Forty Thieves

Build eight foundations from Ace to King in suit, moving all 104 cards off the columns, stock, and waste.

Two standard 52-card decks without jokers are dealt automatically.

• Tableau: ten playing columns of four face-up cards. Only the exposed card, with no card covering it, is playable.
• Stock: 64 face-down cards at the upper left. It has no redeal.
• Waste: beside the stock; only its top card can move.
• Foundations: eight spaces across the top. Each starts with any Ace, whose suit determines that pile’s remaining cards.

Single-card moves

Move an exposed column card or the top waste card onto a card exactly one rank higher in the same suit. A 6 of diamonds goes on a 7 of diamonds, never a 7 of hearts. Any single playable card may start an empty column. Even an ordered same-suit group must be moved one card at a time. Ranks do not wrap.

Building the foundations

Place an Ace in an empty foundation, then add 2 through King in that suit. Either duplicate of the required card may be used. Foundation cards cannot return to the tableau or move between foundations here; Undo can reverse a recent choice before winning.

Click or tap the stock to turn one card onto the waste. You may play it or draw again, covering it. Older waste cards become playable only when all cards above them have moved away. There is just one pass: an empty stock does not recycle the waste. Drawing counts as one move.

Eight complete foundations win. There is no points score here; elapsed time and moves are tracked. Moving one card or a whole group counts as one move.

The game does not automatically declare a loss when you are blocked. With the stock spent, check empty-column moves and both copies of needed cards; then use Undo or restart to try a different order.

Restarting, choosing a numbered deal, or starting a new game after your first move in an unfinished deal records that attempt as a loss. Undo alone does not record a loss. Deals are shuffled without checking that they can be won.

• Move cards: drag an exposed card with a mouse or finger to choose its destination. Clicking or tapping tries the first legal foundation, then the leftmost legal column, including an empty one. A tap can therefore use a valuable empty space.
• Auto-finish: is offered only when the stock and waste are empty and the remaining column cards can all reach foundations without rearranging the columns.
• Undo: reverses the last action and restores the previous move count. Repeat it as needed before winning; it does not rewind elapsed time. Resume a paused game first.
• Pause: stops the timer and blocks moves until Resume.
• New game: opens a menu. Choose Random deal for a fresh layout or Restart current deal to replay the same starting cards. Both reset the move count and timer.
• Numbered deals and sharing: use Deal # to enter a deal number, or Share deal to copy its starting-layout link. Use the same game and rule settings to reproduce it.
• Saved data: your position, timer, Undo history, and statistics save in this browser when storage is available. Return and press Play to continue. Time away does not count. Clearing site data removes saves; they do not sync between devices.

• Try to release an Ace or low card trapped near the back of a column. High cards cannot reach a foundation until the lower ranks are there.
• Create an empty column and give each temporary visitor an exit. Since groups cannot move together, spare columns are your working space.
• Review a useful waste card before covering it with another draw. With no redeal, it may be difficult to reach again.
• Use duplicate cards deliberately. Advancing one foundation may free a column, while advancing the other may leave a more useful landing card available.

Forty Thieves is also known as Napoleon at St Helena and belongs to a family of two-deck solitaire games. Read more on Wikipedia.

Compare Crescent, which has no stock and rotates its piles, or four-suit Spider, which allows ordered groups to move together.