Forty Thieves Solitaire

Forty Thieves Solitaire, also known as Napoleon at St. Helena, is a highly strategic two-deck card game. Solvers arrange 40 face-up cards across 10 columns, building down strictly by suit. Using standard drag-and-drop controls, the objective is to build eight foundations from Ace to King with no stock redeals.

Setup

• Tableau: 10 columns of cards dealt face-up (4 cards each, 40 cards total).
• Stockpile: 64 remaining cards kept face-down in a single draw pile.
• Foundations: 8 empty target piles at the top right.

Controls

• Move card: Click or tap a card, then click/tap its destination
• Drag cards: Left-click and drag card to another column or foundation
• Draw card: Click the stockpile or press D to draw one card to the waste pile
• Auto-move card: Press Space or double-click to auto-send to foundations
• Undo last move: Press Z or click the Undo button
• Restart game: Press R or click Restart
• Mobile: Smooth tap and drag controls optimized for touchscreens

Rules

1. Only the top card of a tableau column or the top card of the waste pile is available for play.
2. Build tableau columns downward by same suit only (e.g., a 9 of Hearts can only be placed on a 10 of Hearts).
3. Any single card can be placed in an empty tableau column.
4. You can only move one card at a time (traditional rules do not allow moving sequences as a unit).
5. Draw from the stockpile one-by-one into the waste pile. There are no stock redeals (you can only go through the stockpile once).
6. Move cards to foundations by suit in ascending order starting with Ace up to King.

Tips

• Prioritize emptying a tableau column as early as possible; empty columns are your most powerful tool for maneuvering cards.
• Move Aces and 2s to the foundations immediately to clear up tableau clutter.
• Do not fill empty columns unless it directly unblocks buried cards or aids a vital sequence.
• Exhaust all possible moves in the tableau before drawing cards from the stockpile.