Forty Thieves

Forty Thieves Solitaire — an exquisite card challenge for strategic minds.

Forty Thieves Solitaire: Complete Rules & Best Strategies

Forty Thieves Solitaire is one of the most challenging and captivating card solitaire games for true connoisseurs of logic and strategy.

To build all eight foundation piles by suit, each arranged in ascending order from the Ace (A) at the bottom to the King (K) on top.

The game uses two standard 52-card decks (104 cards total, no jokers).

The Tableau: At the start, 10 rows of 4 cards each are dealt onto the table. All 40 of these cards are face down. These are your “thieves” that you must “neutralize.”
Foundations: 8 empty cells for building the final suit piles.
Stock: The remaining 64 cards form the draw pile, from which you will take new cards as needed.

On the tableau, you can move cards between the ten columns.
You may only move face-up cards.
A card can only be placed on another card in descending order (King → Queen → Jack → … → 2 → Ace).
An empty column on the tableau can be filled with any available card or a correct sequence.

Cards from the stock are turned over one at a time.
If the face-up card from the stock is suitable in rank, it can be moved either to the tableau or directly to one of the foundations.
If a card cannot be used, it is placed in a separate waste pile.

As soon as an Ace appears on the tableau or in the stock, it can be moved to an empty foundation.
Thereafter, only cards of the same suit may be placed on that foundation, strictly in ascending order: Ace → 2 → 3 → … → King.

Moving Sequences: You are allowed to move not only single cards but also assembled sequences of the same suit.
Stock Passes: You are allowed 3 passes through the stock pile.

Moving Cards: You are allowed to move only one card at a time. Even a built sequence cannot be moved as a whole.
Stock Passes: Limited to only 1 pass.

Free Up Columns. Your top priority is to free up one or more columns as quickly as possible. An empty column allows you to manipulate cards and uncover new ones, which is critical on the hard level.
Think Three Moves Ahead. Before making a move, analyze its consequences. Don’t rush to place a card on a foundation immediately—sometimes it’s better to leave it on the tableau to free up a more important card underneath.
Don’t Clutter Foundations. Try to build piles on the foundations evenly. If one suit is built up to the King while others haven’t even had their Aces played, you may run out of room for maneuvers.
Use “Undo” Tactics. Sometimes, to win, you need to take a step back: disassemble part of a built sequence on the tableau to reach a key card that is blocking the entire layout.
Focus on the Tableau First. Try to make moves on the main tableau first to uncover as many cards as possible. Use the stock as an auxiliary tool, not your primary one.

Ready to take on the challenge?

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Good luck!