How to Play Spider Solitaire

Spider uses two decks, 104 cards in all, dealt into ten columns. Your goal is to build eight complete runs in one suit, from king down to ace. A finished run leaves the table by itself, and clearing all eight wins the game. When the page opens, you choose how many suits to play with.

You can drop a card or a run on any card exactly one rank higher, whatever its suit. Only a descending run of one suit moves as a unit, though, so a stack of mixed suits is legal but pins the cards underneath. Any run can move into an empty column.

When no useful moves are left, tap the stock to deal one face-up card onto each of the ten columns. The stock holds five deals. The game will not deal while a column is empty and tells you to fill every empty column first. The line under the title keeps count, for example “0/8 runs · 5 deals left”.

Drag a card or run to move it, or tap it and then tap the destination. The keyboard works too: Space deals from the stock, H shows a hint, U or Ctrl+Z undoes a move, and R restarts the same deal.

One, Two or Four Suits

The level menu is the suit choice. One suit deals spades only and makes a gentle start. Two suits uses spades and hearts. Four suits is the full deck and the hard one. Every level uses 104 cards, with the easier ones repeating suits. The score multipliers are ×1, ×2.2 and ×3.6.

A completed run earns 500 points before multipliers and streak, a card turned over earns 25, an undo costs 25 and a hint costs 50. Winning adds bonuses for speed, few moves and playing without hints or undos. Every deal has a number, Restart replays it, and your scores and win record stay in your browser on this device.

Spider Solitaire Tips and Strategy

• Start with one suit to learn the rhythm, then move to two. Four suits is much harder, so treat it as a goal rather than a starting point.
• Build on a card of the same suit whenever you can. If two cards could take yours, choose the same-suit one so the run stays movable.
• Uncover face-down cards before anything else, and try to empty the shortest columns first. An empty column lets you rearrange freely, but you must fill it before you can deal.
• Deal from the stock only when you have run out of useful moves. Each deal drops a card on every column and buries what you were working on.
• Undo works on deals as well as moves and has no limit, though each one costs 25 points. Use it to test a line.
• Stuck? Press the hint button. Ask again in the same position to see the next suggestion.

New to the family? Klondike Solitaire is the classic one-deck game, and FreeCell shows every card from the start. Both sit in the board and card games category.

Spider Solitaire FAQ

What is the difference between 1, 2 and 4 suits?

The number of suits decides how easily runs form. With one suit, any descending sequence is already a same-suit run. With four suits, a run only grows when the suit matches, so far fewer moves help you. The game scores harder levels higher.

How many times can I deal from the stock?

Five times. The stock holds 50 cards and each deal puts one card on each of the ten columns.

Why can't I deal a new row?

One of your columns is empty. Put a card or run there first, then tap the stock again.

Can I play Spider Solitaire full screen?

Yes. The game frame allows full screen, and the table resizes to fit the space it has, so you get larger cards.

Is Spider Solitaire free to play here?

Yes. It is free, runs in your browser and needs no download or account.