Windows Freecell Online
Sanny Olafeso
I did not know that many people had already written about game no. 11982. I came across this game and was trying for two days, every time hitting the impossible position. Perhaps the reason is that four number sets are piled one on another in this set. They are Black 5, Red 9, Black 4 and Black 7.
I wonder if these programs include moves where you would take from the foundation pile to help complete a black red black red pattern. As far as I know this is a legal move in freecell, albeit a bit unorthodox.
There have been a few games that I have tried several times and given up on, only to go back to the following day and beat easily. BUT I have been working on 11982 off and on for maybe 10 years and still no luck.
I have been trying for two days to beat 11982. I have a run of 5400+ without a loss. In the end I Googled and found this site. Like so many others, I wish I had looked earlier:). I thought I would be in for a tough time with 11982 when I saw that all four aces were hidden either at the bottom of card stacks,or in the case of the ace of diamonds, one down from the bottom. It makes it nigh on impossible to start clearing the game of cards before they start blocking avenues of play.
I used to gleefully watch my own stats mount up until I found by accident that, when a game becomes obviously lost, you can just restart the PC without closing Freecell and, Hey Presto, the game is forgotten and your stats remain untouched. Now that the stats are less important I find each game is more fun for itself. Before I start I can set myself other tasks to achieve, such as making sure the aces line up in a particular order as I free them, or seeing how few cards other than the aces I need to remove before that final rush of cards to victory, (I have once managed only the 4 aces and a single 2). That can make a relatively simple game take on a more challenging aspect.
on the question of 11982 if you shuffle a pack of cards you are doing it in such a way that no person living or dead has ever done before or will ever do so in the future taking this in to account would it not be foolish to conclude that there are no more 11982s lurking out there
Welcome to cell11982, a brute force freecell solver, by default set up to test the impossible puzzle, 11982. Three files are at that link. cell11982.py is the python program. Python programs are compiled on-the-fly, which means the program is the source code; you can open it in any text editor and see exactly what the program is doing. Source Explanation is a more detailed explanation of what the program is, how it works, and what it means.
In your comment, you were approaching the kind of proof I was looking for by discussing a step that needs to be reached in order to win (like getting the Ace of clubs or spades out), then showing how achieving that is impossible (easier said than done), which could then be used to prove the game is impossible. But I have yet to see such a proof.
Has anyone considered creating other unbeatable free cell games by starting with the layout for 11982 and then switching any 2 random cards before starting the game? No one seems to have discussed this possibility. Hard to believe that all such switches of just 2 cards would all result in solveable games.
I thought maybe I was just on a losing streak or losing my mind (LOL). So I will keep reading on this site and see if there is something I can do. Does anyone have any great ideas or do I just let it go.
After wasting at least an hour on 11982, my online search for a solution lead me here. Thanks for letting me know 11982 is unsolvable. After bailing out of that game, I was dealt 16351 by my computer. This was a sweet follow up game, because I was able to play it down to two cards left; the King of Diamonds on top of the Queen of Diamonds.
@Reg There are plenty of unwinnable games. You can easily create one if you bury essential cards deeply. But Microsoft said they believed all of their games to be winnable, which makes #11982 interesting.
As far as I know, no authority in this matter claims that EVERY possible deal of 52 cards in Freecell is winnable. I feel sure that is because they all KNOW that not all games are winnable, and very far from it.
The instant proof that not all games are winnable is to select games # -1 and # -2. These are IMPOSSIBLE at a glance, and many other games could be dealt which are IMPOSSIBLE to solve within the rules.
So, this suggests two possibilities:
1. Microsoft people deliberately slipped in an IMPOSSIBLE game to cause some controversy, in which case they have certainly succeeded, or
2. Microsoft people accidentaly included an IMPOSSIBLE game.