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Josephine Solitaire

A typical Josephine Solitaire layout with 10 starting columns (tableau piles) and 8 foundation slots at the top.

Josephine Solitaire is a two-deck patience card game – basically a more forgiving twist on the classic Forty Thieves (also known as Napoleon at St. Helena). Unlike its tougher predecessor, Josephine lets you move entire sequences of cards in the tableau (not just one card at a time), which adds flexibility and makes it easier to win. The game is named after Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais, as a nod to the original game’s Napoleonic theme. Your goal is familiar: move all 104 cards (two decks’ worth) onto 8 foundation piles, building each foundation up from Ace through King in the same suit. It’s challenging yet fair – considerably easier to win than traditional Forty Thieves – so both newbies and experienced players can have a great time. Best of all, you can play Josephine Solitaire online for free right here on solitaireX.io 😊 (and if you’re craving more games, you can find plenty of other fun solitaire varieties on solitaireX.io as well!).

How to Play

Ready to play Josephine? Here’s a quick guide to get you started:

  1. Deal & Setup: The game begins with two full decks shuffled together. Ten columns of four cards each are dealt face-up to form the tableau (the playing field). Above the tableau are eight empty foundation spots (one for each suit, since there are two of each suit in play).
  2. Foundations: As with most solitaire games, start by moving any Aces you can to the foundation piles. Foundations are built up by suit from Ace → 2 → 3 ... up to King. Getting those Aces (and then 2s, 3s, etc.) up to the foundations is key to winning.
  3. Tableau Moves: On the tableau, you can place cards in descending order by the same suit. For example, you can move a 7♣ onto an 8♣, or Q♥ onto a K♥. You’re not limited to moving one card at a time – you can move an entire in-suit sequence if it’s in proper order! (E.g. if one pile has 9♦, 8♦, 7♦ in order, you can pick up that whole group and move it onto a 10♦ in another pile.) Keep moving cards around to free up hidden cards in the lower piles.
  4. Draw from the Stock: Once you’ve made all the moves you can with the face-up cards, draw from the stock (the remaining undealt cards). Flip one card from the stock onto a waste pile – the top waste card is available for play. You can play a waste card onto the tableau or directly to a foundation if it fits the rules. Remember, Josephine gives you no redeals, so you go through the stock pile only once. Use those stock cards wisely!
  5. Empty Columns: If you clear a column (i.e. move all its cards elsewhere), that empty space can be filled with any single card or any valid sequence of cards you want. This is super helpful for maneuvering! An empty tableau pile is like a free slot to temporarily park cards or sequences while you uncover others.
  6. Winning the Game: Keep playing, moving cards around and flipping through the stock, until you either get every card onto the foundations (in which case, YOU WIN! 🎉) or you run out of possible moves. If you’re stuck with cards still left, no worries – you can always hit “New Game” and try again. Practice makes perfect!

Rules of Josephine Solitaire

Here’s a quick rundown of the official rules and setup for Josephine Solitaire:

  • Decks & Deal: Uses two standard 52-card decks (104 cards total). To start, 40 cards are dealt face-up into 10 tableau piles (4 cards per pile). The remaining cards become the stock, and 8 foundation piles start empty.
  • Foundations: There are 8 foundations (one per suit × two decks). You build up each foundation in ascending order by suit, from Ace through King. Each Ace is the start of a foundation, and ultimately each foundation will contain 13 cards of the same suit (A→K).
  • Tableau: The tableau consists of 10 columns where cards are placed in descending order by the same suit (e.g. 6♥ on 7♥). Only the top card of each pile is initially playable, but as you expose more cards, you can make additional moves.
  • Moving Cards: You can move single cards or groups of sequenced cards in the tableau, as long as they follow the descending-in-suit order. This is Josephine’s special twist – unlike the stricter Forty Thieves rules, you’re allowed to move whole stacks of cards when they’re in sequence, which really opens up your options!
  • Stock & Waste: When no more moves are available on the tableau, flip one card at a time from the stock to the waste pile. You can play the top waste card to a foundation or tableau if it fits. Only one pass through the stock is allowed – there are no redeals in Josephine Solitaire, so make that single run count.
  • Empty Spaces: Any empty tableau column can be filled with any card or valid sequence of cards. (Some solitaire games only allow a King to fill a space, but Josephine is more flexible.) Use empty columns to your advantage for maneuvering cards around.
  • Winning Condition: The game is won when all cards are moved up to the foundations in their proper suits. If you’ve exhausted the stock and no more moves are possible while cards remain in the tableau, the game ends (not every deal is winnable, so don’t feel bad if you have to retry).

History of Josephine Solitaire

Like many solitaire classics, Josephine Solitaire has an interesting backstory. It was developed as a friendlier offshoot of the notoriously difficult Napoleon at St. Helena (a.k.a. Forty Thieves) way back in the early 20th century. The exact inventor of Josephine isn’t known, but the game began appearing in solitaire collections in the late 1930s. Its name was chosen in honor of Joséphine de Beauharnais (Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife) – a playful companion name to go with the Napoleon-themed Forty Thieves. According to legend, Napoleon himself passed time by playing solitaire during his exile, which is why the original Forty Thieves game earned the nickname “Napoleon at St. Helena”.

Importantly, Josephine introduced that key rule change (allowing sequence moves) to give players a better chance of winning than in Forty Thieves. By letting you move sequences of cards as a unit, Josephine significantly improves the odds of success – skilled players can win roughly 1 in 4 games, much higher than the classic game’s win rate. This balance of challenge and fairness helped Josephine Solitaire become an enduring favorite. It retains the strategic depth of Forty Thieves but with a bit less frustration, making it appealing to casual players who found the original game too tough. In short, Josephine took a Napoleon-era game and made it more approachable, which is why it’s still enjoyed today!

Tips and Tricks for Winning

Want to improve your Josephine Solitaire win rate? 😉 Try these handy tips and tricks:

  • ♠️ Plan Your Moves Ahead: Don’t rush. Before making a move, take a moment to see what card will be revealed or what other moves might open up. Often there are multiple options; thinking a couple of moves ahead can help you choose the one that opens up the most possibilities. In Josephine (as in all solitaire), a little forethought can save you from getting stuck!
  • ♥️ Free Up Empty Columns Early: If you can, try to clear out a tableau column (move all its cards elsewhere) as soon as possible. Empty columns are like gold – you can move any card or sequence into an empty space, which gives you a lot of flexibility to rearrange cards. Use empty piles as a sort of “temporary parking spot” to get to hidden cards or to organize sequences. The more empty columns you create, the easier it becomes to win.
  • ♣️ Use the Stock & Waste Wisely: Because you only get one pass through the stock, be mindful with it. Always check the waste pile’s top card and play it whenever you can before drawing a new stock card. If you flip too quickly and bury a playable card in the waste, you might not get another chance to play it. In short, make every draw count – only use the stock when you’ve run out of other moves.
  • ♦️ Maximize Sequence Moves: Take full advantage of Josephine’s signature feature – moving sequences! If you have a long descending run of cards in the same suit, move the whole stack to another column when it helps your position. This can quickly clear up piles and reveal hidden cards. However, don’t just shuffle sequences back and forth aimlessly; use sequence moves purposefully to uncover face-down cards or to free up a column.
  • 🏆 Prioritize Aces (and Low Cards): Get those Aces to the foundations as soon as they become available! They form the base of your foundation piles, so the earlier they’re out, the sooner you can start piling other cards onto them. Similarly, play 2s and 3s to the foundations whenever possible to clear them from the tableau. Removing low cards opens up space and makes it easier to maneuver higher cards. Essentially, don’t hesitate to move cards to the foundations – it often helps clear clutter and brings you closer to victory.

With these tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to mastering Josephine Solitaire. 🎉 Remember, the game is meant to be a relaxing “patience” game, so enjoy the process. Take your time, think through your moves, and savor the little victories (like finally freeing that buried Ace!). Whether you win or lose, playing is always fun – and you can play Josephine Solitaire right here on solitaireX.io anytime. Good luck and have fun!