Forty Thieves Solitaire is one of the most demanding mainstream solitaire games. Two decks, ten columns, eight foundations, and an iron restriction: you can only move one card at a time. There is no sequence dragging, no free cells, and no redeals once the stock is exhausted. The name comes from Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves — legend holds that Napoleon Bonaparte played a version of this game while in exile on Saint Helena, though historians dispute whether that version was precisely what we now call Forty Thieves.
What is Forty Thieves Solitaire?
Forty Thieves Solitaire is a two-deck solitaire game (104 cards) played on ten tableau columns. Each column starts with four face-up cards. Forty cards in total are on the tableau; the remaining 64 form the stock. Eight foundation piles — two per suit — must be built from Ace to King in the same suit.
The tableau builds downward in the same suit (not alternating color like Klondike). Only the top card of any pile is accessible, and only one card can be moved at a time — no sequence dragging whatsoever. You draw one card at a time from stock to waste. There is one pass through the stock; when it's empty, it's empty. The waste top card is available for play at any time.
These restrictions combine to make Forty Thieves extraordinarily difficult. Win rates in published analyses hover around 8% for skilled players. Even with unlimited undo, careful players rarely exceed 15%. The limited moves per turn, same-suit tableau builds, and no-redeal rule create situations where viable paths through the deal are genuinely rare.
How to play Forty Thieves Solitaire
Step 1 — Deal and assess the tableau
Ten columns of four face-up cards each. All tableau cards are visible from the start — take time to identify Aces (which start foundations) and 2s. Count how many Aces are buried (not on top) and how many stock draws it might take to access them.
Step 2 — Free Aces and 2s first
Every Ace needs a foundation slot, and there are two of each suit. Before any other plan, calculate which Aces are accessible and which are buried. An Ace buried three cards deep in a column means three tableau moves or stock draws before it can start its foundation.
Step 3 — Draw from stock one card at a time
Click the stock to flip one card to the waste. The waste top is always playable — to a tableau column (if it fits the same-suit descending rule) or to a foundation. Since there are no redeals, treat each stock card as a one-time opportunity. Play it to its best location rather than passing on it.
Step 4 — Build tableau piles in the same suit, descending
Tableau columns build downward, same suit only. A 7 of spades goes on an 8 of spades; a 7 of hearts goes on an 8 of hearts. You cannot place a card of a different suit, even if the rank matches. Empty columns accept any single card.
Step 5 — Empty columns are critical
An empty tableau column is a one-card temporary buffer. You cannot build long sequences in it — only the single card you place there can occupy it until you move that card elsewhere. Creating an empty column is extremely valuable: use it to rearrange blocked tableau tops and access buried cards.
Step 6 — Build both foundations of a suit evenly
With two foundation piles per suit, you must fill both Ace-to-King sequences. Keep both foundations for each suit roughly even in progress — falling far behind on one while the other is advanced can create a bottleneck where cards of the lagging foundation pile up in the waste.
The Forty Thieves play area
Forty Thieves has a larger board than single-deck games. Ten tableau columns spread across the lower half of the screen, each starting with four face-up cards. The columns can grow to considerable depth as stock cards are played onto them.
In the header row, the stock sits on the left (a face-down pile with the count of remaining cards), and the waste is next to it showing the current top card. Further right are the eight foundation slots — two for each of the four suits, all building identically from Ace up to King.
Because only single-card moves are allowed, there is no drag-overlay of stacked cards in Forty Thieves. Every drag or click-to-move affects one card only. The Mr. Solitaire board highlights the waste top and tableau tops with visual cues when a card can be legally placed on a foundation.
Available moves in Forty Thieves
Forty Thieves has one of the most restricted move sets of any popular solitaire variant.
Draw from stock to waste. Click the stock to flip the top card face-up to the waste pile. Only one card at a time, and no redeals — once the 64 stock cards have been dealt, no new cards enter the game.
Move waste top to tableau or foundation. The top card of the waste pile is always available. It can go to any tableau column that has a card of the same suit one rank higher as its top card, or to any empty column. It can go to the matching foundation if it is exactly one rank above that foundation's current top card (or is an Ace for an empty foundation).
Move a single tableau top card. The top card of any tableau column can be moved to another column (same-suit, one rank lower than the destination top) or to the appropriate foundation. No stacks, no sequences — exactly one card at a time.
There are no free cells, no redeals, no special moves. Every decision about which single card to move where is permanent and consequential.
Forty Thieves Solitaire strategy
Never waste a stock card
With 64 stock draws and no redeal, each card comes up exactly once. Before drawing, check whether the current waste top has any playable destination — playing waste cards before drawing new ones preserves options. Passing on a playable waste card to draw a new one often buries a critical card under something unplayable.
Build same-suit columns deliberately
Unlike Klondike's alternating-color builds, Forty Thieves demands same-suit placement. This creates long natural sequences (7S, 6S, 5S, 4S on the same column) but also frequent blocking — a column of mixed suits with no matching playable cards is completely frozen until a matching card appears in the stock. Plan which suit you want on each column early.
Use empty columns as single-card buffers
An empty column holds one card, full stop. Think of it as a temporary storage slot. Use it to temporarily move a blocking card off a column you need to rearrange, not as a destination for cards you're 'done with.' Move the card elsewhere as soon as another opportunity opens.
Track buried Aces ruthlessly
Every Ace that isn't on a foundation is a ticking clock. With two Aces per suit and no redeal, you need to get all eight Aces to foundations to have any chance of winning. Before drawing from the stock, look at every tableau column and count how many moves separate the buried Aces from the top of their piles. Plan stock draws around clearing those paths.
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Odds of winning Forty Thieves Solitaire
Forty Thieves Solitaire is one of the hardest mainstream solitaire games to win. Published win-rate estimates range from 5% to 15%, with most analyses settling around 8% for skilled players. Even with unlimited undo and careful play, many deals simply cannot be won — the single-card-only movement rule, same-suit tableau builds, and no-redeal stock combine to make the majority of shuffles unwinnable regardless of strategy.
The primary cause of unwinnable deals is Ace burial. When multiple Aces of the same suit are buried deep in the tableau, and the stock cards that would free them appear in the wrong order, no sequence of moves can rescue them before the game locks up. This is fundamentally a shuffling problem — skill matters, but luck of the initial deal matters more in Forty Thieves than in most solitaire variants.
A winning deal typically has at least one Ace of each suit visible or near-visible at the start, a reasonable distribution of suit cards across the tableau columns, and stock cards that arrive in a complementary sequence to what's buried in the tableau. When these conditions align, a skilled player can navigate through. When they don't — which is most of the time — even perfect play fails.
History of Forty Thieves Solitaire
Forty Thieves Solitaire is often said to have been played by Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile on Saint Helena (1815–1821). The story appears in several nineteenth-century card game references, but historians haven't confirmed it — the claim may be apocryphal, used to add romantic weight to what was already a popular Parisian card game. The game was known in France as "Napoleon at St. Helena" or simply "Napoléon" in some collections.
The name "Forty Thieves" is a reference to Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from One Thousand and One Nights. The connection isn't entirely clear — some early references suggest the ten tableau columns (four cards each, totaling forty) gave rise to the name. The game appears in English-language card game collections from the late nineteenth century under both names.
Forty Thieves spawned a family of related variants — including Emperor, Maria, and Josephine — that experiment with different tableau sizes, dealing patterns, and column counts. All share the essential Forty Thieves characteristics: two decks, foundations building A→K by suit, and restricted movement. Forty Thieves itself remains the most widely played member of the family.
Frequently asked questions
What is Forty Thieves Solitaire?
- Forty Thieves Solitaire is a two-deck (104-card) solitaire game with ten tableau columns. The tableau builds same-suit descending, only one card moves at a time, there are no redeals, and eight foundations (two per suit) must be built Ace to King. It's one of the hardest mainstream solitaire games with a win rate of about 8%.
Can you move more than one card at a time in Forty Thieves?
- No. Forty Thieves strictly allows only single-card moves. You cannot drag a sequence or move a stack. This is the most restrictive movement rule of any popular solitaire variant and is the main source of the game's difficulty.
Are there redeals in Forty Thieves Solitaire?
- No. There is one pass through the 64-card stock with no redeal. Each stock card appears exactly once. Once the stock is empty, only the cards already in the tableau and waste are available. This makes every stock draw a critical decision.
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