What Is Spider Solitaire?
Spider Solitaire is one of the most challenging and rewarding solitaire games ever designed. You use two full decks — 104 cards — and try to build complete 13-card sequences from King down to Ace, all in the same suit, within the 10 tableau columns. When you complete a sequence, it is automatically removed. Complete all eight sequences and you win. Spider is available in three difficulty levels: one suit (easiest), two suits (medium), and four suits (hardest and most common).
What You Need
- Two standard 52-card decks shuffled together — 104 cards total
- One player
- A large flat surface or a computer — Spider Solitaire is one of the most popular digital card games
Setting Up the Game
- Deal 54 cards into 10 tableau columns: the first 4 columns get 6 cards each, and the remaining 6 columns get 5 cards each.
- In each column, all cards are face-down EXCEPT the very top card, which is face-up.
- The remaining 50 cards form the stock pile, kept face-down in five groups of 10.
The Goal
Build complete sequences of 13 cards in the same suit — King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace — all in one column. When a complete sequence appears, it is removed from the tableau. Complete all 8 sequences to win.
How to Play — Step by Step
Moving Cards on the Tableau
You may move a face-up card from the bottom of any column onto another card if the destination card is exactly ONE RANK HIGHER than the card you are moving. Suit does not matter for basic moves.
However — and this is critical — you can only move a GROUP of cards together if they are ALL THE SAME SUIT in consecutive order. Mixed-suit sequences can be moved one card at a time only.
- A Black 7 can be placed on either a Red 8 or a Black 8.
- But a sequence of Red 6, Red 5, Red 4 can be moved together only onto a Red 7 (same-suit sequence). If it is a mixed sequence like Red 6, Black 5, Red 4, each card must be moved individually.
Uncovering Face-Down Cards
When you move all face-up cards from a column, the face-down card beneath is flipped up. This is how you access buried cards.
Empty Columns
If you clear an entire column, that empty space can receive any card or any sequence. Empty columns are extremely valuable — they give you temporary storage and allow you to reorganize.
Dealing From the Stock
When you run out of useful moves, deal from the stock by flipping one card face-up onto each of the 10 columns simultaneously. You cannot deal from the stock if any column is empty — you must fill empty columns before dealing.
Winning
Remove all eight sequences from the tableau. You win!
Tips for New Players
- In four-suit Spider, prioritize same-suit moves at all times — mixed sequences are nearly useless because they cannot be moved as groups.
- Create empty columns and protect them — they are your most powerful resource for reorganizing the tableau.
- Avoid dealing from the stock unless absolutely necessary — every deal buries your current progress under new cards.