Four Cells

What is Four Cells?

Four Cells is our version of the classic free cell solitaire. There's no deck to draw from and nothing hidden. All 52 cards are dealt face up, and you have four little holding spots, the cells, to help you untangle them. Because you can see everything, it plays more like a puzzle than a game of luck.

Every deal in Four Cells is one we've checked can be won. If you lose, there was a way through. It's free, plays in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer, and there's nothing to download.

How to play free cell solitaire

The layout

The whole deck is dealt face up into eight columns. The first four columns get seven cards and the last four get six. Along the top are four empty cells on the left and four empty foundations on the right.

The goal

Move all 52 cards to the foundations, one pile per suit, building up from Ace to King.

The rules

• Build down in alternating colors. On the columns, a card can go on a card one rank higher of the other color, so a red 6 on a black 7.
• Cells hold one card each. Any single card can be parked in an empty cell, and it can come back out onto a column or a foundation whenever it fits.
• Empty columns take anything. Any card, or any ordered group you have room to move, can go into an empty column.
• Foundations go up by suit. Ace first, then 2, 3 and so on. In Four Cells, a card on a foundation stays there.

How many cards can you move at once?

Officially you move one card at a time. In practice, a group of ordered cards can be shuffled across using your empty cells and columns as stepping stones, so the game lets you move the whole group in one go when you have room for it. The size limit is:

(empty cells + 1) x 2 for each empty column

One catch: if you're moving the group into an empty column, that column doesn't count as one of your helpers. With two empty cells and one empty column, you can move six cards onto another column but only three into the empty one.

Controls

Tap a card and we'll move it to its best spot: a foundation first, then a column with cards on it, then an empty column, and a cell last. Or drag it exactly where you want. Dragging is worth using when you'd rather park a card in a cell than spend an empty column on it. When the rest of the game is just cards stacked in order, a Finish button sends everything home.

Keyboard: U or Ctrl+Z undoes, H shows a hint, F finishes, N deals a new game and Esc pauses. Undo is unlimited.

In Settings you can turn Auto-move cards to foundations on or off, switch to a four-color deck, and pick your table and card back.

Scoring

A perfect game, then, is 520 points for the cards and the win, plus whatever time you have to spare and the no Undo bonus. Stats track your win rate, streaks, best time and fewest moves.

Daily Deal, ranks and unlocks

The Daily Deal is the same shuffle for everyone, every day. Finish it on back to back days to build your day streak.

Wins move you up from Deckhand to Rope Coiler (1 win), Boatswain (3), First Mate (6), Skipper (10), Harbor Pilot (16), Captain (25), Commodore (40) and Harbor Legend (70). New harbor tables open as you go: Morning Harbor to start, then Sunset Pier at 2 wins, Fog Bell at 5, Night Lights at 10 and Tropic Cove at 20.

Card backs unlock at milestones like your first win, your first Daily Deal win and your first game without Undo, and they're shared with every card game on the site.

Free cell solitaire tips and strategy

Since you can see every card, the game is won or lost in how you use your space. A few things we've learned:

• Look before you touch anything. Spend ten seconds finding the Aces and 2s. A low card buried under six others is the problem you'll be solving for the next few minutes, so plan for it now.
• Cells are a loan, not storage. Every card you park in a cell is a card you need a plan for. Filling all four cells with no way to empty them is the most common way to lose.
• An empty column beats an empty cell. Look at the table above. One empty column doubles how many cards you can move. If you can clear a short column, it's usually worth more than keeping two cells free.
• Don't drop a single card into an empty column without a reason. It turns your most powerful space into a one card cell. If you must, use a cell instead.
• Dig toward the buried low cards. Moves that look tidy but don't get you closer to a stuck Ace or 2 are often wasted.
• Build long runs on high cards. A run that starts on a King or Queen can sit there safely. A run on a 5 will need to move again later.
• Know when a card is safe to send home. A black 5 is only useful as a landing spot for the red 4s. Once both red 4s are on their foundations, the black 5s can go up without a second thought. Since cards can't come back down in Four Cells, this check matters.
• Use Undo to test a line. Every deal can be won, so if you hit a wall it's worth backing up a few moves and trying the other branch.

Like having every card in view? Yukon Trail also has no deck, but hides some cards face down and lets you move any face-up card at all.

Questions