How to Play Spider Solitaire

Spider Solitaire is a patient, satisfying one-player card game. It uses two full decks and ten columns of cards, and the aim is to sort the whole jumble into neat runs from King down to Ace. The name is usually explained by the eight finished runs, one for each leg of a spider.

If you have played Klondike Solitaire, some of this will feel familiar: you build cards downward and turn over hidden cards as you go. But Spider has a few twists of its own, and they matter. Below are the standard rules, which are the rules our free Spider Solitaire game uses, along with examples to make each one clear.

What You Need: Two Decks, 104 Cards

Spider is played with two standard decks shuffled together, with the jokers taken out. That makes 104 cards. Because there are two decks, every card appears twice. There are two Kings of spades, two 7s of hearts, and so on.

Many people play an easier version with fewer suits. Instead of two ordinary decks, the 104 cards are made up of just one or two suits. The rules are exactly the same; only the mix of cards changes.

In our game you pick the number of suits when you start a new game. One suit is the default, and it's the best way to learn.

The Layout

Shuffle the cards and deal 54 of them into 10 columns across the table, working from left to right:

• The first four columns get 6 cards each.
• The other six columns get 5 cards each.
• All the cards are face down except the top card of each column, which is turned face up.

That uses 54 cards (4 × 6 + 6 × 5). The remaining 50 cards go face down in a pile called the stock. The stock is enough for exactly 5 deals of 10 cards, one card for each column. In our game the stock sits in the corner, and you can see how many deals are left.

Building Down, Regardless of Suit

The basic move is simple. You can move the top card of any column onto another column whose top card is exactly one rank higher. The order runs King (high), Queen, Jack, 10, 9, and so on down to Ace (low). The suit and color don't matter for a single card.

Example: one column ends with the 6 of clubs and another ends with the 7 of hearts. You can move the 6 of clubs onto the 7 of hearts. You could also move it onto the 7 of spades, or any other 7.

Nothing can go on an Ace, since it's the lowest card. And a King can only move into an empty column, because there is no higher card to place it on.

When a move uncovers a face-down card, that card is turned face up. In our game this happens automatically. Turning over hidden cards is how you make progress, so it's worth keeping an eye on which moves will do it.

Moving Groups: Only Same-Suit Runs

This is the rule that makes Spider different from other solitaire games, and the one that catches people out. You can move several cards at once, but only if they are all the same suit and in order.

Example 1: a column ends with the 9, 8 and 7 of hearts. All three are hearts and in order, so you can move the whole group onto any 10. You can also move just the 8 and 7 of hearts onto any 9, or just the 7 onto any 8.

Example 2: a column ends with the 9 of spades, then the 8 of hearts, then the 7 of hearts. This is a fine-looking sequence, and it was perfectly legal to build. But the 9 is a spade and the 8 is a heart, so the three cards can't travel together. You can move the 8 and 7 of hearts as a pair, or the 7 alone, but the 9 of spades stays put until the cards on top of it are gone.

This is why experienced players try to build in the same suit whenever they have a choice. A mixed run is stuck where it is; a same-suit run can be moved around freely.

In our game: tap any card and it moves to the best spot by itself. Tap a card in the middle of a column to move it together with the cards above it, as long as they form a same-suit run. If more than one spot fits, the choices are highlighted and you tap the one you want. You can also drag cards.

Empty Columns

When you move the last card out of a column, it becomes an empty column. You can put any card into an empty column, not just a King. You can also move any group that you're allowed to move, meaning a same-suit run.

Empty columns are precious. They give you a place to park a card while you rearrange others, and they are the only place a King can go.

Example: you have an empty column. The 5 of spades is sitting on top of a 6 of clubs, and you would like the 6 of clubs to join a 7 of clubs elsewhere. Move the 5 of spades into the empty column, move the 6 of clubs onto the 7 of clubs, then put the 5 of spades back on the 6. You've built a better run and your empty column is free again.

Dealing a New Row

When you run out of useful moves, take ten cards from the stock and deal one card face up onto each of the ten columns. In our game, you tap the stock in the corner to do this.

The standard rule is that you can't deal while any column is empty. Every column needs at least one card first. If you have an empty column and want to deal, you must move a card or a group into it.

The new cards land on top of whatever is there, even if they don't fit. A 3 might land on a Queen. That breaks up your runs for a while, which is part of the challenge.

House rule: some players allow dealing while a column is empty. Our game follows the standard rule, but you can turn on Allow dealing with empty columns in Settings for a slightly gentler game. See rule variations.

Completing a Run

When a column holds a complete run of thirteen cards of one suit, from King down to Ace, that run is finished. It's removed from the table and set aside. In our game this happens automatically, and if a face-down card was underneath, it is turned over.

Example: a column has the King of hearts down to the 2 of hearts, all in order. You move the Ace of hearts from another column onto the 2. The run is complete, and all thirteen hearts are cleared away.

A run of mixed suits never counts, even if the ranks run from King to Ace. You would need to sort it into a single suit first.

Winning

With 104 cards and 13 cards per run, there are eight runs to make. When all eight are complete, the table is clear and you've won.

If the stock is empty and there are no useful moves left, the game is lost. Not every deal can be won, especially with four suits. In our game the Hint button will say so when you're stuck, and you can use Undo to go back and try a different path.

Traditional Scoring

Spider is often scored like this:

• You start with 500 points.
• Every move costs 1 point.
• Every completed run earns 100 points.

Example: you win a game in 160 moves. That's 500 − 160 + 800 = 1,140 points. Fewer moves means a higher score.

Our game doesn't show this score. Instead it shows the number of moves you've made, which tells you the same thing: fewer moves is a tidier game. It also keeps statistics of games played, games won, your current winning streak and your best time, separately for 1, 2 and 4 suits. A timer is available in Settings if you'd like one; it's hidden by default.

Rules at a Glance

• Two decks, 104 cards. Play with 1, 2 or 4 suits.
• 10 columns: the first four get 6 cards, the rest get 5. Top cards face up.
• 50 cards in the stock, enough for 5 deals of 10.
• Build down one rank at a time, in any suit.
• Move groups only when they are one suit and in order.
• Any card or same-suit group can go in an empty column.
• Deal a new row onto every column; no empty columns allowed when you deal.
• A full King-to-Ace run of one suit is removed. Remove all eight to win.

Ready for more? Read our Spider Solitaire strategy guide, or try FreeCell, where every card is face up from the start.