Diplomat
Added 02/2026
Diplomat Solitaire: The Forgiving Side of Forty Thieves
By Martin Petroff
If you have tried the legendary, brutal challenge of Forty Thieves and found yourself endlessly frustrated by the strict same-suit building rules, Diplomat Solitaire is the perfect alternative. Playing as a slightly more forgiving cousin in the two-deck family, Diplomat requires the same meticulous forward-planning and single-card movement restrictions, but it completely loosens the collar when it comes to stacking your tableau. By allowing you to build down completely regardless of suit, it opens up a massive web of strategic possibilities. It is still a brain-burner that requires immense patience, but you will find yourself winning far more often than you would at St. Helena!
How to Play
Like most two-deck games, Diplomat requires a significant amount of table space and a very careful approach to managing your empty columns.
The Objective: Your goal is to move all 104 cards into eight "Foundation" piles at the top of the board, building them up by the exact same suit from Ace to King (e.g., a complete sequence of 13 Hearts, 13 Clubs, etc.).
The Setup (The Tableau):
Shuffle two standard 52-card decks together (104 cards total).
Deal the cards into eight columns across your board.
Every single column receives exactly 4 cards, dealt completely face up and overlapping so you can easily see every card's value.
This places 32 cards on the board. The remaining massive stack of 72 cards forms your face-down Stockpile at the bottom of the board. Leave room next to it for a single Waste pile.
Above the tableau, reserve space for your 8 Foundation piles.
How to Play:
Building the Columns: You build down the tableau columns in descending order, regardless of suit. This is the game's greatest superpower. You can place a 7 of Hearts onto an 8 of Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, or Spades!
The "One Card" Rule: Just like Forty Thieves, this is where the game fights back. You can only move one single card at a time. You cannot pick up a correctly stacked sequence and drag it to a new column. If you have an 8, 7, and 6 stacked perfectly, and want to move them, you must move the 6 to a different valid spot, then the 7, and then the 8.
Empty Columns: If you manage to completely clear one of your eight columns, you can move any single available card into that empty space. Because you are restricted to moving one card at a time, these empty spaces act as vital temporary storage when you need to rearrange your piles. Guard them with your life!
The Draw: When you are completely out of moves on the board, draw one card from your Stockpile and place it face up on the Waste pile. You can play the top, exposed card of the Waste pile onto the tableau or directly to the foundations.
No Redeals: In the strict, classic rules of Diplomat, you only get one pass through the Stockpile. Once the Stockpile is empty, you cannot flip the Waste pile over to draw again.