Napoleon at St. Helena (a.k.a. Forty Thieves): The Legend, the Rules, and the Edge

Napoleon at St. Helena (a.k.a. Forty Thieves): The Legend, the Rules, and the Edge

On a wind‑blown rock in the South Atlantic, a deposed emperor is said to have passed long hours with patience games. Whether or not he played this exact variant, the association stuck: Napoleon at St. Helena—better known as Forty Thieves—became a byword for stoic, exacting solitaire. The table looks simple. The decisions? Anything but.

Have you ever watched a winnable Forty Thieves board slip away from one impatient move? What would change if you treated the stock like a scarce supply line and your columns like battalions to be positioned, not rushed? And if a few measurable habits could nudge a brutal game toward steady wins, would you adopt them today?

When you’re ready to practice, load up Solitairen game Forty Thieves and keep it open while you read.

When you’re ready to practice, load up Solitairen game Forty Thieves and keep it open while you read.

History vs. Legend (the short version)

• The name ties the game to Napoleon’s exile on St. Helena (1815–1821).
• Period accounts often mention the emperor’s fondness for patience (solitaire) as a way to pass the time.
• Whether he played this exact ruleset is uncertain—the title likely crystallized in 19th‑century patience books, fusing historical figure and emerging pastime.
• Either way, the brand fits: Forty Thieves demands discipline, foresight, and cool nerves under pressure—qualities Napoleon famously valued.
    

How to Play: Core Rules of Forty Thieves (classic)

• Decks: Two standard decks (104 cards).
• Tableau: 10 columns with 4 cards each face‑up (that’s your “forty thieves”).
• Foundations: 8 piles, one per suit, built Ace → King.
• Build on tableau: Descending in suit (e.g., 9♣ on 10♣). Only one card moves at a time (no multi‑stack drags).
• Spaces: Any single card may fill an empty column (choose carefully).
• Stock/Waste: Deal one card at a time to the waste; you may play the waste’s top card to tableau or foundations.
• Redeals: Classic rules—no redeal. Some house rules allow a single redeal; decide before you start and track it consistently.
    

Expectation check: Most players begin with single‑digit win rates. That’s fine. Forty Thieves is designed to punish careless sequencing and reward patient, surgical play.

Advanced Tactics (what actually moves the needle)

• Prioritize “unlocks,” not cosmetics.
  If a move doesn’t reveal a new option (freeing a buried card, opening a column, unblocking a key rank), it’s probably cosmetic. Pass.

• Respect suit lanes.
  Because building is in‑suit, early misplacements are costly. Keep lanes “pure” whenever possible; cross‑suit parking should be deliberate and temporary.

• Column vacancies are strategic assets.
  Don’t rush to fill the first empty space. Hold it until you can park a key pivot card (often a King or Queen that unlocks a long descending chain in‑suit).

• Waste control = logistics.
  Peek ahead by memory. If the waste top card is useful after one tableau change, wait; don’t bury it behind fresh stock unless it gains you an immediate unlock.

• Foundations last—until they don’t.
  Early foundation moves can trap needed intermediates (for example, moving a 6♦ up too soon strands a 7♦/5♦ line). Send to foundations when it increases mobility or clears a lane.

• One‑card movement means staging.
  Since you can’t lift a group, sometimes you must stage a temporary home for a card one rank above your target, then re‑insert it once the under‑card is freed.

Self‑check (ask yourself mid‑game):

• Did that move increase my future options, or just make the board prettier?
• Which column will I intentionally leave empty for a critical pivot?
• What’s my next in‑suit chain if I commit this King now?
• Can I delay a foundation push to keep a ladder alive one more turn?
    

5‑Minute Micro Drill: “Vacancy Value & Suit Purity

Goal: train deliberate use of empty columns and disciplined in‑suit building.

Setup (60 sec): Start a new game on Solitairen. Set a 4‑minute timer.

Run (3 min):
• For the first empty column, declare a target card (for example, “I’m saving this for the K♣ pivot”).
• Before every placement into that vacancy, ask: Does this create a longer in‑suit chain within two moves? If not, hold the space.
• Label each move in your head: Unlock / Stage / Cosmetic. Avoid Cosmetic.

Review (1 min):
• Count Unlocks vs Cosmetics (aim for ≥70% Unlocks).
• Note if saving the vacancy produced a longer chain later.
• Set one rule for next session (for example, “Keep first vacancy reserved until a King or Queen arrives that extends a same‑suit ladder by ≥3 ranks.”)

Repeat for 5–8 deals. The habit of saving space for pivots compounds quickly.

Napoleon‑Inspired Lens: Campaign Planning for Forty Thieves

• Line of advance: build each suit’s “front line” toward foundations; avoid overextending a single suit if it strands another.
• Reserves: treat the waste as reserves—commit only when it creates positional advantage.
• Terrain: an empty column is high ground; don’t surrender it for short‑term relief.
• Tempo: alternate swift tactical clears with deliberate staging; don’t let urgency kill structure.

Simple Sabermetrics (track what you control)

• WR (Win Rate): wins ÷ games (track per ruleset—redeal or none).
• UPM (Unlocks per Minute): count only moves that reveal new options.
• VQ (Vacancy Quality): percentage of vacancy fills that lead to a ≥2‑card same‑suit chain within two moves.
• SPL (Suit‑Purity Lapses): times you mixed suits in a lane without a clear plan (lower is better).
• TFF (Too‑Fast Foundations): moves to foundations that later blocked a tableau sequence.

Synthetic example (format only—replace with your data):

Read it like a campaign map: as UPM and VQ rise (more real unlocks, better use of space), WR climbs and unforced errors (SPL/TFF) fall.

Summary & Call to Action

Whether Napoleon himself played these exact rules or the legend simply fit the mood on St. Helena, the lesson endures: patience under pressure wins Forty Thieves. Guard your suit lanes, treat empty columns as strategic assets, and spend the waste with purpose. Add a five‑minute drill and a small stat sheet, and you’ll feel the game tilt in your favor.

Ready to campaign for your first clean win? Open Napoleon at St. Helena on Solitairen, run the Vacancy Value drill, and log your next 10 games. Next week, which single habit—saving the first vacancy, or delaying foundations—moved your WR the most?