How to play Forty and Eight
A Forty Thieves with eight columns of five and one redeal: two decks, eight foundations, a bit more breathing room.
History & origin of Forty and Eight
Forty Thieves is one of the most famous two-deck solitaires — also known as “Napoleon at St. Helena,” from the legend that the exiled emperor passed the time with it. The name likely comes from the 40 cards dealt to the tableau (ten columns of four), an echo of Ali Baba’s forty thieves.
It is famous for its difficulty: you build down by the same suit only, move one card at a time, and there is no redeal — many deals simply have no solution. It is a game for planners.
Its fame produced a large family of variants that adjust the difficulty: Josephine (named after Napoleon's wife) lets you move whole sequences; Forty and Eight adds a redeal; and Australian Patience is the single-deck version.
Facts about Forty and Eight
- Also called “Napoleon at St. Helena,” from the legend that Napoleon played it in exile — hard to prove, but the nickname stuck.
- The name likely comes from the 40 cards in the tableau (ten columns of four), recalling Ali Baba’s forty thieves.
- It is famous for being tough: building only by suit with no redeal makes many games impossible to win.
- The family is large: Josephine (move sequences), Forty and Eight (a redeal), Australian Patience (one deck)… each tweaks the difficulty.
How to play Forty and Eight step by step
- Goal: two decks, eight foundations by suit, Ace to King.
- The tableau has eight columns of five cards. Build down by the same suit, one card at a time.
- Draw from the stock to the waste; empty columns accept any card.
- The difference: when the stock runs out, you may turn the waste back into the stock just once.
- Use that single redeal wisely — it is your extra breath.
- Complete all eight foundations.