Championship Freecell
Rules of Play
Object of the Game
The object of the game is to move all cards to the home cells using only legal Championship Freecell moves. To win competitions (see competition rules) you also want to use as few free cells and moves as possible.
Game Layout
The diagram below shows a Championship Freecell game layout. Cards are arranged in columns, in a manner similar to traditional solitaire except that all cards in the columns are face up and visible. The objective is to build four stacks, one each of spades, clubs, diamonds, and hearts on the four home cells at the upper right. Each stack builds from Ace up to King. Again, this is similar to traditional solitaire.
Championship Freecell Game Layout
At the upper left in the diagram are four free cells. These are holding places where you can set aside single cards until you are ready to play them. In Championship Freecell, you can affect the level of difficulty by choosing the number of free cells that are available. You can choose from 2 to 8 free cells, with 2 being very difficult and 8 being relatively easy. Freecell Gold players can choose to play with just 1 free cell.
The rules for moving cards in Championship Freecell are different from those of traditional solitaire. You may move only one card at a time. (See Strategy and Tips for methods of moving groups of cards using one move at a time.) Cards may be removed from the bottom of any column and placed either on the bottom of another column, onto an open free cell, or onto a home stack, according to the rules below. To move a single card, select it by clicking it and then click on the place where you want to put that card. If you change your mind about moving the card after selecting it, just click on it again to unselect it.
Rules of Card Movement
1) Moving a card onto the bottom of a column
Cards played onto the bottom of a column follow the typical solitaire pattern of alternating between red (diamonds or hearts) and black (spades or clubs). They also must be in descending rank order. Kings have the highest rank and Aces have the lowest rank. Even though the initial deal will result in most cards being neither in rank or black-red sequence, any moves that you make must abide by these restrictions.
Examples:
The only cards you can play on a Jack of Hearts are 10 of Clubs and 10 of Spades.
The only cards you can play on a 5 of Spades are 4 of Hearts and 4 of Diamonds.
2) Moving onto an empty column
If you move all cards off of a column, it becomes an empty column. You may move any card from a free cell or another column to an empty column. It need not be a King. It may be of any rank or suit.
3) Moving onto a free cell
You may place any card regardless of suit or rank on an empty free cell. Unlike an empty column, each free cell can only hold one card. You can not place runs of cards on a free cell.
4) Moving onto a home stack
When playing on home cells you must build four stacks, one each of spades, clubs, diamonds, and hearts. The stacks must be built with Ace on the bottom and ascending in sequential order up to King. You may build the different stacks at different rates. You may not remove cards once you place them on the home cells.
5) Moving off of a free cell
Cards may be moved off of a free cell to a home cell or column at any time, provided you obey rules 1-4.
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