40 Thieves Solitaire
Summary
Steal some time with Forty Thieves. This is a double-decker game of classic Solitaire. Sort through the cards to create not 4 but 8 decks. This game will take some time to finish.
- Thieves of Egypt is a variant of Forty Thieves with these differences: The cards are layed out differently; Columns are built down in Alternating Color.
- Play Forty Thieves and many other solitaire games online for free in your desktop or tablet browser.
- Forty Thieves is back and better than ever. Test your skills with our brand new solitaire game. This classic is the truest test of your card skills. All players are welcome to play our easy and hard game modes. See how your talent ranks as you compete for the high score. Say 'Open Sesame' to Forty Thieves and you will be entertained for hours!
Josephine, also known as Forty Bandits, is identical to Forty Thieves with only one difference:
- Whereas in Forty Thieves only one card may be moved at a time, in Josephine, any number of cards in a properly built suit sequence may be moved.
Josephine Rules
Goal
Move all cards to the eight Foundation piles, starting with the Aces and continuing up to the Kings in EACH suit.
The Deal
Using two decks, 40 cards are dealt face up to the ten Columns with each column receiving 4 cards. The remaining 64 cards form the Stock.
Foundations
Starting with an Ace and continuing up to the Kings, each Foundation is built UP and in the SAME SUIT.
Columns
Columns are built DOWN and in the SAME SUIT. For example, within the columns, the only card that can be played onto a 5 of Clubs would be a 4 of Clubs.
The exposed card in any Column is available for play to another Column or to a Foundation pile. Any number of properly sequenced cards may be moved to another Column if the build condition is met. Sequences may be split.
Empty Columns may be filled with any card or properly sequenced group of cards.
Stock and Discard Pile
Cards from the Stock are flipped one at a time to the Discard Pile. The top card of the Discard Pile may be played to a Column or to a Foundation.
There are no redeals.
Josephine Strategy
Josephine is somewhat easier to win than Forty Thieves due to the added rule that groups of sequenced cards can be moved. This makes it easier to move cards around the Columns, and makes it easier to open up empty Columns. The end-game is also easier for the same reasons.
Work to empty at least one Column as soon as possible. With an empty Column available it will be easier to put more cards from the Waste Pile into play. When moving cards from the Waste Pile to an empty Column, try to move other cards onto the newly placed card so that a different Column can be emptied.
Sometimes, it can be better to store cards in the Columns that would otherwise be playable to Foundations.
Introduction to 40 Thieves
Forty Thieves Solitaire, also spelled 40 Thieves Solitaire, is a popular card game played around the world with two 52-card decks of standard playing cards. It's also known as Big Forty, Napoleon St Helena, Roosevelt at San Juan, and Le Cadran.
The Forty in the name comes from the number of cards dealt into the Tableau at the beginning of every game.
Forty Thieves Solitaire is a difficult game to win, requiring good problem-solving skills to master.
It's also the basis for several variants, most of which make the game easier to win, including Josephine Solitaire.
Layout
The game screen is made up of 4 different areas.
The Tableau is located in the center of the screen. It consists of 10 unmarked columns. Each column either contains a vertically overlapped pile of one or more face-up cards or is empty, depending on the current state of the game. This is where most of the action takes place during gameplay.
The Foundations are located above the Tableau. Horizontally, it consists of 8 rectangles. Each rectangle is a foundation where a suit can be built from the Ace to the King.
In the upper-left corner is the Stock. This is where the reserve cards are held that will be put into play as the game progresses. At the start of the game, it contains a squared pile of face-down cards. Directly to the right of the Stock is the Waste. When a new game begins, this area is empty.
The Stock and Waste work together in order to put reserve cards into play. Whenever the player clicks on the non-empty Stock, one card from it is automatically moved face-up into the Waste. It's not unusual to have many cards piling up in the Waste. The Waste pile is always squared, and only the top card is visible and playable. When a card is played from the Waste, the card underneath it, if there is one, becomes the new playable card.
Goal
The goal of Forty Thieves Solitaire is to build all 8 ordered suits from the Ace to the King in the Foundations.
How to Play Forty Thieves
Forty Thieves Solitaire is played with two decks of standard playing cards, for a total of 104 cards.
When the game starts, a pile of 4 face-up cards is dealt into each of the 10 columns in the Tableau. The remaining 64 cards are sent to the Stock.
An important rule of the game is that the player is only allowed to ever move one card at a time. However, in the variant called Josephine Solitaire, the player is allowed to move descending suited runs of any length within the Tableau. Other than that, the two games are identical.
No card can ever be moved to the Waste other than from the Stock. At the player's discretion, this can be done at any point during the game.
A card may be moved to the bottom of a Tableau pile, either from the Waste, a foundation, or the bottom of another Tableau pile. The target card must always be both next in rank to the card being moved and of the same suit. When a column is vacant, any card from the same sources may be moved into it.
Forty Solitaire
40 Thieves Solitaire Rules
The player is allowed to move a card to a foundation, either from the bottom of a Tableau pile or from the Waste. However, the card must fit. If the card is an Ace, it begins a new suit build, and if it's next in rank for its suit, it extends a build.