Forty Thieves
Playable solitaire
Forty Thieves
Forty Thieves (Napoleon at St. Helena, in some books) is a deep two-deck Patience: 104 cards, ten tableau columns dealt four face-up cards each (forty cards — the name’s hint), eight foundations building Ace to King by suit, and a stock of 64 with a waste. You build the tableau down by the same suit only, and you may move one card at a time — no multi-card run moves. Empty columns accept any single card. The stock deals one card at a time to the waste with no redeals: one pass through, then the waste and tableau must finish the job.
This is one of SolitaireVP’s hardest tables — sparse mobility, strict suit matching, and an unforgiving stock. Auto finish is available when the endgame is clear. Undo is essential for serious attempts.
How to play Forty Thieves
- Build eight foundations Ace → King by suit (two decks → two foundations per suit).
- On the tableau, place a card only if it is the same suit and one rank lower than the target top.
- Move one card at a time from tableau or waste (never from foundations).
- Fill empty columns with any single card — they are your main reordering tool.
- Draw one from the stock to the waste when needed; no recycle when the stock empties.
- Get all 104 cards onto foundations to win; use Auto finish when it appears.
Setup
- Tableau: 10 columns × 4 face-up cards (40).
- Stock: 64 cards; draw one; maxRedeals = 0.
- Waste: empty at start.
- Foundations: 8 empty Ace-to-King suit piles.
Rules
- Two decks (104 cards).
- Tableau: build down by same suit; single-card moves only.
- Empty column: any card.
- Foundations: up by suit from Ace; two complete runs per suit possible.
- Stock: one pass, no redeals.
- Cards may not be removed from foundations once placed.
- Win at 104/104 on foundations.
Strategy
Forty Thieves is about empty columns and suit highways.
- Empty columns are everything — use them to unstick same-suit descents.
- Don’t fill an empty too casually; that space may be your only swap buffer.
- Send cards to foundations when they won’t be needed as down-build helpers — but stranding a suit mid-tableau is fatal.
- Track duplicate ranks across two decks; the “second” Ace of a suit needs its own foundation path.
- Be stingy with stock deals until the tableau has no useful single-card plays.
- Expect to Undo often; winning lines are narrow.
Short prose: imagine eight suit ladders and a board that only lets you slide one rung at a time. Creating a blank column is like earning a free hand — spend it to assemble long same-suit descents, then milk them into foundations.
FAQ
Why “Forty” Thieves?
Forty cards are dealt to the tableau (10×4). The rest wait in the stock.
Can I move a whole sequence?
No. Classic Forty Thieves on SolitaireVP allows single-card moves only.
Do I build by alternating color?
No — same suit descending on the tableau.
Can I redeal the stock?
No. One pass only.
May empty columns take any card?
Yes — unlike Klondike’s Kings-only rule.
Is Auto finish available?
Yes, when remaining cards can safely complete on the foundations.
Trivia
Forty Thieves is frequently tied in lore to Napoleon’s exile on St. Helena — hence alternate names like Napoleon at St. Helena — though printed Patience history is murkier than the legend. What is certain is the game’s reputation: a stern two-deck test that separates casual Klondike habits from deliberate suit planning.
Variants relax the rules (moving sequences, limited redeals, Josephine, etc.). SolitaireVP ships the strict classic: same-suit down, one card at a time, no redeals — the version that still feels like cracking a safe when it finally yields.