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compiled by Michael Keller, based on earlier lists by Dave Ring
and Wilson Callan.
Copyright ©2010 by Michael Keller. All rights reserved.
This page was revised on May 19, 2010.
Here are a number of lists (from various sources) of hard FreeCell deals, and a couple of
lists of easy ones (all numbers refer to the deal numbering scheme used by Microsoft
FreeCell, FreeCell Pro, and several other programs):
(1) Dave Ring's original list of hard deals from the Internet FreeCell Project (Solutions
to all of these are in the catalog):
169, 178, 258, 454, 617, 718, 1689, 1941, 2021, 2350, 2577,
2607, 2670, 2772, 3285, 3342, 3349, 3685, 3772, 3788, 3801, 3973, 4257, 4368, 4540, 4591,
4714, 4946, 5179, 5374, 5453, 5482, 5490, 5548, 5557, 6343, 6673, 6745, 6751, 6768, 7107,
7160, 7600, 7700, 8005, 8323, 8534, 8591, 8652, 8678, 8749, 8820, 9250, 9385, 9538, 9617,
9700, 10589, 11281, 11386, 11409, 11430, 11677, 11854, 12211, 12313, 13015, 14051, 14188,
14676, 14795, 14879, 14965, 14977, 15023, 15099, 15130, 15133, 15164, 15227, 15238, 15710,
15746, 15905, 15939, 16191, 16575, 16576, 17277, 17524, 17764, 17768, 18623, 18992, 19410,
19484, 19633, 19763, 19861, 20055, 20251, 20589, 20715, 20912, 21051, 21185, 21278, 21785,
21896, 21899, 22332, 24063, 24457, 24549, 24735, 25123, 25155, 25450, 25599, 25602, 25790,
25856, 25995, 26093, 26183, 26197, 26369, 26421, 26576, 26693, 26694, 26710, 27188, 29001,
29154, 29198, 29345, 29704, 30000, 30108, 30394, 30615, 30712, 30801, 31044, 31266, 31465,
31601, 31647, 31729, 31918, 31945.
(2) Rated list of the Internet Project deals attempted by Gary K. Fromm.
1 try: 178, 2350, 2577, 2607, 2670, 2772, 3772, 5374, 5548, 5557, 6343, 6745, 6751, 6768,
7600, 8749, 9250, 9617, 11409, 11677, 14965, 14977, 15099, 15133, 15164, 15238, 15746,
16191, 17277, 17524, 17768, 18992, 19484, 20055, 20715, 20912, 21051, 21185, 25123, 25155,
26694, 24063, 24457, 25790, 26421, 26693, 26694, 30000, 30108, 31918
2 tries: 169, 3285, 3801, 5482, 6673, 7160, 8005, 8323, 8820, 13015, 14051, 14676, 15023,
16575, 21785, 21896, 24549, 26093, 29704, 30712, 31044, 31729
3 tries: 7700, 8534, 8678, 9538, 11281, 15227, 17764, 26183, 26197, 26576, 31266
4 tries: 12313, 16576, 18623, 21278, 21899
6 tries: 3342, 5490, 22332
7 tries: 3349, 8652, 9385, 26369, 29345
8 tries: 31647
9 tries: 9700, 25602
10 tries: 29198
11 tries: 25995
12 tries: 19633, 20589
13 tries: 25450
14 tries: 12211
15 tries: 7107, 8591, 11386
19 tries: 25856
(3) Adrian's list and strategy:
Difficult hands according to Adrian Ettlinger: 285, 335, 339, 463, 665, 737, 1136, 1483,
1567, 1617, 1651, 2793, 2884, 3232, 3285, 3289, 3496, 3685, 3699, 4054, 4368, 4467, 4855,
4941, 5087, 5222, 5514, 5624, 5964, 6053, 6501, 6607, 6834, 7303, 7346, 8182, 8436, 8591,
8710, 8742, 9102, 9718, 10660, 10692, 10714, 10955, 12330, 12795, 13304, 20418, 26693
Very difficult: 454, 661, 718, 1941, 6182
"As to strategy, here's what I might say: Don't dive into posting aces immediately,
but concentrate on all the moves that get the columns in order. This usually will expose
aces unexpectedly. Try to empty out at least one column. Never, unless absolutely
necessary, leave less than two open spaces (free cells plus empty columns) unless you can
see your way out of it."
(4) Windows 95 for Dummies: 285, 27006, 31465
31465 was also one of the last to be solved in the Internet Project.
(5) requests on rec.games.playing-cards:
169, 178, 617, 718, 865, 901, 7107, 20581, 24165, 31235, 31465
on other newsgroups and elsewhere on the Internet:
277, 617, 949, 3467, 3631, 5468, 6182, 7305, 10316, 11819, 11944, 17426, 19287, 19590,
26576, 27542, 29596, 31302
(5a) direct requests to Wilson Callan or Michael Keller (495) -- some of these are in the catalog:
24, 48, 57, 63, 69, 72, 86, 89, 92, 96, 114, 123, 124, 170, 178, 187, 190, 194, 205, 208,
221, 237, 245, 261, 285, 315, 322, 328, 330, 336, 421, 445, 451, 463, 469, 495, 512, 518,
527, 530, 579, 590, 598, 602, 612, 617, 638, 661, 665, 666, 669, 693, 694, 699, 716, 723,
728, 736, 749, 752, 770, 792, 798, 804, 828, 829, 833, 846, 868, 871, 877, 912, 915, 932,
949, 988, 992, 1020, 1066, 1072, 1113, 1136, 1165, 1180, 1189, 1256, 1263, 1285, 1288,
1317, 1365, 1381, 1388, 1445, 1450, 1495, 1506, 1515, 1520, 1522, 1526, 1567, 1599, 1617,
1632, 1635, 1637, 1647, 1651, 1652, 1656, 1673, 1676, 1689, 1691, 1734, 1767, 1857, 1924,
1941, 1953, 1976, 2048, 2075, 2081, 2082, 2172, 2240, 2241, 2261, 2264, 2277, 2288, 2301,
2364, 2416, 2456, 2481, 2558, 2578, 2801, 2821, 2884, 2902, 2911, 2971, 2977, 3015, 3099,
3112, 3130, 3152, 3188, 3199, 3289, 3294, 3350, 3426, 3467, 3469, 3476, 3496, 3635, 3637,
3699, 3900, 3901, 3925, 3975, 4023, 4034, 4074, 4089, 4118, 4267, 4321, 4420, 4538, 4603,
4609, 4813, 4891, 4950, 5087, 5100, 5157, 5225, 5265, 5463, 5514, 5588, 5629, 5714, 5727,
5766, 5851, 5979, 6056, 6182, 6185, 6218, 6240, 6247, 6275, 6281, 6415, 6460, 6492, 6498,
6581, 6611, 6693, 6775, 6781, 6821, 6834, 6918, 7000, 7107, 7202, 7259, 7301, 7303, 7305,
7339, 7346, 7354, 7382, 7385, 7660, 7941, 8122, 8168, 8182, 8377, 8390, 8413, 8431, 8454,
8481, 8517, 8566, 8591, 8613, 8618, 8732, 8742, 8811, 8866, 8950, 9000, 9182, 9282, 9444,
9457, 9508, 9550, 9555, 9718, 9764, 9784, 9787, 9790, 9877, 9888, 10178, 10191, 10414,
10509, 10692, 10884, 11027, 11114, 11210, 11218, 11440, 11465, 11767, 11775, 11854, 11944,
11967, 12006, 12056, 12158, 12161, 12166, 12286, 12366, 12442, 12467, 12635, 12753, 12773,
13228, 13284, 13304, 13324, 13375, 13388, 13414, 13582, 13705, 13717, 13751, 13752, 13925,
13926, 13996, 14070, 14078, 14107, 14212, 14316, 14623, 14991, 15051, 15283, 15352, 15396,
15481, 15511, 15512, 15546, 15562, 15618, 15679, 15742, 15799, 16129, 16380, 16768, 16839,
16845, 16849, 17015, 17021, 17355, 17356, 17467, 17503, 17536, 17680, 17683, 17752, 17803,
17976, 17985, 18048, 18118, 18181, 18192, 18446, 18512, 18538, 18600, 18652, 18663, 18685,
18712, 18865, 18872, 18906, 19052, 19057, 19070, 19152, 19363, 19552, 19590, 19609, 19837,
19880, 20008, 20086, 20112, 20411, 20413, 20489, 20509, 20547, 20703, 20725, 20785, 20808,
20810, 20823, 20830, 20865, 20888, 20931, 21042, 21151, 21322, 21365, 21454, 21491, 21587,
21948, 22040, 22196, 22369, 22391, 22554, 22661, 22907, 23216, 23219, 23237, 23260, 23424,
23494, 23717, 23927, 23990, 24020, 24104, 24105, 24106, 24127, 24341, 24389, 24934, 25246,
25293, 25315, 25351, 25424, 25558, 25574, 25613, 25624, 25656, 25775, 25856, 25957, 25964,
26048, 26053, 26061, 26194, 26478, 26576, 26693, 26766, 26889, 26903, 26916, 26947, 27117,
27201, 27327, 27499, 27545, 27949, 27978, 28016, 28085, 28118, 28149, 28216, 28920, 29007,
29048, 29086, 29195, 29230, 29508, 29557, 29564, 29596, 29664, 29691, 29774, 29908, 30057,
30256, 30313, 30382, 30556, 30612, 30647, 30728, 30887, 30914, 31087, 31166, 31188, 31404,
31465, 31631, 31772, 31938, 31951, 31963
(6) Laura Ross of Omaha, Nebraska played all 32,000 of the original deals, solving all but five of the
deals (8591, the impossible 11982, 13007, 31465, and 31938). She found
617 and 1941 the most difficult of those she solved.
Noel
Dingman of North Creek, New York has played all of the deals from 1 to
beyond 80000, failing to solve only numbers 11982 and 57148.
(7) Two Japanese lists mentioned on Hideyuki
Ichihara's excellent site:
[a] 169, 322, 915, 1941, 7825, 30057, 31729
[b] 1600, 1941
1941 is cited on both lists as well as Adrian's "very difficult" list: is this
the hardest solvable hand?
Ichihara's site has a complete
record of his solving efforts (numbers of tries for each deal and solution hints for
the hardest); he has finished the first 32,000 deals.
(8) Michael Keller's rejects from the 2000 he was assigned by Dave Ring -- I didn't solve
these until many months later:
3342, 4074, 4540, 4591, 5490, 6589, 7046, 7047, 7057, 7426, 14051, 14188, 14580, 14759 (21
tries), 14762, 14795, 15135, 19410 (24 tries), 19484, 22332, 22369 (22 tries -- last to
fall), 22372, 22380, 29154, 29195, 31706, 31729, 31772. Other deals I marked as difficult,
or which took a lot of tries: 21491 (26 tries), 29001, and 29198 (about ten tries).
(9) 69 very easy deals: [solvable with zero freecells, moving one card at a time as in standard FreeCell (Use FreeCell Pro to prohibit indirect FreeCell usage)]:
164, 892, 1012, 1081, 1150, 1529, 2508, 2514, 3178, 3225, 3250, 4929, 5055, 5152, 5213,
5300, 5814, 5877, 5907, 6749, 6893, 7018, 7058, 7167, 7807, 8355, 8471, 8961, 9998, 10772,
11863, 11987, 12392, 12411, 12676, 13214, 13464, 13532, 14014, 14624, 14826, 15140, 15196,
17772, 17871, 18026, 18150, 18427, 19951, 20533, 21657, 21900, 22663, 23328, 24176, 24919,
25001, 25904, 26719, 27121, 27853, 28856, 30329, 30418, 30584, 30755, 30849, 31185, and
31316.
Since
these deals can be solved in standard FreeCell without using any
freecells, even for momentary storage, they should be very easy to
solve when using the normal four freecells. They are not
necessarily easy to solve without freecells. We are confident
that this is a comprehensive list: please do not write to me, as dozens
of people have done, to tell me of deals we have left off, when they
are actually playing Relaxed FreeCell.
(10) Easy deals: Games #1 through #200 solvable with one freecell
(Use FreeCell Pro to prohibit indirect FreeCell usage):
2, 5, 7, 8, 11, 26, 30, 33, 37, 38, 51, 54, 56, 58, 59, 77, 79, 85, 87, 91, 94, 97, 98,
99, 103, 104, 105, 109, 113, 116, 134, 144, 150, 151, 155, 163, 164, 166, 173, 179, 180,
186, 195, and 198.
(11) 199 hard deals, unsolvable with three freecells:
All of these except for 11982 can be solved with four freecells.
169, 178, 285, 454,
575, 598, 617, 657, 775,
829,
988, 1025, 1136, 1443, 1495, 1661, 1734,
1941, 2081, 2240,
2241, 2563, 2670, 2802, 3015, 3130, 3289,
3685, 3772, 4368,
4609, 4625, 4946, 5157, 5254, 5463, 5707,
5979, 6017, 6139,
6255, 6365, 6498, 6775, 6834, 6918, 7000,
7057, 7107, 7303,
7305, 7477, 7700, 8182, 8454, 8591, 8613,
8820, 8927, 9209,
9278, 9784, 9790, 9877, 10288, 10370, 10692, 11281, 11304, 11819,
11944, 11982, 12006, 12021, 12166, 12319, 12330, 12381, 12753, 12773,
12795, 13007, 13015, 13304, 13388, 13584, 13751, 13867, 13926, 14027,
14070, 14267, 14623, 14904, 15339, 15382, 15512, 15562, 15695, 15704,
15710, 16129, 16202, 16407, 17426, 17467, 17680, 17683, 17736, 17863,
17985, 18118, 18192, 18356, 18600, 18623, 18872, 18947, 19013, 19146,
19590, 19767, 19837, 19880, 20055, 20112, 20418, 20489, 20547, 20581,
20589, 20725, 20737, 20757, 20810, 20830, 21278, 21454, 21491, 21560,
21939, 22177, 22521, 22661, 22907, 23156, 23874, 24104, 24591, 24735,
25014, 25129, 25246, 25315, 25375, 25424, 25450, 25558, 25599, 25602,
25957, 25995, 26061, 26194, 26294, 26576, 26629, 26693, 27040, 27201,
27390, 27938, 28118, 28952, 29230, 29345, 29435, 29462, 29474, 29580,
29596, 29628, 29676, 30057, 30414, 30506, 30663, 30887, 30897, 30952,
31044, 31049, 31302, 31465, 31601, 31631, 31675, 31729, 31945.