Spider Solitaire
Two decks, ten columns and one goal: build eight complete runs from King down to Ace. Start with one suit for a relaxed game, then try two or four when you want a real challenge.
How to play Spider
- Build eight full runs. Line up King, Queen, Jack, all the way down to Ace in one suit. A finished run leaves the table and goes to the top. Finish all eight and you win.
- Place any card on one rank higher. A 7 can go on any 8, whatever its suit.
- Move runs only when they're in one suit. You can lift several cards together only if they're in order and all the same suit. Mixed runs have to be taken apart one piece at a time.
- Fill empty columns with anything. Any card or same-suit run can go into an empty column.
- Deal a new row when you're stuck. Tap the stock at the top left to put one new card on every column. You can't deal while a column is empty.
How the cards are dealt
Spider uses 104 cards, two full decks. Fifty-four go into ten columns: six cards in each of the first four columns and five in the rest, with only the bottom card face up. The other fifty cards wait in the stock as five deals of ten.
One, two or four suits
| Mode | Suits in play | What it's like |
|---|---|---|
| 1 suit | 8 sets of spades | Relaxed. Every run is the same suit, so almost every deal can be won. |
| 2 suits | Spades and hearts | A real puzzle. You'll need to keep the two suits apart. |
| 4 suits | All four suits | For experts. Many deals can't be won even with perfect play. |
Tips that win more games
- When you have a choice, put a card on the same suit. Same-suit stacks can move as a group later; mixed ones can't.
- Empty a column whenever you can. An empty column is the most powerful tool in Spider.
- Turn over face-down cards before dealing a new row. Each row buries every column a little deeper.
- Build from Kings. A King can only move into an empty column, so stacks that start with a King are safe.
- Use Hint when you're stuck. It looks for same-suit moves and moves that turn over hidden cards first.
Related games
Scorpion Solitaire also builds same-suit runs from King to Ace, with one deck and freer moves. For a single-deck classic, try Klondike or FreeCell.