Play ForeCell Online
ForeCell is a close relative of FreeCell with 2 changes that make it noticeably tougher. The deal puts 48 cards into 8 columns of 6 and places the last 4 cards face up in the 4 free cells, so every cell is already full when you start. And an empty column will take only a King, or a run that begins with a King.
Everything else will feel familiar. All cards are face up, the tableau builds down in alternating colors and the 4 foundations build up by suit from Ace to King. The first thing to work out is where each of those 4 cell cards can go, and which column you need to dig into to make room for it.
How a ForeCell Deal Starts
Each tableau column holds 6 cards, all visible. The 4 cells above the table hold one card each, and those cards are as playable as any exposed tableau card. They can move to a foundation or onto a tableau card one rank higher and opposite in color. Until one of them leaves, you have no spare cell to work with.
Building and Moving Runs
Place a card on the next higher card of the opposite color, such as a black 8 on a red 9. A run in that order can move as a group if it is no longer than the number of empty cells plus 1. Empty columns do not raise that limit, because they cannot hold the smaller cards a long move needs to pass through. With all 4 cells full, you move one card at a time.
Kings in Empty Columns
In FreeCell, an empty column is the best spare space on the table. In ForeCell it waits for a King. A King moved into it can then take a Queen, a Jack and the rest of a descending run, so a well-timed empty column is still very strong. An empty column with no King nearby does not help at all.
Your First Job Is Emptying a Cell
Before your first move, read the 4 cell cards and ask where each one can go. An Ace or 2 in a cell will usually head to the foundations early. A middle card such as a red 9 needs a black 10 at the bottom of a column, so look for the column where a black 10 is closest to the front. A high card, a Queen or a King, often stays put longest, so do not plan around moving it soon.
Once one cell is free, use it with care. Parking a card there to reach a buried Ace is fine if that parked card has somewhere to go a move or two later. If it does not, you are back to a full row of cells and single-card moves.
Free a King Before You Clear a Column
Before you take the last card out of a column, find the King that will use it. If no King can reach the column, the space sits idle while your cells fill up. A stronger plan is to uncover a King first, then clear the column when that King can move in and collect a descending run straight away.
A King sitting at the front of a column is already where it needs to be. Moving it to an empty column gains nothing unless it frees a card underneath.
ForeCell Compared With Its Cousins
Eight Off and Seahaven Towers also deal cards into the cells and save empty columns for Kings, but both build the tableau in suit. ForeCell keeps the alternating colors of FreeCell, so most cards have 2 possible landing spots instead of 1. That makes it the friendliest of the three to read, even though it starts with no free cell at all.
Three Cells and Two Cells cut back the storage in a different way. They start with fewer cells, but those cells are empty and any card can fill an empty column. The FreeCell variants guide sets all of these side by side.
ForeCell Questions
Why are the free cells full at the start?
That is the traditional ForeCell deal. The 52 cards are split into 48 for the tableau and 4 for the cells, which gives each column an even 6 cards.
Can any card go into an empty column?
No. Only a King, or a run that starts with a King, can be placed in an empty column.
How many cards can I move at once?
One more than the number of empty cells. With 2 empty cells you can move a run of 3. Empty columns do not add to the count.
Can every ForeCell deal be won?
A Winnable deal has a known solution, so a win is possible from the opening position. A Random deal is an ordinary shuffle and may have none. If you wander off the solution, Is it winnable? tells you whether you can still finish. Hints and undo are there while you learn, and an unassisted win while signed in can go on the ForeCell leaderboard.