Spider Solitaire

Spider Solitaire – Build Complete Suits and Clear the Tableau

Spider Solitaire is a single-player card game played with two decks and ten tableau columns. Your goal is to organize all 104 cards into eight complete same-suit sequences running from King down to Ace. Finished sequences are removed automatically, and you win when every card has been cleared from the table.

The game is available in 1-suit, 2-suit, and 4-suit forms. The basic rules stay similar, but adding more suits makes it harder to create movable sequences and complete full King-to-Ace runs. Microsoft also includes Spider among the five games in Microsoft Solitaire Collection.

How Spider Solitaire Is Set Up

In the common computer version of Spider Solitaire, 54 cards are dealt across ten columns. The first four columns contain six cards each, while the remaining six contain five. Only the exposed card in each column begins face up. The other 50 cards remain in the stock, providing five later deals of ten cards.

Most of the challenge comes from uncovering the face-down cards while avoiding mixed-suit arrangements that become difficult to move. Every time you remove all exposed cards from a column, the next hidden card is turned face up and becomes available.

How to Play Spider Solitaire

1. Study the ten columns: Look for moves that uncover hidden cards or help create descending sequences.
2. Build downward by rank: Place a card onto another card exactly one rank higher. For example, a 7 can be placed on an 8.
3. Prefer matching suits: Different suits can be stacked together, but only a properly ordered same-suit sequence can move as one group.
4. Reveal face-down cards: Clear the exposed cards covering a hidden card whenever possible.
5. Create empty columns: An empty column can hold any available single card or movable sequence.
6. Use the stock carefully: When needed, deal one new face-up card onto every tableau column.
7. Build a full suit: Arrange King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace in the same suit.
8. Clear all eight runs: Each completed same-suit sequence is removed. Clear all eight to win.

Spider Solitaire Controls

Browser versions are generally mouse controlled. Current online editions support clicking or dragging cards between legal positions.

• Left Mouse Button: Select cards and interact with menus.
• Click and drag: Move a card or valid same-suit sequence to another column.
• Click the stock: Deal another row of cards when the game allows it.

Building Descending Sequences

Cards are placed in descending numerical order. A 9 can go onto a 10, an 8 onto a 9, and so on down to Ace. The suits do not have to match merely to place one card on another.

The important restriction appears when you want to move several cards together. A sequence such as 9♠-8♠-7♠ can move as one unit because every card has the same suit and follows descending order. A stack such as 9♠-8♥-7♠ may be legal on the tableau, but the mixed-suit group cannot normally be lifted together.

This difference is central to Spider Solitaire strategy. Mixed stacks can help temporarily, but every suit change creates another point you may later need to separate.

Why Empty Columns Are Valuable

An empty tableau column acts as temporary working space. Any available card or valid movable run can be placed there, allowing you to rearrange cards that would otherwise remain trapped.

For example, clearing one column may let you temporarily move a King there, expose another hidden card, rebuild two mixed sequences into matching suits, and then reuse the space again. Creating an empty column can therefore unlock several moves rather than providing only one immediate benefit.

Do not fill an empty column automatically. Before using it, check whether another move could make better use of that space.

Using the Stock

The stock contains 50 cards in the common digital version. Each stock action deals one card onto every one of the ten tableau columns, giving you five additional rows during the game. Standard computer rules generally require every column to contain at least one card before another stock row can be dealt.

Dealing is useful when no productive move remains, but it also covers every existing stack with a new card. A nearly completed same-suit sequence may become buried underneath an inconvenient card after the deal.

Before clicking the stock, use as many useful tableau moves as possible. Reveal hidden cards, combine matching suits, and take advantage of empty columns first.

1-Suit, 2-Suit, and 4-Suit Spider Solitaire

Mode	Suit Setup	Main Challenge
1 Suit	One suit, commonly Spades	Learning movement, empty columns, and stock timing.
2 Suits	Two suits	Separating mixed stacks while building movable same-suit runs.
4 Suits	Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades	Managing many suit changes without trapping important cards.

All three common difficulty levels still use 104 cards and require eight completed King-to-Ace runs. What changes is how difficult it becomes to keep the cards in matching suits.

Spider Solitaire Strategy Tips

Reveal Hidden Cards Before Making Cosmetic Moves

If one move simply reorganizes face-up cards while another exposes a face-down card, revealing the hidden card usually creates more information and additional possibilities.

Build in the Same Suit Whenever Practical

Mixed suits are legal for individual placements, but they restrict group movement. When two moves accomplish similar goals, the one that keeps a clean same-suit sequence usually leaves you with more flexibility.

Create Empty Columns

An empty column is one of the strongest resources on the board because it gives you temporary storage during rearrangement. Focus on clearing a column when doing so does not create worse problems elsewhere.

Delay the Stock Until You Have Used the Current Board

Every stock deal adds ten new cards and can bury useful sequences. Before dealing, look again for moves that uncover hidden cards, consolidate suits, or create an empty column.

Think About What Will Become Exposed

Moving a sequence is valuable not only because of where it goes, but because of what it reveals underneath. A move that exposes a useful card can be stronger than one that simply creates a longer stack.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Building too many mixed-suit stacks: They may be legal, but they are harder to move later.
• Using an empty column immediately: Keep it open when it could help with a more important rearrangement.
• Dealing from the stock too early: New cards can cover sequences you were close to organizing.
• Ignoring face-down cards: Hidden cards restrict your options until they are uncovered.
• Focusing only on long stacks: A long mixed stack may be less useful than a shorter same-suit sequence.
• Forgetting the final objective: Runs only clear when King through Ace are arranged in the same suit.

Similar Games on YaloGames

If you enjoy Spider Solitaire and other single-player card puzzles, YaloGames also includes several related solitaire variants.

• Arkadium's Klondike Solitaire: Build alternating-color tableau sequences while moving cards into suit-based foundations.
• Best Classic FreeCell Solitaire: Use temporary free cells to reorganize the tableau and build foundations.
• Pyramid Solitaire Blue: Remove exposed cards by forming combinations based on their values.
• Solitaire TriPeaks: Clear cards by selecting ranks directly above or below the current card.
• Solitaire 13in1 Collection: Switch between several solitaire rule sets in one collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cards are used in Spider Solitaire?

The common computer version uses two standard 52-card decks, giving you 104 cards in total.

Can you place different suits on each other?

Yes. You can build downward by rank regardless of suit. However, only descending same-suit sequences can normally be moved together as a group.

What can be placed in an empty column?

An empty column can accept any available single card or valid movable same-suit sequence.

When can you deal from the stock?

In the common browser and computer rules, all ten columns must contain cards before you deal. The stock then adds one new card to each column.

How do you win Spider Solitaire?

Build and clear eight complete same-suit sequences from King down to Ace. Once all 104 cards have been removed in those completed runs, the game is won.

Clear All Eight Runs in Spider Solitaire

Spider Solitaire is less about making every available move and more about preserving future options. Reveal hidden cards, keep suits together when possible, create empty columns for rearrangement, and avoid dealing a new stock row until the current tableau has been used effectively. Each clean King-to-Ace sequence removes 13 cards from the puzzle, bringing you one step closer to clearing the full table.