How to play Josephine
A more generous Forty Thieves: the same 104 cards and eight foundations, but now you move whole sequences at once.
History & origin of Josephine
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 Josephine
- 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 Josephine step by step
- Goal: as in Forty Thieves — two decks, eight foundations by suit, Ace to King.
- Build down by the same suit.
- Unlike Forty Thieves, you can move a whole same-suit sequence at once — far more forgiving.
- Draw from the stock to the waste; empty columns accept any card.
- Use the group moves to reorganize columns and free trapped cards.
- Complete the eight foundations from Ace to King.