FreeCell

The goal. Move all 52 cards onto the four foundation piles, one per suit, building each from Ace to King.

The deal. Eight tableau columns are dealt face-up — the first four columns get seven cards each, the last four get six. Above the tableau sit four free cells (each holds one card at a time) and four foundations. Every card in the deck is visible from the start; no cards are hidden.

Tableau moves. Build down by alternating color, the same as Klondike. A red 7 can move onto a black 8; a black Q can move onto a red K. Empty tableau columns accept any card or run.

Free cells. Each free cell holds exactly one card at a time. Use them as temporary holding spots while you reorganize the tableau.

Foundation moves. Build up by suit, Ace through King. Once a card is on a foundation it stays there.

Multi-card moves. A run of cards in descending alternating-color order can move as a unit, but only if you have enough free cells and empty tableau columns to "carry" the move card-by-card. The classic formula: the longest run movable as a unit is (empty free cells + 1) × 2(empty tableau columns). The page enforces this on drop — an over-long run will simply refuse to land. The hint message explains when a desired move exceeds the limit.

Drag, click, or double-click. Drag a card (or a movable run) to any pile. Click a card to select it, then click a destination. Double-click a card to send it straight to a free cell or its foundation, whichever fits.

Undo and redo. Undo as far back as you like; redo anything you walk back through. Keyboard: Cmd/Ctrl+Z and Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z.

Hint. Press the Hint button (or H) for a legal move suggestion. Repeated presses cycle through the available moves.

Auto-finish. Once no further tableau reorganization is needed — every remaining card can reach a foundation through legal moves alone — the Auto-finish button lights up. Pressing it animates the final cards to their foundations.

Why FreeCell almost always wins. Of the 32,000 standard-shuffle deals catalogued by Microsoft's bundled FreeCell, all but a handful are mathematically winnable with perfect play. A loss is almost always the player's mistake, not bad luck.