Spider Solitaire

How to play

Spider is played with two decks, 104 cards in all. Ten columns are dealt at the start: the first four get six cards, the other six get five, and only the top card of each column is face up. The other 50 cards form the stock, dealt in five rounds of ten.

The goal is to build eight complete sequences from King down to Ace in a single suit. A finished sequence leaves the table on its own; the game is won when all eight are done.

• Moving cards: a card can go on any card one rank higher, of any suit: a 7 on an 8, a Queen on a King.
• Moving groups: several cards move together only when they are in descending order and the same suit.
• Empty columns: any card or same-suit group can go into an empty column.
• Dealing: click the stock or press D to deal one card onto every column. Every column needs at least one card before a deal.
• Scoring: 500 to start, minus 1 per move, deal or undo, plus 100 per finished sequence.

1, 2 or 4 suits

• 1 suit: all spades; most games can be won.
• 2 suits: spades and hearts; mixed stacks block group moves, so planning matters.
• 4 suits: the hardest; many deals cannot be won even with perfect play.

Strategy

1. Turn over face-down cards first. Hidden cards are the main obstacle; prefer moves that reveal one.
2. Build in suit whenever you can. A same-suit stack moves as a unit; a mixed stack is stuck until you untangle it.
3. Empty a column and keep it. An empty column lets you reorder stacks and split mixed piles.
4. Work on the shortest columns early. Fewer cards means a quicker empty column.
5. Deal only when you’re out of useful moves. Each deal covers every column with a new card.
6. Don’t bury useful cards under a King. A King can only move to an empty column.

Origins

Spider dates from 1949. The name comes from the eight foundation piles you fill to win, like a spider’s eight legs.

Its large audience came from Windows. Microsoft included Spider in Plus! 98 for Windows 98 and then in Windows ME, XP, Vista and 7, with the same 1, 2 and 4 suit levels this version offers. An earlier version for Windows 3.x was written in 1991 by John A. Junod.

History

Why it’s fun

• Order out of a mess. Two shuffled decks become eight clean runs, one move at a time.
• Each level is a different game. One suit is relaxed; four suits is a real puzzle.
• Hidden cards keep it moving. Every card you turn over changes the plan.
• Undo invites experiments. You can try a line, see where it goes, and step back.

What it trains

Spider rewards patience, looking several moves ahead, and keeping resources in reserve: an empty column saved for the right moment is often the difference between winning and losing.

FAQ

Can every game be won?

Not every deal. Most 1-suit games can be won; with 4 suits a sizable share of deals cannot be solved.

Is there a limit on undo?

Undo goes back up to 500 steps, including deals.

Why can’t I deal?

A deal places one card on every column, so each column needs at least one card first. Move any card into the empty column, then deal.

This version

• 1, 2 or 4 suits, each with its own statistics.
• Tap a card to send it to the best spot, or drag it; hints step through every useful move.
• Undo up to 500 steps, including deals.
• Score, moves, time, best score and best time; the game in progress is saved on this device.

Updates

1. September 28, 2026First version on Zippi: 1, 2 and 4 suits, hints, undo and auto-save.

Page last reviewed September 30, 2026.

Sources

• Spider (solitaire), Wikipedia