Play Forty Thieves Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)

Two decks, ten narrow piles, one pass through the stock, and just a 10% win rate: every card you turn over matters here.

Forty Thieves Solitaire deals two full decks across ten tableau piles of four cards each, all face up from the start. It plays a bit like Forty and Eight Solitaire, but with ten narrower piles instead of eight, and you only get one pass through the stock, so every card you turn over matters. You build down in suit on the tableau, up in suit on the eight foundations, and move cards one at a time. It's a tough game, with a 10% chance of winning, and your result usually comes down to how carefully you plan rather than the luck of the deal.

If you like the two-deck challenge, Josephine Solitaire and Forty Bandits Solitaire are close cousins worth trying, each tweaking the pile counts and deal just enough to feel fresh.

If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.

Enjoy!

How to play Forty Thieves Solitaire

Layout:

8 foundation piles: Build up from Ace to King in the same suit.

10 tableau piles: Built down in suit. Only one card can be moved at a time. Any card can be used to fill an empty space. Each pile starts with four cards, all face up.

Stock: Click to turn over one card at a time to the waste pile. You only get one pass through the stock; there's no redeal.

Waste: The top card can be played to the foundations or the tableau.

Foundation:

Eight foundation piles hold the two decks. A card can join a foundation pile only if it's one rank higher and the same suit as the pile's current top card, so the only card that can follow a 5 of clubs is the 6 of clubs. Each pile fills from ace to king, 13 cards deep.

You can also move a foundation's top card back into the tableau if a pile there will take it, including an empty pile, since any card can fill an empty tableau slot.

Tableau:

Ten tableau piles start with four cards each, all dealt face up. A card can be added to a pile only if it's one rank lower and the same suit as the pile's current top card, so the only card that could follow a queen of hearts is the jack of hearts.

Only cards that aren't covered by another card are free to move, whether onto a foundation or another tableau pile, and you can move just one card at a time. Any card can fill an empty tableau slot.

Stock and waste:

There's one waste pile, and everything else starts in the stock. Click the stock to deal one card at a time to the waste. You only get a single pass through the stock, so play what you can before it runs out.

The top card of the waste can be played to the tableau or a foundation.