Forty Thieves has broken the patience of many card players. With its strict single-card movement and unforgiving single stock pass, standard Forty Thieves hands you a loss roughly nine times out of ten. If you love the two-deck panoramic tableau but want a game that rewards thoughtful planning without brutal dead ends, Josephine Solitaire is the answer.
Named after Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, this elegant variant keeps the rich layout of Forty Thieves while introducing one game-changing adjustment: you can move packed, same-suit sequences together as a single block.
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Play Game NowThe Mechanics: How Josephine Relaxes Forty Thieves
Josephine uses two complete 52-card decks (104 cards in total). The board setup mirrors its parent game: ten tableau columns hold four face-up cards each, creating forty starting cards. Eight foundation piles sit above the tableau, awaiting Aces to build upward to Kings by suit.
| Feature / Rule | Josephine Solitaire | Forty Thieves Solitaire |
|---|---|---|
| Total Cards | 104 (2 Decks) | 104 (2 Decks) |
| Tableau Layout | 10 columns × 4 face-up cards | 10 columns × 4 face-up cards |
| Tableau Building | Descending rank, Same Suit | Descending rank, Same Suit |
| Sequence Moving | Full or partial same-suit runs | Single card only |
| Empty Column Fills | Any card or valid sequence | Any single card |
| Stock Draws | 1 card at a time, 0 redeals | 1 card at a time, 0 redeals |
| Average Win Rate | 35% to 45% | 10% to 15% |
In traditional Forty Thieves Solitaire, if you build a run of 6-5-4 of Spades, you cannot pick up that group to expose the card beneath. You would need two empty columns just to shift those three cards one by one.
In Josephine Solitaire, that entire sequence moves together as long as every card belongs to the matching suit and descends in exact numerical rank. This rule gives you tactical freedom to uncover trapped cards and shift resources without getting bottlenecked.
Four Strategic Habits for Higher Win Rates
While Josephine is far more forgiving than Forty Thieves, careless moves will still leave you stranded once the stock pile empties. Use these four habits to keep your tableau open:
1. Build Pure Single-Suit Chains
Because you can only move grouped cards when they share the exact same suit, never break an existing run unless the payoff is immediate. If you drop a 7 of Hearts on an 8 of Hearts, you have a mobile unit. If you split suits or move cards haphazardly, you lose your sequence mobility.
2. Prioritise Column Clearance Over Stock Flips
Empty columns represent your ultimate power on the board. You can use an empty space to park high cards, rearrange awkward tableau piles, or transfer full runs. Before drawing from the 64-card stock, scan every column to see if you can empty a spot using existing tableau cards.
3. Advance Foundations Evenly
Sending an Ace or a 2 to the foundation is always safe. However, pushing a 5 or 6 to the foundation too early can hurt you. You might draw a 4 of that same suit from the waste pile later with no tableau card to receive it. Keep your foundation piles relatively balanced so you retain tableau landing spots. For players interested in move efficiency, check out our breakdown of the fewest moves to win solitaire.
4. Reserve Vacant Spaces for Kings
When an empty column opens up, avoid filling it with mid-tier cards like an 8 or 9 unless you have a direct follow-up plan. Kings can only be placed on empty columns. Parking a King in a clear slot gives you an anchor to assemble full 13-card runs from King down to Ace.