Solitaire card games/Free Cell

Construction and layout

• One standard 52-card deck is used.
• There are four open cells and four open foundations. Some alternate rules use between one to ten cells.
• Cards are dealt face-up into eight cascades, four of which comprise seven cards and four of which comprise six. Some alternate rules will use between four to ten cascades.

Building during play

• The top card of each cascade begins a tableau
• Tableaux must be built down by alternating colors.
• Foundations are built up by suit.

Moves

• Any cell card or top card of any cascade may be moved to build on a tableau, or moved to an empty cell, an empty cascade, or its foundation.
• Complete or partial tableaus may be moved to build on existing tableaus, or moved to empty cascades, by recursively placing and removing cards through intermediate locations. Computer implementations often show this motion, but players using physical decks typically move the tableau at once.

Victory

• The game is won after all cards are moved to their foundation piles.

Variations

• Seahaven Towers Building on the tableau is done in suit and there are ten columns of five cards