Spider Solitaire
Spider Solitaire is the great two-deck patience: 104 cards, ten columns, and a simple goal — assemble eight complete runs from King down to Ace in a single suit. Completed runs fly off the table; clear everything to win.
Choose your difficulty: 1 suit to learn the mechanics, 2 suits for a solid challenge, or the full 4-suit game that even experts lose more often than they win.
Spider Solitaire Rules
- Cards on a column are always placed on a card one rank higher, regardless of suit.
- Only a descending run in a single suit can be picked up and moved together.
- A completed King-to-Ace run in one suit is removed from the table automatically.
- Click the stock to deal one new card onto every column — but not while any column is empty.
- Empty columns can hold any card or movable run.
Spider Strategy
Build in-suit whenever possible: only same-suit runs can move as a group, and off-suit stacking creates hard-to-fix blockages. Before each stock deal, tidy the table — the ten new cards will bury whatever they land on.
Empty columns are Spider's free cells: use them to flip long runs from one suit onto another and to dig out buried cards. Try to keep at least one column free as long as you can.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do 1 suit, 2 suits and 4 suits mean?
The number of distinct suits among the 104 cards. 1 suit uses eight copies of spades, so every card matches every other; 4 suits uses two full decks and is dramatically harder.
Why can't I deal from the stock?
Spider forbids dealing while any column is empty. Place a card into each empty column first, then deal.
Can I move any group of cards?
Only descending sequences in the same suit move as a unit. A mixed-suit sequence must be moved one card (or one same-suit block) at a time.