Solitaire guide
How to play Spider solitaire: the rules, one, two or four suits, and tips that win
Spider uses two decks in ten columns. Put any card on a card one higher; cards in order and of one suit move together. A full run of one suit from King down to Ace comes off the table, and you win when all eight are done. When you run out of moves, deal a row from the stock: one new card on every column.
The set-up
Two full decks, 104 cards. Ten columns get 54 of them: six cards in each of the first four columns and five in the rest, with only the top card of each face up. The other 50 wait in the stock, enough for five more rows.
Moving cards
- Build down, any suit: a card goes on a card one higher, whatever its suit. A 6 goes on any 7.
- Runs of one suit move together: a run in order and of the same suit, such as the 9, 8 and 7 of hearts, moves as one. A mixed run (a 9 of spades with the 8 and 7 of hearts) has to come apart: only the hearts can move.
- Empty columns take any card or run of one suit.
- Face-down cards turn over when the cards above them move away.
Dealing a row
When you run out of useful moves, tap the stock: one card goes on every column. The rule is that every column must have at least one card first, so fill any empty column before you deal. You get five deals in a game.
Finishing runs and scoring
A run of one suit from King down to Ace at the bottom of a column comes off the table by itself. Finish all eight runs to win. The score starts at 500, goes down one for every move and up 100 for every finished run, so a tidy game scores more.
One, two or four suits
| Suits | The cards | How hard |
|---|---|---|
| One suit | Eight sets of spades | Easy: every run is one suit, so almost every build can move later |
| Two suits | Four sets each of spades and hearts | Medium: you have to keep the colours apart |
| Four suits | Two full decks | Hard: careful planning and good use of empty columns |
Tips that win
- Turn cards over first. A move that shows a face-down card is worth more than almost anything else.
- Build in suit when you can. A 6 of hearts on a 7 of hearts can move on later; on a 7 of spades it is stuck there until the run breaks up.
- Empty a column. It is the most useful space in the game: use it to take runs apart and put them back in suit.
- Don't fill an empty column with a King too early unless it lets you turn a card over.
- Tidy up before you deal. The new row lands on everything, so make every useful move first.
- Use Hint to learn. In Yuzool's Spider it shows the next move of a way to win from where you are.
Questions
How do you play Spider solitaire?
Build runs of cards down from King to Ace. Any card can go on a card one higher, but only runs of one suit move together. A full run of one suit comes off the table; finish all eight to win. Deal a new row from the stock when you are stuck.
Can every game of Spider solitaire be won?
Not every random deal can. In Yuzool's Spider every deal is checked by a solver first, so you only get deals that can be won, unless you turn on random deals.
What is the difference between 1, 2 and 4 suit Spider?
The number of suits in the two decks. With one suit every card is a spade and runs are easy to build; two suits mixes spades and hearts; four suits uses two full decks and is much harder.
Can you deal a row with an empty column?
No. Every column needs at least one card before you can deal from the stock, so fill empty columns first.
How is Spider solitaire scored?
You start with 500 points, lose one for each move and gain 100 for each finished run.