Play Spider Solitaire

Spider Solitaire game info

Spider Solitaire is easily one of the most popular solitaire games on the internet. It is also an immensely challenging free online solitaire game, that is assuming you elect to play with 4 suits! However thanks to its simple rules it is quite easy to learn how to play even if it requires some serious thought to try and win a round.

Spider solitaire requires patience, logical thinking and luck. When playing spider solitaire on its most difficult setting, you will have to quit and restart many, many times. However when you do finally win, it's a great feeling!

• Family: Spider Solitaire Games
• Decks: Two decks (104 cards)
• Game time: Long
• Chance of winning: Low

Table of contents

• Goal
• Setting up Spider Solitaire
• Rules of Spider Solitaire
• Strategy
• Scoring
• Variants
• FAQ

Goal

The goal of this solitaire game is to remove 8 columns of cards at the bottom, each descending from King to Ace in a single suit. When a column like this is created it is automatically removed from the game freeing up space and opening up cards for you to continue.

Setting up Spider Solitaire

Spider Solitaire is played with two decks of 52 cards with all jokers removed.

You will see at the start of the game that 10 columns are dealt at the top, with only the top card shown. You must rearrange the deal to uncover the cards underneath.

The first 4 columns of cards have 5 cards that are face down with the sixth card at the bottom dealt face up. The last 6 columns of cards have 4 cards dealt face down, with the fifth and final card on these columns dealt face up.

The rest of the cards remain in the deck to be used later.

Rules of Spider Solitaire

The basic rules of spider solitaire are as follows. A single card can be moved onto a column if it is one lower than the card it is covering (e.g. A Queen of Hearts can cover any Red King or Black King). When trying to move a column of cards, they can only be moved if they are all in the same suit. For this reason wherever possible it is best to create descending columns of the same suit.

If a column is empty you can place anything on it. It is vitally important to use this well, as freeing up other options is exactly what this card game is about.

You can deal more cards to the layout by clicking the card located in the bottom right. These cards will cover all 8 columns, forcing you to rearrange them so you can reach any grouped columns you have created and arranged previously.

There are three possible versions of spider solitaire. All three use the same basic rules, but the way the cards can be moved is slightly different for the easier version. It's probably best to explain the detailed rules for the 4 suit version of the game first and then explain the changes for the easier two suit version and one suit version.

Rules of Spider Solitaire 4 suits

• A single card can only be moved to another pile if the card being moved is one less than the card it will be placed on. For example any 9 can be placed on any 10.
• Groups of cards can only be moved if they are all in the same suit and are in perfect descending order. For example you could move a 10, 9 and 8 of diamonds as a group onto any open Jack.
• If a card that is face down in a column is open it must be turned over.
• Any group or single card you might be able to move can be placed on an empty column.
• You can deal 10 cards from the cards remaining, one to each column if you cannot make any moves. However there must be at least one card in each column when you do this.
• If you have a complete group of cards in one suit in perfect descending order it can be removed from play. For example King of Spades all the way down to the Ace of Spades. Remove all the cards to win the game.

Rules of Spider Solitaire 2 suits

• This is a common variant of spider solitaire seen in many computer versions. To simulate this using 2 standard decks of cards just assume that all red cards are one suit and the other suit is all black cards. Now groups can be moved if they are in perfect descending order and they are all in the red suit or black suit. E.g. You could move a 10 of diamonds, a 9 of hearts and 8 of diamonds onto any open Jack.
• If you have a complete group of cards in one suit in perfect descending order it can be removed from play. For example all red cards starting from the King down to the Ace.
• All other rules are the same as the 4 suit version.

Rules of Spider Solitaire 1 suit

• To simulate this using 2 standard decks of cards just assume that all cards belong to the same suit.
• This means you can move any group of descending cards onto another appropriate card. E.g. a 6 of spades, 5 of diamonds, 4 of clubs can be moved onto any open 7.
• Any group of cards in perfect descending order from King to Ace can be removed from play.
• This version of Spider Solitaire is particularly easy, but it's quite relaxing!

Strategy - Win Spider Solitaire

The four suit version of Spider Solitaire is easily one of the most challenging solitaire games out there and simply put not every game can be won. You always need some luck. The two suit and one suit versions are far easier and winning is much more common.

With the tips below we aim to show you not only how to play but also how to win this particularly challenging card game.

• Build within suit: Where possible build cards together in their respective suit. This gives you greater freedom in moving the cards as the game progresses.
• Start building with higher ranked cards: Always build on higher ranked cards first. Often this means that you get more moves. For example move a Jack onto a Queen before moving a 10 onto a Jack.
• Group cards before dealing: Before you deal any more cards, you should make the effort to group what you already have so they are in their suits wherever possible. This reduces the issue of cards getting stuck behind other cards and makes moving groups even easier in the future. This is probably the most important tip to winning more often.
• Prefer playing from the smaller piles: Of course this tip probably goes without saying, but if possible move cards from columns with fewer cards on them. The idea being to free up a column to shuffle your cards around as soon as you can, which makes it a lot easier to start grouping cards together in matching suits. Where possible try to play cards from columns that are closer to being empty.
• Get empty columns: When you have two or more open columns it is often easier to restack columns so that they are in their suits before filling those columns with more permanent cards. The idea is to clean up your active columns so they are easier to move later. Really the key to the game is getting those empty columns!
• Keep empty columns as long as possible: Always try to expose new cards first by moving your current cards around rather than moving them straight to an empty column.
• Be careful with Kings: Another important thing you can think about while playing include if you want to move the King. Once a King is moved you will not be able to move it again and it will take up an otherwise free column. Of course sometimes you need to get to the cards behind the King so I can only advise care. It can be particularly annoying finding kings placed on important columns when dealing additional cards, so I often find it is best to wait until all cards are dealt before dealing with these.
• Use the undo feature: If you are playing it on the computer with an undo feature (or just peeking when playing with two decks by hand), it's often worth looking under a card you are about to uncover to see if that will give you another move.

Scoring

You start with 500 points. Each move (or turning the stock) will cost you 1 point. When a full run is moved to the foundation you score 100 points.

Variants

The game featured on this page is the classic spider solitaire. Other famous implementations of spider solitaire are Crystal Spider Solitaire and Golden Spider Solitaire. Spiderette is the one deck version of Spider Solitaire. In Scorpion Solitaire you also have to create in-suit sequences from King to Ace in the tableau.

FAQ

How to set up Spider Solitaire?

Deal 10 columns, 6 cards to the first 4 piles, 5 cards to the last 6 piles. Only the top card in each pile is face-up. The rest of the cards go into the stock, in 5 groups of 10 cards each.

How to win at Spider Solitaire?

Spider solitaire is notoriously hard to win, especially the 4 suits version. Make sure to group cards as much as possible before dealing extra cards. Be careful with placing Kings on empty columns, because they will block the column until it is removed by creating a full sequence. Try to create empty columns by playing from the smaller piles first.

How is Spider Solitaire scored?

At the beginning you get 500 points. 1 point is reduced for each move. Creating a full sequence will earn you 100 points.

How to play Spider Solitaire with one deck?

Spider solitaire with one deck is called Spiderette. It follows the same rules as Spider Solitaire, except for the deal. In Spiderette, the tableau has seven piles which are dealt as in Klondike Solitaire: the first pile gets one card, the second pile two cards, and so on. All other rules are the same.

We hope this guide will help you understand the rules of Spider Solitaire. Enjoy playing!

System requirements

Spider Solitaire can be played in all modern browsers, on all device types (desktop, tablet, mobile), and on all operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, ...).