Before the first move: a five-point scan of a FreeCell deal

FreeCell hides nothing: all 52 cards start face up, so read the deal before your first move. A short scan shows where the trouble is and where free cells will earn the most.

How the layout is built

All 52 cards are dealt face up into eight columns: the first four get 7 cards, the last four get 6. There are four free cells, each holding one card, and four foundations that build up by suit from Ace. Deals are numbered 1 to 32000 with the classic Microsoft numbering and shuffle.

Cards are dealt row by row, so the first row ends up at the base of the columns, under everything else. In deal #1 that row is J♦ 2♦ 9♥ J♣ 5♦ 7♥ 7♣ 5♥, and a low card there is as deep as a card can be.

Deal #1, each column from base to top:

Col 1:  J♦ K♦ 2♠ 4♣ 3♠ 6♦ 6♠
Col 2:  2♦ K♣ K♠ 5♣ 10♦ 8♠ 9♣
Col 3:  9♥ 9♠ 9♦ 10♠ 4♠ 8♦ 2♥
Col 4:  J♣ 5♠ Q♦ Q♥ 10♥ Q♠ 6♥
Col 5:  5♦ A♦ J♠ 4♥ 8♥ 6♣
Col 6:  7♥ Q♣ A♠ A♣ 2♣ 3♦
Col 7:  7♣ K♥ A♥ 4♦ J♥ 8♣
Col 8:  5♥ 3♥ 3♣ 7♠ 7♦ 10♣

1. Find the Aces

Count the cards on top of each Ace, a rough price for starting that suit.

• A♣: column 6, under 2 cards.
• A♠: column 6, under 3 cards, one of them the A♣.
• A♥: column 7, under 3 cards.
• A♦: column 5, under 4 cards.

2. Find the twos

A buried 2 stalls its suit almost as surely as a buried Ace.

• 2♣: column 6, under 1 card, next to its Ace.
• 2♥: already on top of column 3.
• 2♠: column 1, under 4 cards.
• 2♦: column 2, at the very base, under 6 cards.

The 2♦ is this deal's warning sign: dealt in the first row, with two Kings directly on it. Diamonds will stop at the Ace for a long time, so the 3♦ on top of column 6 will need a tableau home or a free cell, not its foundation.

3. Find the cheapest column to empty

An empty column is worth more than a free cell. Columns 5 to 8 are the shortest, with six cards each, but count what each card needs, not just how many there are.

Column 6 is the candidate. Its top four cards are the 3♦, 2♣, A♣ and A♠. The A♣, A♠ and 2♣ can all go home (the 2♣ waits briefly in a free cell until the A♣ is up), and only the 3♦ stays parked. That leaves the 7♥, which can go onto the 8♣ on top of column 7, and the Q♣, which needs a free cell because both red Kings are buried.

4. Spot the Kings in the way

Any card may fill an empty column, but a King can never go onto another card, so a King sitting on lower cards must go to a free cell or an empty column before they come free. In deal #1 all four Kings are near the base: K♦ second in column 1, K♥ second in column 7, K♣ and K♠ second and third in column 2. They mostly matter when you try to empty those columns, except in column 2, where the black Kings sit right on the 2♦.

5. Check what each top card wants

In deal #1 none of the eight top cards can go onto another: the 9♣ needs a red 10, the 2♥ a black 3, the 3♦ a black 4, and none of those is on top. So the opening must use free cells, and the scan says where.

Putting the scan to work

The first five moves of the column 6 plan are set out in what a FreeCell deal number means: the 3♦ and 2♣ to free cells, both Aces home, then the 2♣ onto the A♣. The scan supplies the next two: the Q♣ to a free cell, then the 7♥ onto the 8♣. After seven moves column 6 is empty, two free cells are in use, and you can move runs of up to (2 + 1) × 2 = 6 cards onto a card. The 6♠ and the 6♣, on top of columns 1 and 5, can each go onto the 7♥ next.

Deal #11982 is included and is widely reported as the only one of the original 32,000 deals with no solution; if the reports are right, no scan will find a way through.

Try it

After those seven moves the A♦ is still under four cards in column 5: the J♠, 4♥, 8♥ and, on top, the 6♣. Which of them have a home in the tableau, and what would the others cost?

Answer: The 6♣ can go onto the 7♥, and then the 8♥ onto the 9♣ on top of column 2. The 4♥ needs a black 5 and the J♠ a red Queen, and all four of those are buried in columns 2 and 4, so each needs a free cell or the empty column. Freeing the A♦ now would use up your last two free cells, or one of them plus the empty column, while the 2♦ still sits at the base of column 2. Better to leave the A♦ until more space is open.

Run your own scan in FreeCell; the strategy guide has more general principles.