Forty Thieves is the two-deck solitaire that mission planners of patience call the hardest of the classics. Forty cards — the thieves — are dealt face up in ten columns of four, with 64 more in the stock. You build down by suit, one card at a time: no moving runs, no alternating colours, and only one pass through the stock. Eight foundations wait for the Aces. It is a game of planning rather than luck: the winning rate is low, but every loss can be traced to a card you buried.
Controls. Tap a card then a column, or drag. Double-tap sends a card home when it can go. Undo is unlimited, Hint lights up a legal move, and every deal has a number: Replay restarts it and Share copies a link so a friend can play the identical layout. Keys: N new deal, D or Space for the stock, H hint, Ctrl+Z undo.
How do you play Forty Thieves Solitaire? Deal two decks into ten columns of four, build down by suit one card at a time, fill empty columns with any card, and build eight foundations from Ace to King by suit. The stock deals once with no redeal.
Why is Forty Thieves so hard? Single-card moves, suit-only building and one pass through the stock leave no slack; a buried low card usually ends the game. Around one deal in ten is won by strong players.
Can I move a run of cards in Forty Thieves? No. Only one card moves at a time. To shift a run you need an empty column and enough moves to pass the cards through it one by one.
Is there a redeal? No. The 64-card stock is dealt once, one card at a time, which is why the order you play the table before each draw matters.