Tired of Easy Wins? Take on the Forty Thieves

If you’ve mastered classic Klondike Solitaire and find yourself breezing through games of Spider, it might be time to test your mettle against a true giant of the card table: Forty Thieves Solitaire.

This isn’t your average, relaxing game of solitaire. It’s a notorious, brain-busting challenge known for its high difficulty and low win rate. The game gets its name from the 40 cards dealt out at the start, spread across ten piles. Your objective, like in many solitaire games, is to build up eight foundation piles from Ace to King.

So, what makes it so tough?

First, Forty Thieves is played with two full decks. That’s 104 cards to manage. Second, unlike the alternating colors of Klondike, you can only stack cards on the tableau in descending order and of the same suit. This rule dramatically limits your available moves and is the main source of the game’s difficulty.

But the biggest challenge? You only get one single pass through the stock pile. Every card you flip to the waste pile is a final decision. If you can’t play it, you won’t get a second chance to use it. This limitation forces you to think several moves ahead, as a single misplaced card can (and often will) doom the entire game.

If you’re ready to move beyond the easy wins and test your strategic mind, you can play Forty Thieves Solitaire . Be warned, though: it’s called “Forty Thieves” for a reason—it’s very good at stealing your time (and your wins)!