Impossible Freecell Game

Jan 23, 2003 10:30 PM
Tags: books, games, windows

update Guys, please stop emailing me to ask if your game is impossible or just hard. If it's not #11982, it's not impossible. End of story.

I do not know how to solve whatever Freecell game you're stuck on; please do not email me for the solution.

Well, I learned something from Windows XP in a Nutshell:

In FreeCell, cards are not dealt randomly. Rather, there are 32,000 distinct numbered games, each representing a different predetermined deal of the cards. According to the help, "It is believed (although not proven) that every game is winnable." In fact, it has been proven that game #11982 is indeed not winnable.

Don't know why I bother with the nutshells; I've loathed them all. SQL in a Nutshell was the worst of the lot: $30 for 224 pages. Their other lines are sooo much better, on average.


Comments: Impossible Freecell Game

My friend is an avid FreeCell player. Thanks for the info. Now I can enjoy watching him struggle to beat that set just to prove you wrong. This will be fun. Thanks Again.

Posted by: John on December 5, 2003 9:49 PM | permalink

You wouldn't be proving me wrong, but rather, the author. In any case, I'd be awfully impressed if your friend showed that it is, indeed, winnable.

Posted by: Joe Grossberg on December 6, 2003 12:25 AM | permalink

My daughter and I believe that Free Cell #4467 is not solvable. Does anyone know the solution?!?!? Help help help help help!

Thank you,
Joe

Posted by: Joe on December 24, 2003 10:27 AM | permalink

Also the other impossible to win gam,e is -1 try it in the selected game you cant beat it.

Posted by: Michael on December 30, 2003 11:24 AM | permalink

I, too, have been trying for at least 50-100 times to beat Free Cell game 4467! I thought it was me.

Pam

Posted by: Pam Hart on January 1, 2004 7:44 PM | permalink

I started playing Free Cell games in numerical order (not the -1,-2 games though). I cannot win #1941 - Has anyone else managed too?

Posted by: TC on January 3, 2004 3:22 PM | permalink

Game 4467 is winnable, but its crazy hard. The following is a solution, the numbers referring to columns and the letters referring to the free cells up top. First letter/number is the origination of the move and the second is the destination.

5d 5c 5b 57 54
5a b5 37 35 85
3b 35 35 85 d5
64 c6 b6 8d 81
78 76 73 43 7c
47 4b 47 4h d7
85 84 c8 68 6d
6c 65 a5 6a c6
d6 4d 4c 24 26
24 c2 d2 74 1c
1d 17 a7 17 d7
31 27 24 21

Posted by: Ryan on January 5, 2004 4:50 AM | permalink

Ryan, you are a badass.

I like that notation.

Posted by: Joe Grossberg on January 5, 2004 3:16 PM | permalink

Ryan beat me to the post! I think mine is different, and the notation is a simple "take this card and put on that card" sequential list. But if you want a different way to solve it, here you go. (up means to a free cell, stack means the final Ace stack)
5c up, js to qd, 7c to 8d, 9h up
5d to 6s, kc up, 6d to 7s, 10c to jd
3s up, kc to column 5, js to kc
6d to 7c (could have done this sooner!)
5c to 6d, 9h to 10c, 3c up, 10h to js
ks up, 2s,3s,4s to stack
10d to js, 9c to 10h, 5c to 7s, 7c to 9c
5c to 7c, kd up, 4c to 5d
jc(and 10) to column 3
2c up, 4d to 5c, 3c to 4d, 7s up
3h to 4c, kd to column 1
jh to kd, 9h to jh
now comes the fun...
6c up, jd to column 7, 5s to stack
10 s to jd, 9d to 10s

If you can't finish from here, let me know.

Posted by: Mike on January 7, 2004 11:20 AM | permalink

Another very challenging one but doable is 7724. If you get stuck, see my following entry.

Posted by: Mac on November 13, 2006 1:39 AM | permalink

To solve 7724 work on the far right column first and then you'll find your way but don't expect a picnic.

Posted by: Mac on November 13, 2006 1:41 AM | permalink

Try #14523 it's been driving me nuts. I believe it is unwinnable.

Any Solutions I'd love to hear!

Posted by: Adriano on November 19, 2006 6:34 PM | permalink

ha! I did it. can't remember how but it was great!

Posted by: Adriano on November 19, 2006 7:00 PM | permalink

Try this Ctrl+Shift+F10

Posted by: Juan Sebastián on November 30, 2006 9:43 PM | permalink

Juan:

To do what?

Posted by: Joe Grossberg on December 1, 2006 7:27 AM | permalink

14523 solution

58 56 5a 2b 52 5c
56 4d 82 45 c4 d4
72 5c 75 85 75 c7
87 8c 85 c8 78 7c
a7 c7 28 65 61 62
64 6a 3c 35 38 a5
c5 35 43 42 4up 65
1a 1c 1a 1c 15 17
47 17 a7 b7 c1 21

Posted by: kjetil on December 3, 2006 9:57 PM | permalink

is it possible to beat the -2 and -1.

Posted by: Hilarity on December 17, 2006 6:30 PM | permalink

I can not believe there are other people who are addicted like me i got stuck on #28920 and reading this page i got stuck on so many others thanks....help me with #28920 please? Ive had it up for days

Posted by: Deanna on January 22, 2007 3:05 PM | permalink

32388 is busting my hump!

Posted by: cantwells on January 23, 2007 2:30 AM | permalink

In later implementations of FreeCell in Microsoft Windows, there are 1,000,000 games. Of these, 8 have been found to be unsolvable. They are games No. 11,982, No. 146,692, No. 186,216, No. 455,889, No. 495,505, No. 512,118, No. 517,776, and No. 781,948.

Not to mention games -1 and -2

Posted by: Chief wiggum on February 14, 2007 4:23 PM | permalink

lol I'm a freecell addict... anyways I've been attempting to beat every freecell game 1-1,000,000.

I got stuck on a lot but finished them later. Everyone here seems to think that 11982 is unwinnable... I don't know why because I'm currently on 16,286 and I know I didn't skip it.

I went back yesterday and worked on it forever, but I got it again... I didn't think to get the sequence.

All I know is to start in the 5th column...
I thought it wasn't too bad...

Posted by: CellTrotter on February 19, 2007 6:52 PM | permalink

hey i just started with game one a couple of weeks ago and now im on 92 and i cant beat it if someone could help that would be great.

Posted by: Steve on February 21, 2007 2:11 PM | permalink

am doing 1-as soon as I get bored

Have been stuck on 169 for a week now, can anybody please help?

Posted by: simon on February 26, 2007 7:10 AM | permalink

game # 178 is so hard i need help from the guys that are really good

Posted by: steve on March 16, 2007 12:08 PM | permalink

Is -1 or -2 unwinnable?

Posted by: nutbutter on March 18, 2007 4:07 PM | permalink

Hahah, game -1 is hilarious!

If you want to try out a fun one, I recommend 25752. I found it to be pretty tricky because it required me to do things I usually don't want to do in a freecell game. I still beat it on the first try, but I had to stare at it for a while.

Posted by: Will on March 20, 2007 10:02 PM | permalink

i believe 1941 is impossible, my head is falling off, is there a solution?

Posted by: paul on April 30, 2007 11:07 AM | permalink

1941 is the hardest game I ever played and won. It took me 6 weeks (off and on) and probably 100 - 150 trys. Keep trying. I'm sure the solution is posted somewhere if you want to go that route. Good luck.

Posted by: Gordon on May 6, 2007 7:40 PM | permalink

game # 178 is so hard i need help from the guys that are really good

Posted by: Kaunis on May 9, 2007 11:11 AM | permalink

I don't understand why everyone is asking about game 1, I won it on the first try. Did I miss something? I haven't tried game 2 yet. There are enough other games that bust my butt already!

Posted by: Traci on May 20, 2007 4:39 AM | permalink

I Googled to see if there was a site like this because of my frustration with game #1941. It's the only game I've not been able to win.

I can see there are some other numbers I need to test my skill at, but I'm glad to see it's not just me that's stumped by #1941!

Posted by: mcinnamon on May 22, 2007 7:45 PM | permalink

I'm stuck on #17985. Help!

Posted by: Dan on May 23, 2007 11:48 PM | permalink

Traci,

I don't think anyone was talking games 1 and 2. They were referring to games -1 and -2. Give those a try.

mc

Posted by: mcinnamon on May 29, 2007 3:29 PM | permalink

My question is actually about a handheld freecell game (Radica Games "Big Screen FreeCell")

I am really stuck on a level and would like to know if it is beatable. I'll keep trying if it is.

Here is the layout you are given originally (Card Value followed by a lower case digit for its suit) I hope I made sense.

5s 6s 5d 4c
10d 8c Js 6h Qs 2s Jh 3d
Ac 8s Kc Ah Ks 10s Ad 10c
9s 8d 9c 9d 6d 3h 4d 7c
Kh 5h 5c 6c 2h 9h 4h 7s
4s 7d As Qc Qd Kd Jc Qh
2c 2d 8h Jd 3s 7h 10h 3c

Posted by: Keri on June 10, 2007 8:21 PM | permalink

I beat game #4467 in like 10-15 tries.

Posted by: Tess on June 27, 2007 1:56 AM | permalink

i need help with game 178 - have been stuck on this one for days.....

Posted by: heather g on July 19, 2007 2:03 PM | permalink

Do anyone has a solution for 32412? I think it's impossible

Posted by: tomas on July 30, 2007 1:40 PM | permalink

Try this out: http://www.solitairelaboratory.com/freecell.html

Doesn't have all solutions, but has the most difficult ones.
The notation is the one used by some users above.

Posted by: anonymous on July 31, 2007 9:50 AM | permalink

People come on all the time and say 'Oh yeah, I finished #11982. Yeah, but I conveniently FORGOT what I did. tssk.

Posted by: CJ on August 11, 2007 8:21 PM | permalink

31465 is giving me a hard time. Somebody give me a clue? Thanks

http://www.solitairelaboratory.com/fclists.html
has lots of solutions including mine and 1941

Posted by: ken sunshine on August 12, 2007 9:22 AM | permalink

I too am stuck on 17985...I'm about to throw the towel in!

Posted by: Steffi on August 15, 2007 6:16 AM | permalink

This is the solution to 11982

61 54 78 1e 1d 61 5c 51 1b 51
51 4a 54 d5 e5 1e 1d b1 e1 4e
a4 1b 1a d1 b1 5d 5b c5 4c e4
5e b5 6b d5 6d 61 61 46 c4 8c
81 c1 82 e2 1e 71 1c e1 4e 64
a6 4a e4 6e b6 7b 76 e7 28 2e
26 e6 1e 1a 12 a2 e2 5e 5a 15
17 86 57 d5 1d 15 d5 7d 75 d5
7d 71 d1 2d 27 25 75 d5 2d 27
52 c5 7c a7 e7 2e 2a 28 c2 6c
86 c8 2c 25 c5 1c 12 c2 1c a1
e1 4e 4a ah 34 4a 43 a3 4a 42
d2 4d c4 5c 51 5h c1 5c 52 c2
6c 63 83 86 36 c3 e8 1e 1c 12
c2 e2 1e 15 e5 17 1e 1h dh 5h
6h 36 3d 3c 31 37 c1 d1 61 6d
6c 67 31 3h 43 c7 d7 4d 1h 5h
7h a8 2c 25 2h 2h 7h 2h 6h 3h
5h 3a 7h 7h 8h eh bh 8e

Posted by: Silas G on September 1, 2007 2:04 PM | permalink

control, shift, F10 does not work on my computer. I have Windows XP

Posted by: cruz on September 2, 2007 12:07 PM | permalink

permalink,

you are using 5 freecells instead of the standard 4 to solve 11982.

Posted by: Barbazzo on September 5, 2007 1:11 PM | permalink

I beat 4467 on my 2nd try. I gotta admit though, knowing that it was hard made it easier because it made me be more cautious than usual.

Posted by: INternetisTubes on September 20, 2007 4:15 AM | permalink

wow 1941 IS hard! but i'm gonna keep at it like you said w/o resorting to using the walkthrough!

Posted by: INternetisTubes on September 20, 2007 5:51 AM | permalink

The solution above does not work for 11982, it would require a fifth freecell, which is not available. The game is lost at the 12th move on the above "solution"

Posted by: freecelladdict on October 3, 2007 5:11 PM | permalink

Someone should post all the games that they have one without using a freecell. This is what I think beats the rest... I'm going to put down my list later tonight!. I think that I have about 5 games that I have won that way so far...

p.s. doesn't solitaire suck now that you've played freecell

Posted by: Aaron on November 16, 2007 11:13 AM | permalink

I just started playing and i think im pretty good at it but i cant get #9!
help me!

Posted by: Lauren on December 1, 2007 4:14 PM | permalink

I just started playing and i think im pretty good at it but i cant get #9!
help me!

Posted by: Lauren on December 1, 2007 4:16 PM | permalink

I am having trouble with game 13225, if anyone knows what to do, plz send me a message on AIM, Moiz0786 or Yahoo, Moizamdani. Thanx alot.

Posted by: Moiz on December 7, 2007 6:40 AM | permalink

In later implementations of FreeCell in Microsoft Windows, there are 1,000,000 games. Of these, 8 have been found to be unsolvable. They are games No. 11,982, No. 146,692, No. 186,216, No. 455,889, No. 495,505, No. 512,118, No. 517,776, and No. 781,948.

Not to mention games -1 and -2

i sloved on fisrt try 781,948

Posted by: eric on December 15, 2007 1:35 AM | permalink

and 517,776 on fist try just now
dont know who wrote that post about these impossible ones ?

Posted by: eric on December 15, 2007 1:43 AM | permalink

My battle with Free Cell has been going on for over a year now. I met a gentlemen on line who I occasionally see who is from Canada and I am from the US. We both started at No. 1 and try to keep up with each other. He is slightly ahead at the moment and I am on 2700 except for 2696 which I keep going back to until I get it. It has been a lot of fun competing with someone special and something fun to do when you can't sleep at night. Unfortunately he has more sleepless nights and,therefore ahead. Good excuse, eh?

Posted by: Maggie on December 16, 2007 4:54 PM | permalink

plz plz help with game 617... just cant finish.

Posted by: Imran on December 21, 2007 3:09 AM | permalink

For the life of me, I cannot find the solution to game #17396. Can anyone help me please??

Posted by: Miriam on January 6, 2008 5:59 AM | permalink

Imran,

#617 Solution
83 53 6a 6b 6c 56 c5 a5 b6 2a
4b 45 21 41 72 4c 4d 47 ch 51
54 5c 56 b6 76 d5 14 15 12 7b
7d 76 17 14 d4 1h 27 21 25 71
7d 27 d7 2d d2 c2 bh 8b 87 8c
c8 78 58 37 35 3c a4 34 b4 c2
13 1a 1b

Hope this helps.

Posted by: Miriam on January 7, 2008 3:09 AM | permalink

Hi, can anyone help, I have a bet with my boyfriend that i can find a Freecell game that he cant do, If i do he will take me away for a long weekend somewhere, but if i dont i have to cook and make his lunch for a whole month! Can someone give me some really hard ones that he will not be able to solve!! Many thanks

Posted by: Vicky on January 22, 2008 2:50 AM | permalink

Vicki - 11982. That is the impossible one.

Posted by: Chook on January 25, 2008 1:22 AM | permalink

I know I'm just another person asking if anyone knows the solution to a game. My irritation is game # 17442. This is the first game that I've ever been stuck on. I was starting to get a little cocky that I've never been stuck...but finally I've been humbled. Please help me!

Posted by: Raquel on February 21, 2008 3:50 PM | permalink

So sorry to bother you all...and I'm quite embarrassed to say...I won! I'm all set with game #17442. So no need for a solution. I don't know how I did it, but I finally did. Thanks anyway all!

Posted by: Raquel on February 21, 2008 4:02 PM | permalink

is game -1 and -2 unsolvable

Posted by: matt on February 24, 2008 5:56 PM | permalink

Not too bad at this free cell game..Got stuck on #11982. Really frustrated me. Googled the info and tada ! I'm not alone lol.

Posted by: on March 12, 2008 11:05 AM | permalink

Im completely stuck with game 2118. I end up with massive piles covering aces, and I can only get one ace banked before getting into trouble. Ive tried searching google but this isnt listed as a hard game anywhere, so theres no solutions. Does anyone know it?

Posted by: Chook on March 20, 2008 9:37 AM | permalink

Hello all. I was stuck on #617 & searched for a solution which led me to this site. Thank you to Miriam for the solution.

I wanted to point out that I found a site that mentions a glitch that may prove useful (though this is cheating if it helps). Simply start a game, any number you want (should be a game that allows 1 card to be placed on another without using a cell). Press F3 (Start New Game), type the number of the same game again, press Enter & then F10 (undo key). This will cause whatever card you moved to be switched with the card it was placed on. So if you move the 2 of hearts to the 3 of spades, F10 will cause the 3 of spades to move on top of the 2 of hearts.

Pretty cool!

Posted by: RealEveryDay on March 23, 2008 1:59 AM | permalink

Game #2118:
8S 7H 4H 3S 4C 3D 2D QH 3Hup 5Hup 10S 9H KS(new column) JS 8Hup 10H 6S 5H 9C 8D 7C 4D 6H 7D(new column) 4S 9S 3S 5S 2S QSup 8H 6S KDup 7D KD QS 3H 6S JD 2H 6C 3C 9Dup 5D KH QDup QC 7Sup 10D KC QD 2C 9D 7S 6D JH

Posted by: Tinker on March 29, 2008 7:29 PM | permalink

i've just started game 11982 coz i love freecell and wanna see if it really is impossible.
so far its lookin quite impossible.

wish me luck :D

Posted by: Winston on March 31, 2008 4:19 AM | permalink

Yes it's about impossible 11982, I wonder how far can anyone get with this?

Posted by: jim on April 8, 2008 2:12 PM | permalink

Im working on game 11982 whats the furtherest anyones got with this? I just cant face the fact that it cant be won there must be a way!!!

Posted by: Sam on May 7, 2008 11:22 PM | permalink

I need to know how to beat 1941

Posted by: Robbie on May 24, 2008 10:01 PM | permalink

how do I beat 1941

Posted by: Robbie on May 24, 2008 10:11 PM | permalink

i finally figured out 1941 i used a real deck of cards while i was playing 1941 to freeze the cards until i knew it was the correct place for the order to beat it .. if that makes any sence

Posted by: Gary on May 27, 2008 9:10 PM | permalink

No more comments! Either someone has violated Godwin's Law, I'm tired of the discussion or, most likely, the ten-week window has closed. You can, however, contact me through email.