Forty Thieves is one of the harder common solitaire variants. Two 52-card decks, ten tableau columns, eight foundations, and three rules that make every move expensive: build by suit only, move one card at a time, and the stock recycles only once (in many versions, not at all). It's also called Napoleon at St. Helena — Napoleon Bonaparte was rumored to have played it during his exile, though the historical record is thin. Free in your browser, no sign-up. Works offline once the page has loaded.
Goal: build all eight foundations from Ace to King by suit. Two decks means each suit completes twice.
Forty Thieves entered the published patience canon in 19th-century Europe. The folklore name Napoleon at St. Helena ties it to the French emperor's exile (1815–1821), where he was said to have played the game frequently. The historical evidence is thin — Napoleon's biographers don't dwell on his card-game preferences — but the name stuck. The game appears in Lady Adelaide Cadogan's Illustrated Games of Patience (1870) and most subsequent patience anthologies.
This Forty Thieves runs in your browser — free, no download, no sign-up. Install as an app on your phone or computer; once installed it works offline. Unlimited undo, statistics, and a daily challenge that gives every player the same deal that day so you can compare times.
For deeper strategy and the full history of Forty Thieves, see our Forty Thieves guide.
Three rules combine to make it punishing: same-suit building (instead of alternating colors), single-card moves only (no group moves), and the stock recycles only once or not at all. Together these remove most of the mobility you rely on in Klondike and Spider.
Yes — unlike Klondike and Yukon, where only Kings fill empty columns, Forty Thieves lets any card fill them. This is one of the few rules that makes the game easier rather than harder, and it's why empty columns are so valuable.
Folklore says Napoleon Bonaparte played the game during his exile on St. Helena (1815–1821). The historical evidence is weak — his biographers don't dwell on it — but the name stuck and appears in 19th-century patience anthologies.
No. We know of no published solvability study for Forty Thieves, so this page quotes no win rate. The strict move rules mean that some deals cannot be won however well you play. Some variants ease the stock recycle rule to make the game easier.
From the 40 cards dealt to the tableau at the start — ten columns of four cards each. The remaining 64 cards (out of two 52-card decks = 104) form the stock pile.