Two decks and ten columns. Build down in suit, send all 104 cards to the eight foundations, and make the single pass through the stock count.
How to Play Forty Thieves Solitaire
Forty Thieves is a two-deck solitaire game in which every card in the columns is dealt face up. It still has a reputation as a hard game, lost far more often than it is won: you build only in suit, move cards one at a time, and get a single pass through the stock.
Objective
Move all 104 cards to the eight foundations, each built up in one suit from Ace to King.
Setup
Two standard decks are shuffled together. Forty cards, fittingly, are dealt face up into ten columns of four, called the tableau. The other 64 cards form the stock.
Moves
- Columns build down in the same suit. The 9 of clubs can go on the 10 of clubs, but on no other 10.
- Click or tap the stock to turn one card onto the waste. The top waste card can be played to a column or a foundation.
- Foundations start with an Ace and build up in suit. Once a card is on a foundation, it stays there.
- Any card, or any same-suit sequence you have room to move, can go into an empty column.
There is only one pass through the stock. When it runs out, you can still play from the waste, one top card at a time.
Moving Several Cards at Once
Officially, cards move one at a time. To save you clicks, the game moves a same-suit sequence in one go whenever it could be done card by card, using empty columns as temporary parking. With no empty columns, the limit is one card; each empty column doubles it:
| Empty columns | Onto another column | Into an empty column |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 cards | 1 card |
| 2 | 4 cards | 2 cards |
| 3 | 8 cards | 4 cards |
Moving into an empty column allows fewer cards, because that column is the destination, not parking.
Finishing the Game
Once the stock and waste are empty and every column runs in descending order, the Auto-finish button sends every card home. You win when all 104 cards are on the foundations.
Forty Thieves Strategy Tips
- Read the layout first. Before turning a stock card, note where the Aces and 2s sit and how many cards cover each. Look, too, for a column you could clear because each of its cards has somewhere to go.
- Make an empty column your first goal. With no free cells, empty columns are your only spare room, and each one doubles how many cards you can move.
- Don't fill an empty column without a reason. Put a waste card into a gap only when it leads somewhere, such as a card you can build on right away; a stray 6 parked there usually costs more than it saves.
- Turn the stock with care. Each card you turn covers the one before it, which stays stuck until everything above it is played. Before you click the stock, make the moves that free low cards or open landing spots.
- Choose between twins. Every card has a twin, so a 7 of hearts may have two 8s of hearts to choose from; use the one in a column you are not trying to clear. If both 9s of clubs are buried, the 8s of clubs can only go to an empty column or a foundation, so work on freeing a 9.
- Keep long runs off low cards. Moving the 10, 9, 8 and 7 of spades off a 2 in one go takes two empty columns and a Jack of spades to land on.
- Plan for the Kings. A King can move only to an empty column or a foundation, so a King lying on low cards keeps them trapped until a column opens. A King at the base of a column is already where it belongs: build down on it in suit.
- Replay hard deals. Restart deals the same cards again, so on a second try you know the order of the stock. Undo has no limit, so you can test a line of play before committing to it.
Playing Forty Thieves on Solitaire Parlor
- Tap or click a card to send it to the best legal spot, with the foundations tried first, or drag and drop it where you want it.
- Undo has no limit, and Hint highlights a useful move.
- Restart replays the same deal. New Game deals a new numbered deal, and Daily Deal gives everyone the same deal each day.
- Stats shows games played and won, win rate, best time, and current and best win streaks.
- Settings changes the table color and card backs, turns on four-color suits, moves the deck to the right side, switches sounds on or off, and can start a numbered deal.
The deal number appears above the table. Add ?deal= and the number to the page link, such as ?deal=7351, to replay or share a deal. Your game and stats save automatically in your own browser. There is no sign-up, nothing to download, and no points score; the game tracks your time and moves.
About the Forty Thieves Card Game
Forty Thieves is a classic two-deck patience game, also known as Napoleon at St. Helena. It gives its name to a family of games that change the number of columns or the building rule.
FreeCell players will find much of it familiar: the tableau is face up, and the limit on moving sequences is FreeCell's own rule with no free cells. Spider Solitaire shares the two decks and ten columns, but deals many cards face down and lets you build on any suit.
Forty Thieves FAQ
Is Forty Thieves Solitaire free to play?
Yes. Play it in your web browser with a mouse or touchscreen; there is no sign-up and nothing to download.
Can every game of Forty Thieves be won?
No. Some deals can't be won however well you play, and you should expect to lose more games than you win.
Why won't my sequence move?
Either it isn't a same-suit sequence, or you don't have enough empty columns. With none, only one card can move at a time.
Can I go through the stock more than once?
No. There is one pass and no redeal, so think before you turn each card.