Question 1

How do you play Forty Thieves?

Accepted Answer

Ten columns of four cards, all face up. Build the eight foundations up in suit from the Ace. Build the tableau down in the same suit — a red 9 goes only on a red 10 of its own suit — and move one card at a time. Turn the stock one card at a time, and there is no second pass.

Question 2

Is this free? Do I need an account?

Accepted Answer

Free, and there is no account. Open the page and play. Settings, statistics and bookmarks are kept in your own browser rather than on a server.

Question 3

Can I undo a move?

Accepted Answer

As many as you like, with the Undo button or Ctrl+Z — and Redo to put them back. Nothing is scored on undos, so there is no reason not to explore.

Question 4

Can I replay the same deal?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every game has a deal number in the bottom corner, and adding it to the URL as ?deal=... opens that exact game. Restart replays the one you are on; New game gives you a fresh number.

Question 5

Does it tell me when I am stuck?

Accepted Answer

Yes, immediately. The status bar says so the moment no legal move remains, rather than leaving you to work it out by clicking everything. A dead end is information, not something to hide.

Question 6

Is there a hint button?

Accepted Answer

Yes. It picks the best move the engine can see and highlights where it goes. It is not a solver — it will not tell you whether the deal is winnable — but it will never suggest an illegal move.

Question 7

Can I play on a phone?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Cards resize to fit rather than making the board scroll, and every action has a tap target big enough for a thumb.

Question 8

Why is Forty Thieves so hard?

Accepted Answer

One rule: you move one card at a time. A run you have carefully built down in suit has to be taken apart card by card if you ever want to move it, and with two decks and no reserve there is nowhere to put the pieces. Everything else about the game is generous — every card is face up — and it does not help.

Question 9

What are the odds of winning Forty Thieves?

Accepted Answer

Around 10% for a good player. It is one of the hardest well-known solitaires, and the fact that all the information is visible from the first card makes losing feel worse rather than better.

Question 10

Can I move more than one card at a time?

Accepted Answer

Not in the standard game, no. Josephine is the same deal with sequence moves allowed and is a much easier game — the difference is not a difficulty setting, it is the whole thing.

Question 11

What can go into an empty column?

Accepted Answer

Anything at all, which is the one real piece of relief the game offers. An empty column is a place to park a card, and clearing one early is usually worth more than it looks.

Question 12

How many times can I go through the stock?

Accepted Answer

Once. Sixty-four cards, one at a time, and then it is over — so a card you pass over is a card you may never see again. Deciding when to turn is most of the tension.

Question 13

Why are there eight foundations?

Accepted Answer

Two decks, four suits: two foundations per suit, each running Ace up to King. All 104 cards have to get home to win.

Question 14

Is Forty Thieves also called Napoleon at St Helena?

Accepted Answer

Yes, along with Big Forty and Roosevelt at San Juan. The Napoleon name comes from the story that he played it in exile, which is almost certainly not true but has stuck for two centuries.

Question 15

Should I send cards to the foundations as soon as I can?

Accepted Answer

No, and less so here than in almost any other solitaire. Because the tableau builds by suit, a card sent home is a card the matching run can never be completed with. Auto-finish only plays moves that are provably safe.

Question 16

What is the best strategy?

Accepted Answer

Empty a column early and protect it. Prefer moves that expose a card you actually need over moves that merely tidy. And be sparing with the stock — every turn is one you cannot take back, and cards passed over are gone.

Question 17

Is there an easier version?

Accepted Answer

Several. Josephine allows sequence moves, Streets builds down in alternating colour instead of by suit, and Maria uses nine columns. All of them are Forty Thieves with one rule loosened, and all of them are substantially more winnable.

Question 18

Why is every card face up?

Accepted Answer

Because the difficulty is not about hidden information. Forty Thieves gives you everything and dares you to find a line — which is a very different feeling from Klondike, where you lose to cards you never saw.

Question 19

How long does a game take?

Accepted Answer

Ten to twenty minutes when it goes well. Games that are going to fail usually fail slowly, which is part of the game’s reputation.

Question 20

Does it help to plan ahead?

Accepted Answer

More than in any other game on this site. Every card is visible, so a lost Forty Thieves deal is genuinely a lost line rather than bad luck — and unlimited undo means you can go back and take the other one.

Question 21

What does the score mean?

Accepted Answer

Ten points per card home, so a finished game is 1,040. With a 10% win rate it is mostly a measure of how far a losing deal got.