How to Play Spider Solitaire

The deck and ten columns

Spider uses 104 cards. The first four columns start with six cards each and the remaining six columns with five each. Only the last card in each column begins face up. The other 50 cards wait in the stock as five deals of ten.

One-suit mode uses only spades. Two-suit mode uses spades and hearts. Four-suit mode uses all four suits. Every mode contains the same number of cards and follows the same movement rules; more suits make it harder to assemble sequences that move together.

Place a card on the next higher rank

A card can be placed on a face-up card one rank higher, regardless of suit or color. A seven of hearts may go on an eight of spades. This is legal, but it creates a mixed-suit run that cannot necessarily be moved as one unit later.

An empty column may accept any face-up card or movable sequence. Spider does not have Klondike’s king-only restriction. Empty columns are therefore valuable temporary working spaces.

Move whole sequences only when suits match

To move several cards together, they must descend one rank at a time in the same suit. A nine, eight, and seven of spades can move as a unit. A nine of spades followed by an eight of hearts cannot, even though placing the eight there was legal.

Select the first card in a same-suit run, then select the destination column. Dragging works as an alternative. When you uncover a face-down card, it turns face up automatically.

1. Find a face-up descending sequence in one suit.
2. Select its highest card.
3. Move it onto the next higher rank, or into an empty column.
4. Watch for a newly exposed card or a complete run.

Deal a new row only when every column is filled

Selecting the stock adds one face-up card to each of the ten columns. In this implementation, you cannot deal while any column is empty. Fill the empty columns with cards or valid sequences before using the stock.

A new row can create moves but also covers useful sequence ends. Before dealing, make the reorganizations you can already see. There are five stock deals, and the stock cannot be recycled once those cards are gone.

Complete a run and win

A complete run contains thirteen cards in the same suit, from king down to ace, all face up and contiguous in one column. It is removed automatically. Partial runs and mixed-suit king-to-ace sequences stay on the board.

The counter shows how many of the eight runs have been completed. You win when all eight are collected. A hint suggests a legal move and favors a same-suit connection where available, but it does not guarantee a winning route.

Choose your starting difficulty

Start with one suit to learn how empty columns, face-down cards, and stock deals interact. Try two suits when you are comfortable splitting and rebuilding sequences. Four suits requires more planning because many rank-valid connections are not movable as a group.

The daily challenge provides a fixed UTC deal for the selected suit mode. Restart repeats your original game, while New game changes the shuffle. Local saves let you return later in the same browser; an account is not required.