You’re going to lose. Honestly, that’s the first thing any seasoned player will tell you about free forty thieves solitaire. It’s not like Klondike where you can kind of stumble your way into a win if the deck is feeling generous. This game is a grind. It’s a mathematical puzzle that feels more like a chess match than a casual card game. Most people open up a browser, see those two decks spread out in ten intimidating columns, and close the tab within thirty seconds.
But if you stay? You’ll realize why people have been obsessing over this specific variant for decades. It’s also known as Napoleon at St. Helena, though historians like David Parlett have noted that the connection to the French Emperor is likely more myth than reality. Whether Napoleon actually played it while in exile doesn’t really change the fact that the game is a masterpiece of strategy and frustration.
The Setup That Scares Everyone Away
Most solitaire games use one deck. Forty Thieves uses two. That’s 104 cards. When you start a game of free forty thieves solitaire, forty cards are dealt face-up into ten piles of four. The rest sit in the stock pile, waiting to ruin your day.
The goal is simple on paper: move everything to the eight foundations, starting from the Ace and ending at the King. But here is the kicker—you can only move one card at a time. You can’t move sequences. If you have a Red 7 on a Black 8, and you want to move them both? You can't. You have to move the 7 to a legal spot first, then the 8. This single rule is what makes the game feel like a claustrophobic nightmare.
You’ve got ten tableau columns. You’ve got eight foundations. And you’ve got a massive pile of cards you can only cycle through once. Unlike some versions of Spider or Klondike where you can flip through the deck infinitely, most standard rules for Forty Thieves give you one pass. One. If you miss a move, it’s game over.
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Why Winning Feels Impossible (But Isn't)
Statistically, the win rate for this game is abysmal. If you're playing strictly by the book, you might win 10% of your games. Maybe 15% if you're a literal genius or just incredibly lucky with the shuffle.
Because you can only move single cards, the tableau gets "clogged" incredibly fast. Imagine having a King at the bottom of a pile that you desperately need to move to a foundation, but there are three cards on top of it that have nowhere to go. You’re stuck. You’re basically staring at a digital wall.
Expert players like Boris Feldman, who has spent years documenting solitaire strategies, often emphasize the "Empty Column" rule. In free forty thieves solitaire, an empty column is your only lifeline. It’s the only place you can temporarily park a card to reach the one underneath it. Without an empty column, you have zero maneuverability. It’s like trying to parallel park a semi-truck in a driveway.
Strategies That Actually Work
Stop clicking the stock pile immediately. Seriously. Most beginners start flipping cards from the deck the moment they don’t see an obvious move on the board. That is a death sentence.
You need to look at the ten columns and identify the "low" cards—the Aces and Twos. If they are buried under four cards, you need a plan to get to them. If you can't see a path to those Aces within the first few moves, you might as well restart.
- Prioritize Emptying Columns: Your primary objective isn't actually building foundations; it's clearing a column. Once you have a blank space, you can move "blocking" cards into it to uncover the cards you actually need.
- Don't Build Just Because You Can: Just because you can put a 6 of Hearts on a 7 of Hearts doesn't mean you should. If that 7 of Hearts was covering an Ace, and now you’ve put another card on top of it, you’ve just made your life harder.
- The "Wait and See" Stock Method: Only use the stock pile when you are absolutely, 100% stuck. And even then, think twice. Every card you flip from the stock is a card that might block a crucial move later.
Variants: The "Easier" Cousins
If you find the standard free forty thieves solitaire too punishing, you aren't alone. Game developers have created dozens of "easier" versions to keep people from throwing their computers out the window.
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There's "Ali Baba," which is similar but allows you to move sequences of cards. It feels like a vacation compared to the original. Then there’s "Josephine," which is almost identical to Forty Thieves but lets you move groups of cards if they are in the same suit. It’s still hard, but it’s "I might actually win this" hard, not "this game hates me" hard.
Then you have "Lucas," where the Aces are moved to the foundations before the game even starts. This small change shifts the odds significantly in your favor. It’s sort of like playing on "Easy Mode." But for the purists? Nothing beats the raw, unforgiving nature of the classic two-deck setup.
The Mental Toll of High-Level Solitaire
There’s something meditative about it. You’re scanning 104 cards, looking for patterns, calculating risks. It’s a great way to kill twenty minutes, or four hours, depending on how stubborn you are.
It’s about delayed gratification. In a world of instant wins and easy dopamine hits, free forty thieves solitaire makes you earn it. When you finally see that last King fly to the foundation pile, it’s a genuine rush. You beat the odds. You navigated a deck that was statistically stacked against you.
Modern digital versions of the game often include an "Undo" button. Is using it cheating? Purists say yes. But honestly, if you're playing for fun, use the undo button. It allows you to explore "what if" scenarios. What if I moved that Jack to the empty space instead of the Queen? It turns the game into a learning tool rather than just a test of patience.
Common Misconceptions and Errors
A lot of people think the game is entirely luck-based. It's not. While the shuffle matters, about 30% of games are theoretically winnable by a human with perfect play. The problem is that humans aren't perfect. We miss moves. We get impatient.
Another mistake is focusing too much on one side of the board. You have to keep an eye on all eight foundations simultaneously. If you've got the Hearts up to the 10, but your Spades are stuck on the 2, you're going to hit a bottleneck. You need balance.
Some players think you should always fill an empty column as soon as you get it. Wrong. Sometimes, leaving a column empty is more valuable than putting a King there. An empty column is a tool; once you put a card in it, that tool is gone until you can clear it again.
Final Tactics for Your Next Game
If you're ready to jump into a game of free forty thieves solitaire, keep these three things in mind.
First, look for the "dead" cards. These are cards that are higher in value than the cards buried beneath them. For example, if a 5 is sitting on top of a 3 of the same suit, you have to move that 5 eventually, or the 3 is trapped forever.
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Second, watch your suits. Unlike Klondike, where you build in alternating colors (Red 6 on Black 7), in Forty Thieves, you build down in the same suit (Heart 6 on Heart 7). This makes it significantly harder to find legal moves.
Third, take your time. This isn't a speed game. The cards aren't going anywhere.
To actually improve, start by playing versions that allow for "unlimited" passes through the stock pile. This will help you get a feel for how the cards interact without the crushing pressure of a single-pass limit. Once you start winning those consistently, move up to the single-pass "hard" mode.
The beauty of the game lies in its difficulty. It’s a quiet, personal challenge. No one is watching, no one cares if you lose, but you know if you played a smart game. And in the end, that’s why we keep clicking "New Game."
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check the Aces: Before making your first move, locate all four Aces in the tableau. If more than two are at the bottom of deep piles, consider a reshuffle.
- Clear a Column Fast: Focus all your initial moves on emptying a single column to gain "parking" space for blocked cards.
- Hold the Stock: Do not click the stock pile until you have exhausted every single possible move and "undo" simulation on the tableau.
- Try a "Relaxed" Variant: If the 10% win rate is too frustrating, search for "Josephine Solitaire" to practice moving sequences before tackling the strict single-card rules of Forty Thieves.