Forty Thieves Solitaire

Forty Thieves is the two-deck patience for players who like a real fight. Forty cards sit face up in ten columns, you may move only one card at a time, and the stock goes through just once, so every move counts.

How to play Forty Thieves Solitaire

• Two full decks are shuffled together. Ten columns of four cards are dealt face up (the forty "thieves"); the other 64 cards form the stock at the top left.
• Goal: move all 104 cards to the eight foundations, building each one up in a single suit from Ace to King. There are two foundations for each suit.
• In the columns, place a card on the next higher card of the same suit: the 9♦ goes on a 10♦.
• Only one card moves at a time, and only the card at the end of a column (or the top of the waste) can move.
• Any card may be moved into an empty column.
• Tap the stock to turn one card onto the waste pile. The top waste card can go to a foundation or a column. There is no redeal: when the stock is gone, it is gone.
• Aces, and cards that no remaining card could ever need as a landing spot, go up to the foundations automatically.
• Score: one point for each card on a foundation, 104 for a win.

Controls

• Drag a card onto a column or foundation, or tap it to send it to the best spot (foundation first, then a matching card, then an empty column).
• Double-tap a card to send it straight to its foundation. Tap the stock to turn a card.
• The Moves menu switches between the standard one-card rule and the relaxed rule that lets you move an ordered suit run. Restart replays the same deal.
• Keyboard: arrow keys move between cards, Enter moves the focused card, Shift+Enter sends it to a foundation, D or Space turns a stock card, U or Ctrl+Z undoes, H shows a hint, N starts a new game.

Tips

• Empty columns are everything. With one card moving at a time, a free column is the only place to park a card while you dig for the one you need.
• Before turning the next stock card, make every useful move on the table: the waste is a single pile, and each card you leave there buries the ones beneath it.
• Don't send cards to the foundations too eagerly. A 7♣ on a foundation can no longer hold a 6♣ in the columns, and with two decks the twin 6♣ may still be waiting.
• Long same-suit runs are only an asset when you have room: moving a run of five card by card takes three empty columns, so build runs where they can stay.
• Use Undo to explore. Seeing the next few stock cards and backing out is how strong players try to beat a deal.

How hard is Forty Thieves?

Very. With one-card moves, no free cells and a single pass through the stock, most deals cannot be won even with perfect play, and getting half the cards home is a good result. As a rough guide from our own testing, the simple computer player behind the Hint button won none of 200 random standard deals and 5 of 200 with suit-run moves allowed; people who plan ahead and use Undo do better. If you want a two-deck game that you can win more often, try Spider Solitaire, or for a one-deck game where nearly every deal is solvable, FreeCell.

Strict moves and suit runs

Under the standard rule only one card moves at a time. Many computer versions offer a relaxed rule that lets you move an ordered run of one suit as a group, as long as it could have been moved one card at a time using the empty columns: up to 2 cards with one empty column, 4 with two, 8 with three (half that when the run itself goes into an empty column). It saves taps and makes the game a little friendlier, but it never lets you do anything the empty columns would not allow. Pick it from the Moves menu; a new game starts with the chosen rule.

Related games

Forty Thieves is also called Napoleon at St Helena and Big Forty. It heads a large family of two-deck games that change the deal or the building rule. Lucas, for example, starts with the eight Aces already on the foundations and the rest dealt into thirteen columns of three cards.

FAQ

What are the rules of Forty Thieves Solitaire?

Deal two decks into ten face-up columns of four cards. Build the eight foundations up by suit from Ace to King, build the columns down by suit, move only one card at a time, put any card in an empty column, and turn the stock one card at a time onto a waste pile with no redeal.

How do you play Forty Thieves Solitaire?

Look for Aces and cards that can join their suit at the end of another column. Free up columns whenever you can, because an empty column is the only spare space. Turn stock cards only when nothing useful is left on the table, and play the top waste card whenever it fits.

Can you move more than one card in Forty Thieves?

Not in the standard game: one card at a time. This version also offers a relaxed rule, under Moves, that lets you move an ordered same-suit run when there are enough empty columns to have moved it card by card.

How is Forty Thieves scored?

Here you score one point for each card on a foundation, so a win is 104 points. Your best score is saved, which makes partial games worth comparing.

Why is Forty Thieves so hard to win?

You see every card in the columns, but you can only move one at a time, there are no free cells, and the stock cannot be redealt. Most deals are lost no matter how well you play, so aim to beat your best score rather than expecting a win.

Is Napoleon at St Helena the same as Forty Thieves?

Yes. Napoleon at St Helena is another name for the same game, with the same ten columns of four cards and the same rules.