Spider Solitaire

Rules quick reference

Spider Solitaire uses two standard decks, for a total of 104 cards. The tableau has ten columns. At the start, 54 cards are dealt to those columns and only the top card of each column is face up. The remaining 50 cards form five stock deals. The objective is to assemble eight complete, same-suit sequences from king down to ace. A finished sequence is removed from the tableau automatically.

The game is available in one-suit, two-suit, and four-suit versions. One suit is the most forgiving because every descending sequence is also suited. Two suits introduces the real planning problem without the full volatility of four suits. The rules are otherwise the same.

| Action | Standard rule | Why it matters | |---|---|---| | Build on a column | Place a card on the next higher rank, regardless of suit | A 7 may go on any 8 | | Move several cards | The moved run must descend by rank and share one suit | Mixed-suit runs can be built but not lifted together | | Use an empty column | Place any single card or movable suited run | Empty space is the game’s most flexible resource | | Deal from stock | One face-up card goes onto every column | All ten columns must contain at least one card first | | Complete a run | Build king through ace in one suit | The thirteen cards leave play and free space |

The distinction between building and moving is the heart of Spider. You may place a six of clubs on a seven of hearts, but those two cards are not a movable pair. If the six is later covered, you may have to find a separate destination for it before the seven can move. Same-suit links are therefore more valuable than merely legal links.

When an exposed card leaves a column, the next face-down card turns over. Revealing hidden cards is the immediate source of progress. Completing suits is the final objective, but most early moves should be judged by whether they uncover cards and improve the mobility of the tableau.

You may deal the next stock row only when no column is empty. The deal adds one card to every column, often breaking carefully arranged sequences. Before clicking the stock, make every productive move available and prepare landing places for the ranks most likely to become awkward.

A strong opening: reveal before you tidy

The opening layout can look like ten unrelated piles, but the first objective is simple: turn over as many hidden cards as the position safely allows. A move that uncovers a card is usually more useful than one that merely creates a neat-looking descending run on top of an already exposed column.

Prefer suited moves when the cost is equal

Suppose a five can move onto either a six of the same suit or a six of another suit, and both moves reveal a card. Choose the same-suit destination. You gain a packed two-card unit that can later move as one. Over several decisions, these small links grow into long, mobile runs.

This is a preference, not an absolute law. A mixed-suit move is correct when it reveals a crucial card, empties a column, or avoids burying a rank you need. Good Spider play balances immediate access against future packing.

Expose the shortest piles

Columns with fewer hidden cards are natural early targets. Emptying one creates a workspace that can transform the entire deal. However, do not attack the shortest column blindly. If clearing it requires stacking five unrelated suits into a rigid tower, the resulting empty space may be consumed just to undo the damage.

Count the moves to the next face-down card. Then count how many temporary destinations those moves require. The best target is often the column that can be opened with one or two reversible moves, not simply the column with the fewest cards.

Protect rank flexibility

Low cards, especially aces and twos, can only go onto a narrow set of ranks. Kings cannot be placed on another card at all. Avoid covering a nearly complete suited run with a king unless the move creates an empty column or exposes something critical. Similarly, be cautious about placing an off-suit low card onto the exact rank needed by a suited sequence.

Empty columns are working space, not storage

An empty column acts like a free hand. It lets you separate mixed suits, reverse a poor stack, and relocate a long packed run. Filling it permanently with an isolated king may be necessary, but it spends your most powerful resource.

Before using an empty column, make a short plan: what card will go there, which card becomes available as a result, and can the temporary card leave again? If you cannot answer the third question, you may be turning flexible space into another blocked pile.

With one empty column, you can often unpack a sequence by moving one suited section aside. With two empty columns, many apparently fixed arrangements become soluble. This is why creating the first empty column often matters more than finishing the first suit.

Build in suit without blocking access

Long same-suit runs are valuable because they move as a unit, but their location matters. If a nine-through-four run sits on the only ten that can accept another important nine, it may reduce flexibility. Try to place packed runs on cards of the same suit when possible; that extends the run rather than merely parking it.

Keep an eye on duplicate ranks. With two decks there are eight cards of every rank in four-suit mode. If several black tens are already buried, a newly exposed black nine may have very few useful destinations. The visible tableau tells you which ranks are scarce even without memorising every card.

Planning before a stock deal

A stock deal is not a shuffle. It places one new card on each column and preserves everything underneath. That means you can plan around the shape of the tableau even though you do not know the incoming ranks.

First, exhaust all moves that reveal cards or create suited links without sacrificing an empty column unnecessarily. Second, make sure every empty column is filled with the most movable available unit, since the game will not allow the deal otherwise. Third, inspect fragile sequences. If an incoming card lands on a long suited run, can you move that new card away? Keeping several ranks exposed as landing places makes the next deal much less destructive.

Do not deal simply because the current moves are hard to see. Scan each exposed card against all ten columns. Then scan movable same-suit runs, not just single cards. A hidden transfer often appears when moving a packed run reveals a destination for the card that was beneath it.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Making every legal move immediately. Legal does not mean useful. A move may cover the only available eight, break a suited link, or consume an empty column. Compare at least two destinations and prefer moves that are reversible.

Chasing complete suits too early. Building king-to-ace feels like obvious progress, but forcing one suit can bury the cards needed to reveal the tableau. In the early game, access and empty columns usually outrank completion.

Creating mixed-suit towers. A long descending stack looks organised, yet it may consist of five separate units that cannot move together. Build mixed suits only as temporary scaffolding, and look for opportunities to peel cards back into suited groups.

Wasting an empty column on the first available king. A king has no normal destination except an empty column, so the move may be unavoidable. But first use the space to perform any rearrangements it enables. Once the king enters, that flexibility is gone until the entire king-led stack moves or completes.

Dealing with unfinished business. Stock cards cover all ten columns. Any useful move you postpone may become much harder after ten new cards arrive. Treat the deal button as the end of a round: do a complete scan before using it.

Ignoring where a completed run will disappear from. Removing thirteen cards can reveal a hidden card or empty a column, which is excellent. It can also uncover a king or remove the only support for a temporary stack. Visualise the column after removal, not just the satisfying completion.

Restarting every awkward deal. Difficult positions teach the most useful skill in Spider: move ordering. When stuck, work backward from a goal such as uncovering one card. Which card blocks it? Where could that card go? What must move first to create that destination? Even if the deal is ultimately lost, this process improves future wins.

Frequently asked questions

Is every Spider Solitaire deal winnable?

No. Some deals, especially in four-suit Spider, cannot be solved from the available order of cards. Strong play improves the win rate, but restarting an impossible layout is part of the game.

Can I move a mixed-suit stack?

You may build downward with mixed suits, but you can move several cards together only when they form a descending sequence of the same suit. A single exposed card can always be moved onto the next higher rank.

What can be placed in an empty column?

In standard Spider, any exposed card or valid same-suit packed sequence can be placed in an empty column. Unlike Klondike, it does not have to begin with a king.

Should I always complete a suit as soon as possible?

Usually, but check what the completed run is supporting. Removing it can expose a useful card, yet it can also eliminate a temporary landing place. Compare the resulting column structure before committing.