Forty Thieves Solitaire Rules

How to Play Forty Thieves Solitaire

Forty Thieves is one of the most challenging and rewarding solitaire card games ever devised. Also known as Napoleon at St Helena and Big Forty, legend holds that Napoleon played this game during his exile on the island of Saint Helena. The game uses two full standard decks (104 cards) and features a uniquely restrictive same-suit building rule on the tableau. With an estimated win rate of only about 10%, Forty Thieves demands careful planning and patience from even the most experienced solitaire players.

Initial Setup

Setting up Forty Thieves requires two complete standard decks shuffled together, totaling 104 cards. The layout has three main areas.

1. The Tableau: Deal 40 cards face-up into 10 columns of 4 cards each. Every card in the tableau is visible from the start — there are no hidden face-down cards. This full visibility is part of what makes the game a pure test of skill.
2. The Stock: The remaining 64 cards are placed face-down in a single stock pile. Cards are dealt from the stock one at a time during play.
3. The Foundations: Eight empty foundation spaces are positioned above the tableau. Because two decks are used, there are two foundation piles for each suit (two for Hearts, two for Spades, two for Diamonds, two for Clubs).

Tableau Building Rules

The tableau building rule in Forty Thieves is its most defining and restrictive feature. Cards on the tableau are built downward by the same suit. This is not alternating color — it is strictly same suit. The 7 of Diamonds can only be placed on the 8 of Diamonds. The Jack of Clubs can only go on the Queen of Clubs. This severe restriction is the primary reason the game is so difficult.

Only the top card of each column is available for play. Cards beneath the top card are locked in place until the cards above them are removed. Furthermore, only single cards may be moved — you cannot pick up a group of cards and move them together, even when they form a valid same-suit descending sequence. Every card must be relocated individually.

Foundation Building

The eight foundations are built up by suit from Ace to King. Unlike Canfield Solitaire, there is no wrapping — Ace is always the starting card and King is always the ending card. Each foundation accepts only one specific suit.

Since the game uses two decks, you will build two complete foundation piles for each suit. For example, you need to build two separate Ace-through-King sequences of Hearts. An Ace can be moved to an empty foundation space at any time. The game is won when all eight foundations are complete, each containing 13 cards from Ace through King in a single suit.

Stock and Waste Pile

The stock contains the 64 cards not dealt to the tableau. Cards are turned from the stock one at a time onto a face-up waste pile. Only the top card of the waste pile is available for play at any time. It can be moved to a tableau column or directly to a foundation.

In standard Forty Thieves rules, there is no recycling of the stock. Once all 64 stock cards have been dealt to the waste pile, you cannot turn the waste back into a new stock. This single pass through the stock is another factor contributing to the game's low win rate. Every stock card you deal must be evaluated carefully because each card dealt over an inaccessible card in the waste reduces your options.

Empty Tableau Columns

When all cards in a tableau column have been moved away, the column becomes empty. Any single card — from another tableau column or from the waste pile — may be placed in an empty column. Empty columns are the most valuable resource in Forty Thieves. They serve as temporary holding spaces that allow you to rearrange buried cards, access cards trapped deep in other columns, and create the sequences needed to build foundations. Experienced players prioritize clearing columns early and use them strategically rather than filling them immediately.

Winning and Difficulty

The game is won when all 104 cards have been moved to the eight foundations, each containing a complete Ace-to-King sequence in suit. The game is lost when no legal moves remain and the stock is exhausted.

Forty Thieves has an estimated win rate of approximately 10% or lower with skilled play. The combination of same-suit building, single card moves, and a single pass through the stock creates a game where most deals are unwinnable regardless of the player's skill. This extreme difficulty is part of the game's appeal — every victory feels genuinely earned.

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