Spider Solitaire

How to play

Cards stack downward by rank regardless of suit, so a nine goes on a ten. A group only moves together when it is already in order and all one suit. Complete a run from king down to ace in a single suit and it lifts off the table, and clearing all eight runs wins. Deal row adds one card to every column, but only when no column is empty. Start on one suit to learn the shape of it, then step up. Undo is unlimited.

Tips

• Empty columns are the whole game. Everything you cannot place has to go somewhere, and only an empty column takes any card.
• Uncover face-down cards before tidying tidy-looking stacks. Hidden cards are the real obstacle.
• Keep runs in one suit where you can. A mixed stack looks neat but cannot be moved as a group.
• Think before dealing a row. It buries every column at once and cannot be undone by tidying.
• On two and four suits, break a same-suit sequence only when it opens a face-down card.

Why Spider is the hard one

Spider Solitaire uses two full decks, 104 cards, dealt into ten columns with most of the cards face down. It became a household name when Microsoft included it with Windows ME in 2000, and it has a reputation as the solitaire that actually takes thought. The reason is the suit rule: cards stack by rank regardless of suit, but a group only moves together when it is already a same suit sequence, so a tidy looking mixed stack is frozen in place.

The suit count is the difficulty setting. One suit means every stack is movable and the game is a gentle puzzle. Two suits introduces frozen stacks. Four suits is the real game, and a large share of four suit deals are unwinnable even with perfect play.

Spider strategy

• Empty columns are the whole game. They are the only place a card can go when nothing else fits, and you should fight to create and keep them.
• Expose face down cards early. Hidden cards are the real obstacle, and a column with none is a column you fully control.
• Build in suit whenever the choice exists. An in suit run moves as a unit; a mixed run does not.
• Delay dealing a row. Each deal buries every column at once, and you cannot deal while any column is empty.
• Break an in suit run only to reach a face down card. Breaking one for any other reason costs mobility you will not get back.

Common questions

How many cards are there?

104, two full decks, dealt as ten columns with 54 cards on the table and 50 in the stock for five later deals.

Why can I not move this group of cards?

A group only moves together when it is a descending sequence of one suit. Mixed suits stack fine but move one card at a time.

Why will it not let me deal?

You cannot deal a new row while any column is empty. Fill every column first.