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Today’s challenge for Thursday, September 17, 2026 is Deal #999941953. Every player gets the same opening layout, so the challenge is not finding a lucky shuffle—it is finding your best route through the same 52 cards.
The Daily Challenge gives FreeCell a fixed point of comparison. Instead of starting from a different random game, everyone who opens this page during the same UTC day plays the same numbered deal. Your moves and time are measured against one consistent starting position.
The challenge changes once per day at 00:00 UTC. The date-to-deal mapping is deterministic, which means a given calendar date always corresponds to the same numbered layout rather than being reshuffled each time the page loads.
Play with normal FreeCell rules: build tableau columns in descending alternating colors, use the four free cells as temporary storage, create empty columns when you can, and move every card to the foundations to finish the game.
Undo and Hint are available, but the opening cards do not change. Restarting today’s challenge gives you the exact same position so you can test a different line and try to improve your result.
If a line becomes cramped, look for the move that creates future space rather than the move that simply exposes another card. In difficult FreeCell positions, preserving mobility is often more important than sending cards to the foundations as quickly as possible.
Random FreeCell is excellent for continuous play, but a daily deal adds a different kind of challenge. Because the layout is fixed, you can replay the same position, compare approaches, and see whether a cleaner sequence reduces your move count or finishing time.
It is also a useful way to practice deliberately. Some deals reward early foundation progress; others demand patience, careful free-cell management or an empty tableau column before the board starts to open. A different shared deal each day exposes you to those patterns without changing the rules of the game.
The Daily Challenge uses a numbered deal, shown above the board next to Moves and Time while you play. If you want to return to this exact layout after today, note Deal #999941953 and use Play a Deal # from the FreeCell Now homepage.
This makes the daily challenge reproducible even after a new date takes its place. The date identifies the challenge of the day; the deal number identifies the actual card layout. For comparison, browse the difficulty ratings for the original 32,000 Microsoft FreeCell deals.
Yes. During the same UTC day, every player on this page receives the same numbered deal and the same opening card layout.
A new challenge begins at 00:00 UTC each day. Using one global reset time keeps the daily deal consistent for players in different time zones.
Yes. Restarting returns the cards to the same opening position, which is useful if you want to try a different sequence or improve your moves and time.
Yes. Save today’s Deal #999941953, then enter that number using Play a Deal # on the homepage. The numbered deal reproduces the same starting layout.
No. FreeCell deals can vary dramatically in difficulty. Some open quickly, while others require careful sequencing and tight management of free cells and empty columns. If you get stuck, Undo and Hint are available, and you can restart the same deal to explore another approach.