How to Play Thieves of Egypt Solitaire

The goal of Thieves of Egypt Solitaire is to clear the tableau by building eight foundation piles in ascending order (ace to king) by suit.

Thieves of Egypt Solitaire Setup

Thieves of Egypt uses two 52-card decks (104 cards total) and is laid out in four main areas:

• Tableau: The tableau uses 55 face-up cards to form an inverted pyramid-shaped layout of ten columns. This is where you sequence cards in descending order and alternating color.
• Foundation piles: Build each of the eight foundation piles by suit from ace to king. With two decks in play, there are two piles for each suit.
• Stockpile: The remaining 49 cards are placed facedown to form the stock. You'll draw one card at a time from the stock when you run out of moves on the tableau, and you get just one pass through the stockpile.
• Waste pile: Each card drawn from the stock is placed face up into the waste pile. The top waste card is always available to play — either onto a tableau pile (if it fits by rank and alternating color) or onto a foundation pile.

Thieves of Egypt Solitaire Rules

• Build cards on the tableau in descending order and alternating in color. Tableau cards are built in descending order and alternating color. For example, a 9♥ can be placed on a 10♣. You may move a single card or a sequence of correctly ordered cards that follow this alternating-color, descending-rank rule.
• Only available cards can be moved. The uncovered card in each tableau column and properly sequenced cards are available to move. The face-up card in the waste pile is also playable.
• Only a king or a king-led sequence can fill an empty tableau column. When a column is cleared, it can only be filled by a king or a sequence starting with a king.
• Move aces to start foundation piles. When an ace becomes available, move it to begin a foundation pile. Continue building that pile up in suit until it reaches the king.
• Flip one card at a time from the stockpile to the waste pile. When no tableau moves are available, draw from the stock. The top card of the waste pile is always available to play onto the tableau or a foundation.
• You can only use the stockpile once. After all cards have been flipped, you cannot reshuffle or deal again.
• Win by clearing the tableau. You win when all 104 cards have been moved into the foundation piles in suit order from ace to king. If no moves remain and the stock is empty, the game ends.

Thieves of Egypt Solitaire Strategies

• Focus on uncovering new cards. Every move should work toward revealing cards deeper in the inverted pyramid-shaped tableau. The more cards you uncover, the more moves you'll have available.
• Clear deep columns early. This keeps key cards from being trapped and ensures smoother gameplay later.
• Build long sequences. Whenever possible, create long sequences on the tableau. Longer runs put more cards into play, help you uncover buried cards, and open up new moves more quickly.
• Play aces and twos in foundation piles immediately. Move aces and twos whenever they're available because they not only begin your foundation piles, but they aren't necessary for sequencing in the tableau. This helps free cards beneath them for movement in the tableau.
• Focus on emptying tableau columns. Once a column is cleared, only a king or a king-led sequence can be placed there. This gives you a dedicated space for sequencing and flexibility to rearrange and access buried cards in other columns.
• Use the stockpile as a last resort. Because you only get one pass through the stockpiles, make every card count. Before flipping from the stockpile, double-check that no more tableau moves are available.

If you enjoy the challenge of Thieves of Egypt Solitaire, try other two-deck classics next, such as Forty Thieves, Josephine, or Double Klondike. Each offers a new twist on long-form solitaire strategy, and you can play them all for free on Solitaired.