Frequently asked questions about Quarante Voleurs
How many cards are used?
Two complete decks shuffled together, making 104 cards. At the start, 40 cards are dealt face up in 10 columns of 4, and the remaining 64 form the stock.
Can you move several cards at once?
No. The app moves only one card at a time: the top card of a column or the waste. Even two cards forming a same-suit sequence, such as the queen and jack of hearts, must be moved one after the other.
Which card can you place a card on?
In a column, a card is placed on the card of the same suit one rank higher: the 7 of spades can only go on the 8 of spades. An empty column accepts any card.
How do you fill the foundations?
There are 8 foundations, two per suit, and each has a fixed suit in the app: spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs, then spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs again. Build them up from ace to king. The game is won when all 8 foundations each hold their 13 cards.
Can you go through the stock again?
No. Each tap on the stock turns one card over onto the waste, and only the top card of the waste can be played. Once the stock is empty, it stays empty until the end of the game.
How is the score calculated?
The game starts at 0 points. Placing a card on a foundation earns 10 points, moving a card from the waste to a column earns 5 points, and taking a card back from a foundation costs 15, with the score never falling below 0. A game won without taking any cards back from the foundations is therefore worth at least 1040 points: 1185 for the winning game in the examples.
Can every deal be won?
There is no guarantee, and the app does not warn you when no moves remain. For deal FT1-N-AAAAAAV, a program following the app’s rules found a winning game in 237 moves. You can undo it move by move: the app remembers the last 100 actions.