Tips for Beating Difficult FreeCell Solitaire Games?

[kemiy]

Hey everyone,

I've been playing FreeCell Solitaire for a while now, and I usually do okay, but some games feel nearly impossible to win.

I know every game is supposed to be solvable (except for one?), but I’m getting stuck more often lately.

Does anyone have strategies or tips for handling tough layouts—like when most cards are buried under high-value ones, or when free cells fill up too quickly?

I’d love to hear your approach to planning moves and managing free cells efficiently.

Any advice or resources would be appreciated.

 

[BlackCube]

I'm glad you asked this question, because I have never heard of "freecell", I had a go and its not bad.

I like how it uses only a small table area, my prefered patience game is called "thirteen" and requires a lot of space.

As for hard deals, the answer is simple, cheat.

The good thing about playing patience with actual cards (or writing your own program) is that you can tinker with the rules. Allow yourself 1 or 2 impossible moves per game.

I got this idea from another version of patience called "clover", the player gets 3 deals, but can trade the 3rd deal for 1 impossible move if they want.

My outcomes are not just "solved" or "unsolved", I score them like golf.

Just my opinion.

 

[kemiy]

I'm glad you asked this question, because I have never heard of "freecell", I had a go and its not bad.

I like how it uses only a small table area, my prefered patience game is called "thirteen" and requires a lot of space.

As for hard deals, the answer is simple, cheat.

The good thing about playing patience with actual cards (or writing your own program) is that you can tinker with the rules. Allow yourself 1 or 2 impossible moves per game.

I got this idea from another version of patience called "clover", the player gets 3 deals, but can trade the 3rd deal for 1 impossible move if they want.

My outcomes are not just "solved" or "unsolved", I score them like golf.

Just my opinion.

thank you so much for your suggestion