Freecell Fanatic
Because I'm the #1 Google result for "impossible freecell game", I often get emails from aficionados of the game.
Typically, they're people insisting they found another game that can't be solved, or asking for solutions to one that has stumped them.
But this guy, Jim Boyer, takes the cake. He is into Freecell like you wouldn't believe:
Joe Grossberg:
My name is Jim Boyer and I'm a avid FreeCell player and I have played all 32,000 thousand games all the way through three times and I'm currently working on the forth time as I'm currently up past fifteen thousand at the present time. I have found that it is possible to beat FreeCell without playing any cards at all up in the FreeCell blocks. Now, of course you can't win all the games playing this way but I have found over 1,285 five games that can be won playing this way. While some of the games are rather easy others are rather difficult to nearly impossible. Here is a sample out of the first one hundred games that can be won this way 38, 54, 56, 58, and 99. If you can't beat these games without playing any cards up in the FreeCell blocks you have made a wrong move some where along the line and you simply just need to start over. I have a complete listing in sequence under spreadsheet of fourteen pages with one hundred games on each page as well as a sheet that I call "Crazy FreeCell Stats", listing different things like how many of odd number games won and how many even numbered games won, and such things as how many back to back games can be won playing this way, plus the fact that there are three different times that three games in sequence can be won back to back........but I have never been able to win four in a row, plus there are over a dozen games that you can uncover two rows but yet you can still not win these games playing this way. I found out you can win this way purely by accident as I got rather bored playing FreeCell using the FreeCell blocks. After finding two games I could win this way allowing the computer to select my game numbers I started at one and went all the way through thirty two thousand and of course I didn't find nearly all of them the first time or second time as I gave up on some of the games and went on to the next game. Seems like I found about seven hundred plus games the first time through and then I went over a thousand and I'm currently up over 1,285 and I'm sure I will end up over 1,300 hundred games when I'm done this time around.
I believe you were the one that listed some very hard games of FreeCell as well as 11982 (impossible) using the FreeCell blocks. I have played most of those games and won but haven't totally completed the list. I agree some of them you had listed as extra hard are rather difficult while the tough games were not real easy. Tried the 11982 without success and I agree that it is impossible. Have also had a couple of other FreeCell buddies working on it with out success! Have also found that is somewhat difficult shifting gears so to speak using the FreeCell blocks after not using them for some time.
Thought it was kind of interesting that checking all the websites under Goooogle that no one has ever mentioned the fact that you can win at FreeCell without playing any cards up in the FreeCell blocks. I have found that it helps to walk a way from FreeCell for a while a come back and play the same game later and you will see where you made your mistake in not being able to beat that game in the first place. It's a great game! I also like playing Spider Solitaire and Hearts once in a while for a change of pace.
I believe I will join the web pages under Goooogle at some point and time!
Jim Boyer
E-Mail: boyerjim[at]verizon.net
there was a girl in law school who used to play 8 off solitaire working sequentially thru the game numbers. reminded me of this....
Posted by: Pam on April 26, 2005 1:40 PM | permalinkHoly mackerel. I can't think of any other response.
Max
Wow.
If I had that amount of time to spend playing free cell - I wouldn't.
A little math though...This dude's played 32000 games 3x over. That's 96000 games of free cell.
I figure the average game lasts...shall we say 8 minutes? That's 768000 minutes. Thats 12800 hours. That's over 533 FULL days of Free Cell.
He's reaching up to almost two years!
At this guys rate, he'll surpass the 4 years he's supposed to spend his life sitting on the crapper in no time.
Posted by: j on April 26, 2005 3:51 PM | permalinkJeebus, I thought I was a freecell nerd because I had gotten to 58 consecutive games won. This guy has a frecell spreadsheet. He's also got "freecell buddies".
I wasn't aware that there was an impossible combination. That is interesting to know.
I guess you can't underestimate the things that some people will take seriously.
Posted by: ChuckJerry on April 26, 2005 3:54 PM | permalinkCall me weird, but I was hooked on Freecell for a while also. I started at game #1 and conintued on to the next game until I beat it. This was 5 or 6 games a day for several weeks. I got up to 150 or so before I got bored and stopped playing.
This Jim guy is a freak. A dedicated freak at that.
Posted by: Daffy on April 27, 2005 7:47 AM | permalinkTo expand on J's calculations, I'm giving the guy the benefit of the doubt and say he can average 5 minutes per game. I'll also try to put it in better perspective.
32,000 games x 3 times = 96,000 games
96,000 games x 5 minutes each = 480,000 minutes
or 8000 hours / 40 hour workweek = 200 weeks
200 weeks / 50 weeks worked per year = 4 YEARS
A little background. Freecell was a new game that was bundled in Windows 95. Windows 95 came out in August of 1995.
So, for 4 out of the last 10 years, his 'job' was playing freecell.
A-Mazing
Posted by: Daffy on April 28, 2005 11:06 AM | permalinkD -
You've reduced game time to 5 minutes?? Somewhere in here there's a joke about guys uhh...finishing quickly.
J -
I figured he's almost an idiot savant type at the game. I can just picture him sitting there planning the next 10-15 moves while he clicks on a card. He probably gets in such a groove while he's playing. I forgot to include the 16,000 that he's already completed for his fourth time through. Add another 8 months to his time. Or if we figure 8 miutes per game, then his total works out to 7.5 years (@8 hours a day x 5 days a week x 50 weeks a year)
A staggering amount either way you look at it.
Posted by: Daffy on April 28, 2005 7:15 PM | permalinkI started on the challenge of going through all 32K freecell games but then I found out there were a bazillion more of them in the "full set". This totally wiped out in my mind any point to concentrating on the first 32K. I mean, why not go for the first 50K, or the first 4,096, or any random number of them. What amazes me is that this guy can maintain such utter dedication to just the first 32K.
this guy is really crazy but some of his results are wrong. If anyone is curious you can get freecell pro. I forget where I found it but it shows that some of his results are wrong. For instance you can set it so there are no free cells and then you can ask it to solve puzzles 38, and 54, possibly the rest that he claims can be solved thus. It'll tell you they're not solvable. This is because the guy ignores the implicit uses of the freecells when you move multiple cards across.
Also, ... somebody needs to find this guy and reintroduce him to something known as "human interaction." It may seem novel and unfamiliar to him but really eventually he may get reaccustomed to it.
Hey man, we've all got our hobbies.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on November 19, 2006 8:17 AM | permalinkDude, forget all this, try opening any freecell game and type ctlr + Shift+ f10 and enter. Then try to move one card and you will see the magic.
I'm somewhat of a FreeCell fanatic myself, and I have a question for all the others: What is the most FreeCell games anyone has won in a row? I'm up to 151 games right now, but I'm playing the Vista version and I swear it is much easier than the older version.
Posted by: Keith Becker on March 30, 2007 9:11 AM | permalinkWhen he says he does not use the free cells he simply means at no time are there any cards in the free cells up top. At least, not for more than .1 seconds when the computer auto sends them there. Besides we all know what he meant; to answer Crazy's question from November 06
Posted by: Lerker on May 4, 2007 11:14 AM | permalinkI like to play freecell games in order to keep track. Is there any game that will automatically do this rather than random numbers?
Posted by: barbara on May 11, 2007 9:52 PM | permalinki Found a game that i can not seem to beat it is #26093
Posted by: Taylor on July 9, 2007 8:11 PM | permalinkEh, he's having fun and not hurting anybody. I mean it's better than losing money at poker, no?
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on July 17, 2007 9:53 PM | permalinkEight, or even 5 minutes is a bit long. I've been able to average well under 90 seconds per game, though there are some that take longer. My personal best time is 43 seconds, but I get very close to that time very often, just haven't managed to break it. I use the freecell blocks, though. Oh, also...if you're wondering how I time my games...I'm a linux user, the freecell version it came with has a built in timer. My longest winning streak in Windows freecell was a little over 5000 games.
Posted by: MPhillips on December 5, 2007 8:09 AM | permalinkSomething I don't understand... I play a lot of free cell at work and I started keeping count a while ago and i'm at 1000 but the free cell i'm playing that came on the microsoft computer says pick a number 1- 999,999 that means there's more then 32,000 games. So what verison is he playing?
Posted by: Emily on December 23, 2007 9:41 PM | permalinkI'm not this good. My best was winning about 75% of the time at one point.
But more important was what I learned while playing Freecell. I'm ADD. I like my lessons quick. And I like that you can restart the game to see what you did wrong.
Freecell has helped me learn about timing, strategizing, taking it slowly and taking numerous small risks rather than big risks. Learning to play well and consistantly helped me with my confidance at tackling problems where I couldn't see the answer at the beginning. I knew that I just focused on the details and the big picture worked itself out. What I learned from it helped me to be a better worker and businessman. :)
Hi Joe,
I,ve recently finished my second trip thru the original 32,000 MSN list. I'm 78 years old so it's not likely that I will even try another. I'm still listed as one of the orignal set winners on Michael Keller's (solitairelabratory.com) old freecell FAQ. The first trip took 7yrs, 5 months and the second only 3 yrs, 2 mo. I may start at 32,001 in Windows XP just to keep my feet wet.
I wrote a short article on freecell, and my part in it, and was wondering if you, or anyone else, might be interested in it. I think it's funny but my wife doesn't agree. I can't understand why. Let me know and I'll fire it off to you.
Later, Bob
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.