Freecell = Life

When I was in college, equally immersed in playing Freecell and writing melodramatic poetry, I wrote a free-verse poem comparing Freecell to relationships. Ten years later, I think the comparison holds true even more broadly. Life in general is like Freecell.

In Freecell, you start by assessing the big picture. You take note of where your aces are, what you’ll need to move to get to them, and how risky those moves might be. But you might have a bad hand, so careful planning doesn’t guarantee a win. At other times, the path is clear to you as soon as the cards are dealt. You move quickly and instinctively, without much forethought, and you win in minutes. Still other times, you’re a little reckless and find yourself backed into a corner. With nothing to lose, you make a move that seemed like a guaranteed dead end… and it enables you to win the game.

Sometimes, when you lose, it’s worth re-playing the same hand a few times until you get it right. But it’s also okay to walk away when you’ve given it your best and the game is still unwinnable.

Checking your win-lose stats too often is a bad idea. The fun of the game is in playing, not in your victory percentage.

I find myself thinking about these things often. So, if you too enjoy winding down your afternoons with a few rounds of Freecell, you’re not goofing off. You’re philosophizing. :)