Freecell is different from other solitaire games because it’s mostly about skill and nearly every game can be won. If something is skill-based, you can get really good at but it needs a lot of practice. This tutorial is perfect for absolute beginners who have never played the game before. The beauty of this tutorial is that we focus on a game number, 38066 which you can play on our website. This way you can follow the steps one by one and enhance your abilities as you progress.

The Goal

When you first play Freecell, it is tempting to start randomly clicking cards and hoping for the best (I remember doing that myself). But to actually win you need a solid plan and strategy. The goal is to move all the cards from the tableau (main playing area) to the 4 foundations, building each suit from Ace to King in the correct order. Now, let's take a look at the playing field and different parts of the game.

The Playing Field

The game begins with a standard 52-card deck dealt face-up into eight columns, known as the tableau. The game includes four free cells and four foundation piles:

• Tableau: The main playing area is where the 52 cards are dealt and the game action takes place.
• The Free Cells: Temporary storage for any single card.
• The Foundation: When all the cards are organized in the correct sequence here, you win the game.

Accessing Game 38066

First, let's tackle how to actually get to game 38066. Open the Freecell game on the main page of my website Play-Freecell.com. Look for the button labeled “NEW GAME.” Press it, and a popup will open. Here you can either type or press the digits to enter the number. When done you hit the green play button, and voilà, you’re in. Let the fun begin!

Step by Step Gameplay Game 38066:

Open Aces

Now that you have the same game as me, let’s play together. The first thing you always do in a Freecell card game is look for open aces (they are not always there in other games since there are millions of game numbers, each with a completely different setup). As we already know, the goal is to build up four foundation piles from Ace to King. That is why we want to look for the aces first and start building from there.

Take a look at image 3. Do you see any open Aces? Yes, there is a red Ace in column 5. Press this Ace, and the game will automatically play it to the foundation. Congrats on your first foundation card! Easy right? Now that we’ve secured one Ace, let’s look for other Aces and lower cards that are easy to play and will help us build our foundation.

Closed Aces and Lower Cards

Now we take a look at image 4. There is an Ace in the first column with only one other card on top of it, the black 10. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could move this black 10 and free our beloved Ace? We can! You can move cards from one tableau pile to another if the destination card is one rank higher and of the opposite color. Do we see an opposite color that is one rank higher? There is a red Jack in column 3, and the black 10 fits right on this Jack, freeing our Ace.

Now, let’s find some lower cards. In column 5, for example, there is a 2 of Spades, and we already moved the Ace of Spades to its foundation, so that 2 would fit right on it. The problem is it is blocked by a red Queen, and there is no other space where we can fit this Queen…or is there?

Free Cells

There is! We can get rid of that red Queen using the free cells. Simply press the Queen, and it will automatically move to one of the free cells, allowing our 2 of Spades to move to its foundation.

After these moves are made, another Ace is lurking in column 5, blocked by yet another card. Click on the Jack of Spades and watch it go to one of the free cells, setting the third Ace free.

Empty Columns

If you played along with me, you should only have a red 10 in column 5. Empty this column by moving that 10 to one of the free cells. We now have an empty tableau column, and these are very useful. Not only do they count as a free cell, but in an empty column, you can also start building sequences, which organizes the game neatly and makes it much easier to win.

In image 6, you can see that we have only one free cell left, and there is a new empty column in column 5. Let me show you how to empty all four free cells again. Place the queen of hearts from the free cell to the empty column, move the jack of spades from the free cell on top of the queen, and do the same with the red 10.

Ta-da! We have four empty free cells again as you can see in image 7. Why is it important to have as many free cells empty as possible? I will show you.

Move Multiple Cards (Power Moves)

Did you know that you can sometimes move more than one card at once? These moves are called power moves, and there are rules for this. How many cards you can move at once depends on how many free cells and empty columns you have. That’s why it is very important to have as many free cells open as possible. By keeping free cells empty, you increase the number of cards you can move simultaneously, making it easier to create and reorganize sequences.

Here’s how it works:

• If there is only one empty free cell, it is possible to move two cards.
• Do you have two empty free cells, you can move three cards.
• When there are three empty free cells, you can move four cards.
• And if there are four empty free cells, you can move five cards.

Take a look at image 8, and you will notice that in column 6 we have one last ace that needs to be freed. A red nine and a black eight are in sequence on top of it. According to the rules of Freecell power moves, we must have at least one empty free cell. No problem, we have four! Grab the nine and move it to the 10 of Spades. You will see that the black eight moves right with it.

Now continue on your own: find all those low cards first and fill the foundations. Take your time, enjoy the process, and soon enough, you'll find yourself navigating through the cards with the skill and confidence of a true Freecell master. Also, remember to use the "undo" button to increase your win rate by revising strategies as needed. Happy playing!