as its column order, so the first column has one card, the second column has two, and so on. The top card of each column is face up, but the rest are facedown. The extra cards are placed into the stockpile facedown, and you can flip either one (Solitaire Turn 1) or three cards (Solitaire Turn 3) at a time face up into the waste pile, depending on what version of Solitaire you’re playing. In comparison, the tableau for FreeCell has eight columns with all cards face up.

The differences between how Solitaire and FreeCell are set up and played are what make FreeCell an easier version of the game. FreeCell has a win rate of 41.86%, compared to Solitaire Turn 1 (33%) and the more difficult version, Solitaire Turn 3 (11.1%). Understanding the differences helps you learn how to play FreeCell more effectively.

1. All Cards Are Dealt Face Up in FreeCell

When you set up Solitaire, you have hidden cards in most columns on the tableau, but for FreeCell Solitaire, the entire 52-card deck is dealt face up onto the tableau, leaving you with no surprises. You can easily see which cards might be more difficult to access, and you can make a plan to free them.

The FreeCell tableau has four spaces at the top for the foundation piles, four spaces at the top for the four free cells, and eight columns. The first four columns have seven cards and the last four have six.

2. FreeCell Has No Stockpile or Waste Pile

Classic Solitaire not only has hidden cards in the tableau columns, but it also has hidden cards in the stockpile. However, because all the cards are dealt onto the tableau in FreeCell, you have no stockpile or waste pile in that game.

With no stockpile and all cards dealt face up, you can see where every single card is, but this also means you don’t have a set of cards you can rely on if you get stuck. While you don’t have a stockpile, you do have four free cells above the tableau you can use as temporary placeholders for cards.

3. You Get Four Free Cells to Use During Gameplay

Just like Solitaire, you can only play cards that are available in FreeCell. You can move a single card at the bottom of the column or move an entire stack of cards as long as they descend in order and alternate in color.

However, unlike Solitaire, FreeCell has a unique element that may be a new Solitaire term for you—free cells. Free cells are just what they sound like, free spaces at top of the tableau that serve as temporary placeholders. These free areas give you extra spots on the tableau to move a card that may be in the way. Using these free cells effectively can help you uncover cards you need, making them available to move.

While these free cells help make this version easier than Klondike Solitaire, they limit your movements, depending on how many cells are occupied. In Solitaire, you can move a lengthy sequence of cards, but in FreeCell, you need the free spaces to do so.

The best way to figure out how many cards you can move is to simply add one to the number of empty free cells. If you have all four open free cells, for example, you can move five sequenced cards at one time. If you have three open, you can move four; with two open, you can move three; and with one open, you can move only two. If all free cells are occupied, then you can only move one card at a time.

An empty tableau column doubles the number of cards you can move, provided you don’t plan to move those cards into the empty column. For example, if you have two open free cells and you’ve emptied a column, you can move a sequence of up to six cards.

4. Any Card Can Be Played in Empty Columns in FreeCell

In Solitaire, only kings can be played in empty columns. With FreeCell, any card or properly sequenced column of cards can go into an empty column. The empty tableau column is like having another free cell to use. This is another aspect that makes FreeCell easier than Klondike Solitaire.

Adjusting Your Strategy for FreeCell vs. Solitaire

Many Solitaire strategies work for both variations, such as checking out the tableau and planning your moves, but because of the slight differences between the two games, some strategies are more of a priority for your FreeCell strategy.

For example, the addition of the free cells is a unique point to strategize around in FreeCell that you wouldn’t use in Solitaire. Use these sections to apply strategies effectively and adjust when you switch between these two types of Solitaire.

Plan Your Moves for a Waterfall Effect

In both games, you want to check out the tableau so you can plan ahead to arrange cards in ways that lend the most moves, but Solitaire has hidden cards that make it difficult to plan too far ahead.

When Playing Solitaire

Take a look after the deal to assess the tableau and plan for moves that give you most future moves. Because the tableau changes often as you reveal more cards and use the stockpile, you should constantly reassess the tableau and adjust your plan for the remaining cards as needed, always focusing on creating a long chain reaction.

When Playing FreeCell

Because FreeCell has all the cards face up in the tableau, you can already spot all the cards you need and carefully plan how best to arrange the cards. You can find where the aces are so you can plan to start foundation piles.

You can also locate buried cards that may stop you from building columns in the tableau. For example, if both red eights are buried high in columns, you know you’ll struggle to connect a black nine and black seven until you free those up.

So take a good look at the tableau after the deal, and figure out how to arrange cards to allow you to make the most moves that build sequences and put cards into their foundation piles.

Build Foundation Piles Evenly . . . or Not

For both variations, you should focus on keeping your foundation piles even, but in FreeCell, because no cards are hidden, you can give yourself a little more margin.

When Playing Solitaire

Although completing foundation piles helps you win the game, you need to keep your foundation piles fairly even—all within a rank or two of each other. You may need to use cards that could go into foundation piles as leverage to build columns in the tableau. Because sequences in the tableau descend in order but alternate in color, building one foundation pile higher than the others cuts your chances in half of getting the opposite color card you need for a tableau sequence.

For example, if you build the foundation pile for spades to the rank of seven, but all other piles have been built to the rank of three, any sequence in the tableau that needs a black four, five, six, or seven has just one option, clubs. So if you have a six of hearts that needs a black five, you can only rely on coming across one card—the five of clubs. But if you keep those spades in the tableau, you double your chances (five of clubs and five of spades) of finding a card of the right rank and color.

When Playing FreeCell

The point of building piles evenly is to ensure you don’t have cards buried in a foundation pile that you need on the tableau. Unlike Solitaire, you can see all the cards in FreeCell and locate the ones you need. So you can afford to build some foundation piles higher in rank than others if you have established a plan for accessing the cards you need on the tableau.

For example, you notice you can build the foundation pile for diamonds to the rank of nine in a cascade of moves, but you’re not sure you should make the move if all other piles would remain built only to the rank of five. Make the move and build up the diamonds only if you’ve planned for ways to access the red cards you need to continue building sequences on the tableau. If you need those diamonds to create sequences in the tableau, you’re better off not building up the foundation pile or else you risk blocking yourself for future moves.

Strategically Build Sequences in the Tableau

In FreeCell, you build sequences in the same way as Solitaire: descending in rank and alternating in color. In Solitaire, building these sequences as lengthy as possible is a solid strategy that gets cards in order and available to move to foundation piles, but it’s not quite the same for FreeCell.

When Playing Solitaire

Build tableau sequences as long as possible and avoid putting cards into foundation piles that you need to play to create longer sequences. Sequences are important in Solitaire because they help you reveal hidden cards that you need to play and give cards a place to be held until you can play them in a foundation pile.

Because you only place kings into empty columns, your gameplay can be limited if you’re trying to remove a card or sequence of cards from other hidden ones in a column. For example, if you have a stack of cards in a column with a red five as the face-up card, you need a black six open somewhere on the tableau because you can’t move the five to an empty column. But if that six is stuck in the club or spade foundation pile instead of available in the tableau, you can’t move the stack anywhere.

When Playing FreeCell

Because you utilize free cells and open columns to move cards, including columns of sequenced cards, building a lengthy sequence can end up doing more harm than good. A sequence of more than five or six cards could mean you can’t move the entire column of cards if you don’t have enough free cells and columns. So you end up locking in a sequence that is possibly blocking cards further up the column.

For example, if you have a sequence of ten through four on top of a two of spades, you need that two for the foundation pile. But you can’t move that sequence without the right amount of empty free cells.

Break up long sequences by placing some cards on another available card or into empty columns. This makes the mini-sequences easier to move around the tableau, which gives you access to cards that can help you make more plays. You can also rid yourself of lengthier sequences in the tableau by moving cards to their foundation piles.

Use Free Cells As a Last Resort

Solitaire does not have free cells, but in FreeCell, you should treat those open spots like the stockpile in Solitaire—use them sparingly. Because you can run out of free cells, use them carefully and strategically as a haven for when you’re stuck.

Treat free cells as temporary placeholders to remove cards from the tableau that are blocking cards you need. Like the stockpile in Solitaire, use these spaces when you’re blocked from moving or when you need a quick card swap to create a cascade of moves.

Don’t be too shortsighted with the free cells either. If you’re only thinking through the next move or two, not the next ten, you could end up with cards stuck sitting in your free cells, taking up valuable space. The planning you do after the deal should help you see when you might need to use the free cells to move a card or two so that you can make other cards available.

Benefits of Playing FreeCell and Solitaire

Playing a game of Solitaire offers benefits to your mental and cognitive health:

• Boosts your brain’s executive function: Executive function refers to the cognitive skills that allow you to plan, problem-solve, and manage your emotions. Studies have shown that activities like Solitaire can protect against cognitive decline and boost your memory, and Solitaire can even increase your focus and concentration..
• Develops stress management skills: Playing a game of Solitaire offers a controlled game environment that allows you to practice emotional management. Developing these skills in a safe space like a Solitaire card game helps you reinforce good habits for managing and dealing with stress..
• Helps you relax: Whether you need some time alone to decompress and clear your head or you’re just looking for a fun and engaging game to play in some downtime, nothing like a single-player card game, such as Solitaire or FreeCell, gives you a chance to just sit back and relax.

The benefits of playing Solitaire cover more than just your health. You can practice techniques and strategies with each card game version that help your overall Solitaire gameplay skills.

You can also play these and other variations to build your skills:

• FreeCell helps you practice building sequences. FreeCell can help you best practice arranging cards because you have free cells to use that allow you to temporarily unblock cards you need. Then you can build strategic thinking skills and better anticipate how to arrange cards to efficiently create sequences.
• Solitaire helps you choose the best moves. Because Solitaire has hidden cards, you’re forced to make decisions about moves without knowing where all the cards may be. Whether you play Solitaire Turn 3 or step down to an easier version with Solitaire Turn 1, you can build decision-making skills that encourage you to be decisive and make the best of whatever move you’ve made.
• Canfield Solitaire encourages disciplined movement. Because it has fewer tableau piles and many more hidden cards than Solitaire, you have to be methodical and purposeful when playing Canfield Solitaire. If you’re not thinking through the outcomes of your possible moves, this more difficult version will help you become more disciplined.

Test Which Variation You Like Best: Solitaire vs. FreeCell

Both FreeCell and Solitaire are fun to play, and either version can help you build skills and techniques that apply to both games. You can play either FreeCell or Solitaire for free online with Solitaired and test your skills to see which one you enjoy playing the most.