Play Forty Thieves Hard Solitaire Online for Free

Forty Thieves Hard is the original game, unchanged. Two decks, 104 cards, eight Foundation piles, one card moved at a time, and exactly one pass through the stock. Nothing is hidden and nothing comes back, so every card you misplace is a card you have lost for the rest of the game. This is the version that earned Forty Thieves its reputation as one of the toughest solitaire games ever designed. Play it for free at Solitaire.com with no downloads or disruptive ads.

What Makes Hard Mode Different

Hard mode changes one rule from our standard Forty Thieves, and it is the rule that matters most. When the stock pile is empty, it stays empty. There is no redraw and no second look at the cards you passed over.

Everything else is identical. You still move one card at a time, you still build tableau columns down by the same suit, and every card is still face-up from the start. The difficulty comes entirely from having 64 stock cards and one chance to use them well.

Objective, Layout, and Rules

You win by building all eight Foundation piles from Ace to King in a single suit, two piles per suit. You lose when the stock is exhausted and no legal move remains.

The tableau holds ten columns of four face-up cards, 40 in total. The stock pile holds the other 64 cards face down at the top left, beside the Foundations. Only the top card of a tableau column or the top card of the waste pile can be played.

Tableau columns build downward in the same suit, so the 9♠ takes only the 8♠. You move a single card per move, never a sequence, however tidy that sequence looks. A card goes to a Foundation when it is the next rank up in its suit, starting with an Ace. Any card may fill an empty column. Once the last stock card is dealt, the pile is gone for good.

Forty Thieves Hard Strategy and Tips

Stock discipline decides most games. Every draw is a one-way door, so pull only when the tableau has genuinely stalled, and play the drawn card immediately if it helps rather than parking it on a column to clear the waste.

Empty a column as early as you can. In hard mode an empty column is often the only reason a mid-game position stays alive, since any card can go there. Avoid building long same-suit runs, because you cannot move them as a group and everything underneath them is frozen. Feed the Foundations aggressively instead of holding cards back for a sequence you may never assemble.

Hints cost nothing and can reveal a Foundation move you missed. Undo is unlimited, though undoing a stock draw costs 2 points and takes back any points the undone move earned.

Win Rate and Scoring

The win rate for the original rules sits around 10 percent with careful play, and casual play wins far less. Some deals lock up early no matter what you do, which is part of the game rather than a flaw in it. Most games run 20 to 30 minutes because every move needs thought.

Hard mode pays accordingly. Cards collected onto a Foundation are worth 10 points each, a completed Foundation pile adds 50, and every unused second out of your first 300 adds 2 at the end. Your entire final score is then doubled, the highest multiplier of the three versions. For more on how the toughest games compare, see our ranking of the hardest solitaire games.

Easier Ways to Play Forty Thieves

Standard Forty Thieves keeps the single-card rule but lets you redraw the stock and go through it again, which is the difference between a locked position and a recoverable one. It scores at 1.5 times.

Josephine Solitaire adds the redraw and also lets you move same-suit sequences as a group, so crowded columns stop being permanent problems.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Forty Thieves and Forty Thieves Hard?

Hard mode removes the stock redraw. In standard Forty Thieves you can work through the stock again once it empties, while in hard mode you get one pass and that is all.

Is Forty Thieves Hard actually winnable?

Yes, though not often. The win rate sits near 10 percent even with strong play, and a share of deals are unwinnable from the opening layout.

How many times can you go through the stock pile?

Once. The stock deals 64 cards one at a time to the waste pile, and when the last one is dealt there is no redraw.

What is the best strategy for hard mode?

Exhaust every tableau move before you draw, empty a column as early as possible, keep same-suit runs short, and send cards to the Foundations rather than saving them.

Do you score more points in hard mode?

Yes. Hard mode doubles your final score, compared with 1.5 times in the standard version.