(Forty Thieves)

History & origin of Forty Thieves

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 Thieves

• 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 Thieves step by step

1. Goal: bring 104 cards (two decks) to the eight foundations by suit, Ace to King.
2. The tableau has ten columns of four cards. Build down by the SAME suit.
3. Move only ONE card at a time (no group moves) — that is what makes the game hard.
4. Draw from the stock to the waste, one card at a time; the top of the waste is playable. There is no redeal.
5. Empty columns accept any card — they are precious space.
6. Plan well: with suit-building and single-card moves, think several moves ahead and start the foundations early.