Spider Solitaire

Pick one suit for a gentle game, two suits for a real test, or four suits when you want one of the hardest solitaires there is. Your choice applies from your next new game.

How to play Spider solitaire

Spider has a few more moving parts than Klondike, but the rules are short.

1. The game uses 104 cards. Fifty-four are dealt into ten columns, with the top card of each column face up. The remaining fifty form the stock.
2. Build downward on the columns in any suit: a 6 of any suit can go on a 7 of any suit.
3. You can only move a group of cards together if they are all the same suit and in strict descending order. A mixed-suit sequence has to be moved one card at a time.
4. Any card or run can go into an empty column.
5. When you complete a run of one suit from king down to ace, it is removed from the board automatically.
6. Click the stock to deal one new card onto every column. You cannot deal while any column is empty, so fill your gaps first.
7. You win when all eight runs have been completed.

One, two or four suits

With one suit every card is the same, so any descending sequence can be moved as a group and most deals can be won. Two suits add the need to keep spades and hearts apart, and wins become a matter of planning. Four suits is a different game: sequences are constantly broken by the wrong suit, and even strong players find wins much harder to come by.

Start on one suit, move to two when you win comfortably, and treat four suits as the long-term goal. Your best score and time are recorded for each setting separately.

Controls: mouse, touch and keyboard

Click or tap a card to select it together with any valid run on top of it, then click or tap the destination column. Double-click or double-tap the top card to move it to its best column. With a keyboard, press Tab to reach the board, use the left and right arrows to change columns, the up and down arrows to choose how many cards to lift, Enter to pick up or put down, D to deal from the stock, U to undo and H for a hint.

Undo takes back your moves one at a time, which makes it a good way to test an idea. Hint shows a sensible next move, and Large mode enlarges the cards for easier reading.

Spider strategy tips

• Empty a column early. An empty column is the most valuable space on the board because it lets you reorganise a whole sequence.
• Prefer moves that build on a card of the same suit. Joining cards of one suit creates runs you can move as a group later.
• Turn over hidden cards before you build long tidy stacks. A hidden card you cannot reach is a hidden problem.
• Do not deal from the stock too soon. Each deal covers ten cards, so make every useful move first.
• Try not to bury a low card of a suit under a high card of another. Deep stacks of mixed suits are hard to untangle.
• Move a card onto an off-suit one only when it reveals something or opens a column, and plan to fix the sequence later.
• Keep an eye on kings. A king in the middle of a column blocks everything beneath it until you can move it to an empty space.
• Use undo freely. Spider rewards trying two or three alternative plans before you commit.

Scoring

You begin with 500 points. Every move costs one point and every completed run earns 100, so a fast, tidy win scores highest. Winnable deals are available for the one-suit and two-suit games, using a solver that checks the deal before you start.

Variations and related games

Spider is part of a family of two-deck solitaires. Some versions allow moves only onto the same suit, which is considerably harder, while others deal fewer cards at the start. If you enjoy building sequences, try Klondike for a lighter game or FreeCell when you want a puzzle with no hidden cards at all.

A short history of Spider

Spider has been described in solitaire collections for much of the twentieth century. Its name is often explained by the eight foundation runs, like a spider's eight legs. The game became popular worldwide when computers began to include it, and its three difficulty settings made it welcoming to beginners and demanding for experts.

Common questions