What is Fewer free cells?
This is FreeCell with less room to work in. You choose in the setup to play with three free cells or with two; everything else stays the same. The deck is dealt face up into eight columns, the columns are built down in alternating colors, any card may fill an empty column, and you win by building every suit on its foundation from Ace to King.
With fewer cells you can park fewer cards while you dig out the ones you need, and every move has to be planned further ahead. The limit on moving runs shrinks too, because it counts the empty cells: with no empty column a run of up to 4 cards moves with three empty cells, and up to 3 with two.
The game also runs out of moves sooner. When every cell is full, no column is empty and no card fits anywhere, no moves are left and the deal is over. Empty columns become the key to winning: each one doubles the length of run you can move.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard FreeCell | Fewer free cells |
|---|---|---|
| Free cells | Standard FreeCellFour. | Fewer free cellsThree or two, chosen in the setup. |
| Longest run moved at once | Standard FreeCell5 cards with four empty cells; 10 with one empty column as well. | Fewer free cells4 cards with three empty cells, 3 with two; doubled for each empty column. |
| Cards you can park | Standard FreeCellUp to four at a time. | Fewer free cellsUp to three or two at a time. |
| No moves left | Standard FreeCellRare: only when all four cells are full, no column is empty and no card fits. | Fewer free cellsFar more likely, because the cells fill up sooner. |
| Other options | Standard FreeCellBuilding by suit (Baker's Game) can be chosen. | Fewer free cellsIt can be combined with fewer cells for the hardest game, though many of those deals cannot be won at all. |
History
FreeCell's four cells come from Baker's Game, which the mathematics writer Martin Gardner described in his magazine column in 1968, crediting it to C. L. Baker. In 1978 Paul Alfille kept the four cells, changed the columns to alternating colors and programmed the game for a university's educational computer system under the name FreeCell.
Playing with fewer cells is not a separate game with its own name. It is a way of setting the difficulty: the rules stay as they are and only the spare room changes, so the same deal becomes a harder puzzle.