Spider Solitaire
Build same-suit runs in ten columns and clear eight full suits to win.
FAQ
How is the game laid out?
Which cards can move together?
When is the game won and how is it scored?
What do hint and undo do?
How to use
- Pick the suit count
Choose one, two or four suits at the top. Fewer suits are easier. Each switch reshuffles two full decks, 104 cards, into ten columns.
- Pick a run, then a target
Tap a face-up card to grab the same-suit descending run below it, then tap the destination column. Tap an empty column to drop a run there.
- Fill empty columns first
The stock holds five deals, one face-up card per column. Dealing is refused while any column is empty, so fill the gaps before you deal.
- Collect runs and score
A king-to-ace run in one suit at the end of a column is collected automatically for 100 points. You start at 500 and each step costs one point.
- Undo and hints
Undo steps back through your latest move or deal. Hint highlights one legal run and its landing spot. Arrow keys plus Enter drive the board too.
About this tool
Spider Solitaire is the most patient branch of the solitaire family. Two full decks make 104 cards, dealt into ten columns, with four columns of six cards and six columns of five. Only the top card of each column starts face up. The remaining fifty cards sit in a stock that deals five times, one card to every column. The goal is to tidy the mess into descending runs of a single suit. Whenever a column ends with king through ace in one suit, those thirteen cards leave the table, and eight collected runs win the game.
Stacking rules are what set Spider apart from Klondike. Cards stack on rank alone, so a red queen may sit on a black king, and suits do not have to alternate. Moving several cards at once is stricter. Every card in the moving run must share one suit and descend by one, which turns mixed-suit stacks into slow, one-card-at-a-time work. Empty columns become the most valuable resource on the table, because any run may land there. The three difficulty levels change how many suits are in play, from spades only up to the full four-suit deck.
How it works
Good Spider play is mostly resource management. Since cards stack regardless of suit, columns grow long and tangled fast, while only the same-suit descending section is actually movable. Before each move, ask two questions. Does this step uncover a face-down card, and does it spend an empty column? Uncovering cards adds information and can reveal new runs, while empty columns are the only place where a long run can be rebuilt in peace. Spend both carelessly and the tableau locks up long before the stock is done.
The scoring system rewards economy. You start with 500 points, every move or deal costs one, and each collected run pays back 100. The final score therefore tracks how few steps you needed for eight runs. The hint function prefers moves that uncover a card, land on a real column, and carry the longest run. Following hints is rarely bad in the short term. Winning usually means building two long runs at once and spending deals only when every column can take a card.
When to use it
- A long afternoon session
A four-suit game often takes twenty minutes or more, which makes it a good fit for one unhurried block of time. Nothing is downloaded and no account is needed. If you must stop, close the tab and start a fresh deal later; the score only matters within a single game.
- Teaching sequences to kids
The one-suit mode removes every distraction, so a child only has to line numbers up from king down to ace. Watching a full run sweep off the table is a strong little reward, and it makes an easy opening for talking about order and patience.
- Planning and replay
Undo has no limit, so a bad line can be walked back step by step. Compare how fast eight runs come in with one, two and four suits, and the value of empty columns becomes very obvious very quickly. A short notebook of opening moves soon pays for itself.
Tips & tricks
- Prefer moves that uncover a face-down card before anything else.
- Keep empty columns for long runs, and refill them before every deal.
- Break mixed-suit stacks early so real runs can form underneath.
Things to watch
- Wasting empty columns
An empty column spent on a short pair is space you will miss later. Keep short runs where they are and save the open column for a long run that needs room to turn around. Refill every column right before you deal, or the deal is wasted.
- Chasing runs, ignoring covers
Shuffling the same three cards between two columns feels busy, but no face-down card ever turns over. Give each move the uncover test first, because fresh information is worth more than two tidy cards in a new place. Information early saves moves later.
- Treating mixed suits as one run
A red-black stack can look solid while only its top card or two actually move. Check the suits before you plan around a long column, or the whole layout you imagined falls apart on the first tap. Count the ranks too, since gaps break a run just as badly.