Your goal is to build four complete suit sequences in the foundation piles, starting with Aces all the way up to Kings. The foundation piles are the four empty spaces in the upper right corner of the screen. 

In order to beat a game, you'll need to stack your cards at the bottom of the table (also called the tableau) in columns of cards in decreasing order. Any card may be stacked on top of another card with a rank 1 higher of the opposite color. So a 5 of Clubs can be stacked on a 6 of Hearts or Diamonds, but not any other rank, and not the 6 of Spades. Stacking cards in the tableau will help you sort the cards and ready them for transfer to the foundation piles. 

Unlike classic solitaire (also known as Klondike) all cards are face-up at the beginning of the game. Another big difference is the four cells in the top left of your screen. You can place one card in each of these 4 cells, widening the variety of moves you can make. The twist? The cells affect how many cards you can "carry" from column to column in one turn. The more free cells you have -- get it, free cells -- the more cards you can move: 

• 4 free cells = you can move 5 cards
• 3 free cells = you can move 4 cards
• 2 free cells = you can move 3 cards
• 1 free cell = you can move 2 cards

One exception to this rule is if you have an open column: you can move double the normal amount. For example, if you have 1 free cell and an empty tableau column, you can move 4 cards instead of just 2. 

Empty columns in Freecell also differ from Klondike solitaire in that you don't need to put a King there - any card will do.

Since you can see all the cards in Freecell, planning ahead is crucial. Take your time with each move, and go for the win! (Don't forget to use those free cells!)