How to Play Mamy Susan Solitaire

A two-deck Forty Thieves cousin with an extra five-card reserve pile on the side, giving you a second source of playable cards alongside the ten tableau piles. The goal: Move every card to the eight foundations in suit from Ace to King

Setup

1. Eight foundations are placed for each suit, starting with Aces
2. Ten tableau piles are arranged in a row, each dealt four face-up cards
3. A reserve pile holds five cards stacked face-down with only the top card face-up
4. The remaining cards form the stock; click it to deal one card at a time to the waste pile
5. 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 alternating colors (a red 6 under a black 7, etc.)
• Only the top card of a tableau pile can move
• The top card of the reserve pile is playable and can go to the tableau or foundations
• Empty tableau piles accept any card; when the reserve empties, no new cards go there
• 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 moves are available

How to win

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

You win when all 104 cards reach the foundations. The game ends when the stock runs out.

Tips

• The reserve provides a steady supply of playable cards—plan moves to use them efficiently
• Build sequences in the tableau to access the reserve cards more freely
• Empty tableau piles are valuable; use them strategically to create more room to maneuver

Play Mamy Susan free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Mamy Susan 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:

• Saxony — Saxony combines cells for maneuvering with reserve piles that you build on downward by suit.
• Squadron — A streamlined Forty Thieves variant using two decks with three reserve cells to temporarily hold cards.
• Algiers — Algiers is a three-deck game with a reserve of 54 cards and two tableau areas.
• Carthage — A two-deck game combining reserve piles that feed cards into play with a separate tableau built in descending same-suit sequences.