FreeCell...pastime of champions
Created | Updated Mar 16, 2002
FreeCell is in its simplest form a version of solitaire. (Solitaire being a card game meant, usually, to be played by one person.) Like many solitaire games, the object of FreeCell is to move cards from a "tableau" (that is the dealt cards, which in free cell is the whole deck dealt in 8 vertical columns, 4 columns of 7overlapping cards and 4 columns of 6 overlapping cards) into piles arranged by number and suit, the "foundations" (In the case of free cell there are 4 piles to be formed, each begining with the Ace of a Suit and being built up by adding the 2, 3, 4, etc... of that suit until you reach the king). Cards may be moved from their locations either onto a card 1 rank above them and of a different color. (i.e. a red three onto a black four or a black queen onto a black king...) or onto the correct foundational pile. (i.e. the 2 of hearts goes on the Ace of heats, the 3 of hearts goes on the 2 of hearts, etc...) What allows you to move more than one card at a time are the four "freecells". Any card may be placed into these freecells to be held there while you move other cards. For instance, if you had a red three on a black four, and you wanted to move both of these onto a red five, you would place the red three in a freecell, move the four onto the five, and then place the three on the four again. The more free cells you have open, the more cards you can move at one time. In addition, there are 4 "freecells" which serve as holding places for cards, and allow you to move more than one card at a time. If you have no free cells open, you can only move one card at a time. With one cell open, you can move two cards. With two, you can move three cards, with three, four cards, and with four freecells open, you can move five cards. (that is, you could move a pile consisting of a red 9, black 8, red 7, black 6, and red 5, onto a black ten.) If you move all the cards out of a column, you can put either a card or a sequence of cards, providing you have the free cells to do so. This empty column may also be used as a freecell of sorts but you can store an entire sequnce instead of a single card. The interesting twist with Freecell is that there is no "stock", or undealt cards, and this allows you to see the entire deck at one time. This is what makes FreeCell a game of strategy more than a game of luck, and is probably what accounts for its popularity. Of course what really makes it popular is the fact that Microsoft decided to incorporate it into all the later versions of Windows so that you can now play it simply by turning on your computer and clicking the mouse. It is extremely addicting and many people find themselves playing it while surfing the net (and waiting for slow pages to load) or while talking on the phone (especially while talking to people who are somewhat uninteresting) or while doing mundane tasks, such as wating for your work shirt to come out of the dryer or while waiting for the water in your tea kettle to heat up. Some people claim that every game of free cell is winnable. And some have tried to prove it by beating every free cell game on windows starting with 1and I suppose going through all 32000 games. (I've heard #216 is particuarly nasty, though still not unwinable) In any case, freecell has become a favorite pastime of many many people, especially people who leave their computers on all the time or turn to their computers for (somewhat) mindless entertainment. In my own experience, I've met many more people who play free cell frequently on their computers than any other computer game. It appeals to almost everyone, even those who wouln't dream of playing (even if they knew how to) something like Myst or Final Fantasy VII. Freecell is a quick, interesting and fun game. It is challenging, yet easy to learn. Freecell has become the pastime of a new generation and, I believe, a hope for the future. Freecell... Pastime of CHAMPIONS!
