Spider Solitaire
The two-pack patience made famous by Windows: build runs from king down to ace in one suit to clear them — with one, two or four suits.
At a glance
- Two packs, 104 cards: 54 dealt into ten columns (six cards in the first four, five in the rest), and 50 in the stock, dealt ten at a time — one on each column — when no column is empty.
- Put any card on one a rank higher, but only a run of one suit moves as a group. A complete run from king to ace in one suit leaves the table by itself; clear all eight to win.
- Choose 1 suit (all spades — most games can be won), 2 suits (spades and hearts) or 4 suits, the classic, where good players win about one game in three.
- Windows scoring: start at 500, lose a point for every move (and every undo), and gain 100 for each completed suit.
- Tap a card to move it and the cards on it, or drag; hints point to the most useful move; undo has no limit. Long columns squeeze to fit the screen.
- Spider came to Windows in Microsoft Plus! 98. Stats by difficulty, shareable deals and your game in progress are kept on this device — free, no sign-up.
Step by step
How to play Spider Solitaire
- 1
Build down
Move a face-up card onto any card one rank higher — a 6 on any 7. Kings can only go into an empty column.
- 2
Keep runs in one suit
A run of one suit (say 9-8-7 of hearts) can be moved together; mixed-suit runs can only be moved a card at a time.
- 3
Turn up hidden cards
When you move the face-up cards off a column, the card below turns over. Empty columns accept any card or run.
- 4
Deal when stuck
Tap the stock to deal one card onto every column. You can’t deal while a column is empty.
- 5
Clear the suits
A full run from king to ace in one suit is removed automatically. Remove all eight to win.
Features
Everything you need, nothing you don’t
One, two or four suits
Start with all spades, step up to two suits, and take on the classic four-suit game when you’re ready.
Smart tap to move
Tap a card and it goes to the best place — onto its own suit if it can.
Hints that skip the pointless
Hints prefer building in suit and turning cards up, and never suggest shuffling a run back and forth.
Undo all the way
Step back as far as you like (each undo costs a point, as in Windows).
Fits any screen
Ten columns on a phone, with long columns squeezed to stay in view.
Stats and streaks
Win rate, best score, fastest win and streaks, kept separately for each difficulty.
Difficulty levels
| Suits | Cards | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 suit | 8 × spades | Every card can join any run — the gentle way to learn. |
| 2 suits | 4 × spades, 4 × hearts | Runs of two suits block each other; planning matters. |
| 4 suits | 2 × each suit | The classic and toughest game: roughly one in three is won with good play. |
Spider Solitaire tips
- Turn up face-down cards as early as you can — especially in the columns with the most of them.
- Build in suit whenever you can. A same-suit run can move as one; a mixed run is stuck.
- Empty a column and keep it for a while: it is the most powerful space on the table.
- Put cards on kings and high cards before low ones, so runs have room to grow.
- Before dealing, tidy up — a new row covers every column, so fix what you can first.
About Spider
Spider is a two-pack patience in which the ten columns are built down by rank and cleared one complete suit at a time. Microsoft added Spider Solitaire to Windows in the Microsoft Plus! 98 pack with one-, two- and four-suit versions; an earlier Windows 3.x version was written in 1991 by John A. Junod. Hoyle’s Rules of Games puts the chance of winning the classic game with good play at about one in three.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Spider Solitaire?
Which is easiest: 1, 2 or 4 suits?
Why can’t I deal new cards?
How is the score worked out?
Can every game be won?
Does it save my game?
Keep going
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