How to Play Malmaison Solitaire

A large three-deck relative of Forty Thieves where you clear all 156 cards to twelve foundations, with same-suit runs that can be moved as a group. The goal: Move every card to the twelve foundations in suit from Ace to King

Setup

1. Twelve foundations are placed for each suit, starting with Aces
2. Twelve tableau piles are arranged in a row, each dealt five face-up cards
3. The remaining cards form the stock; click it to deal one card at a time to the waste pile
4. No redeal is allowed—you get a single pass through the deck only

How to play

• Build the foundations up in suit, from Ace to King
• In the tableau, build cards one rank lower in the same suit (a 9♠ under a 10♠, etc.)
• You can move a run—a sequence of cards where each is one rank lower in the same suit—to another pile
• Empty tableau piles accept any card
• Cards automatically move to the foundations whenever no other card can be built on them; you can change this in Settings if preferred
• Draw from the stock when no more tableau moves are available

How to win

Objective: Move every card to the twelve foundations in suit from Ace to King

You win when all 156 cards reach the foundations. The game ends when the stock runs out.

Tips

• Moving sequences is essential—look for opportunities to move entire runs together
• With so many cards, creating empty piles is critical for maneuvering
• Plan far ahead; this is a game of patience and careful calculation

Play Malmaison free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Malmaison alongside 300+ other games. It saves every move as you play, so you can close the window and pick the game up later, replay any deal, and take on a new Daily Challenge deal every day. Browse every game in the Game Gallery.

Related games

More games from the Forty Thieves family:

• Ali Baba — Ali Baba uses a single deck with 10 tableau piles of 4 cards each.
• Big Forty — Build foundations up in suit from Ace to King using a standard deck laid out across 10 tableau piles and a stock.
• Blockade — A two-deck game where the stock automatically deals to each tableau pile in turn, building on the table by suit before sending cards to the foundations.
• Lucas Leaps — A forgiving two-deck member of the Forty Thieves family: unlike most of its relatives, you can pick up whole same-suit runs and move them as a group instead of one card at a time.