Spider Solitaire Rules: Complete Guide

Learn the complete rules of Spider Solitaire. Covers setup, building sequences, dealing from stock, completing King-to-Ace runs, and difficulty levels.

What Is Spider Solitaire?

Spider Solitaire is one of the most popular single-player card games in the world, sitting alongside Klondike and FreeCell as one of the "big three" solitaire variants. The game gets its name from the eight legs of a spider — representing the eight foundation piles you need to complete to win. Spider uses two full decks (104 cards) and is played on a tableau of ten columns.

Spider comes in three difficulty levels based on how many suits are in play: one suit (easiest), two suits, and four suits (hardest). This guide covers the complete rules for all variants, with a focus on the one-suit version that's perfect for beginners.

The Setup

Cards

Spider Solitaire uses 104 cards — two standard 52-card decks shuffled together. In one-suit mode, all 104 cards are spades, which simplifies the game significantly.

Dealing

Cards are dealt into 10 tableau columns:

Columns 1–4 receive 6 cards each
Columns 5–10 receive 5 cards each
Total dealt: 54 cards

Only the top card of each column is dealt face-up. All other cards begin face-down.

The remaining 50 cards form the stock (draw pile), arranged in five groups of 10 cards each.

Key Areas of the Board

Tableau — Ten columns where the main gameplay takes place. Cards overlap vertically, with face-down cards hidden below face-up cards.
Stock — The draw pile containing 50 cards. Clicking the stock deals one card face-up to each of the 10 columns.
Foundations — Completed King-to-Ace sequences are automatically removed here. You need 8 completed foundations to win.

How to Play

Building on the Tableau

You can move a face-up card onto another face-up card that is one rank higher, regardless of suit. For example:

A 9 can be placed on a 10
A Queen can be placed on a King
An Ace can be placed on a 2

In one-suit mode, all cards are the same suit, so suit matching is automatic. In multi-suit modes, you can place any card on a higher-ranked card, but only same-suit sequences can be moved as a group.

Moving Sequences

A group of cards that forms a descending, same-suit sequence can be moved together as a single unit. For example, if you have a 7-6-5-4 of spades in order, you can pick up all four cards and move them onto an 8 of spades.

In one-suit mode, every valid descending sequence is automatically same-suit, making it easier to move large groups of cards.

Empty Columns

When a column becomes empty, any card or valid sequence can be moved there. Empty columns are valuable tools for reorganizing the tableau — think of them as temporary storage for cards and sequences that need to be rearranged.

Revealing Hidden Cards

When you move the last face-up card from a column, the top face-down card is automatically flipped face-up. Revealing hidden cards is one of the primary objectives during gameplay, as it gives you more options and more information.

Dealing from the Stock

When you run out of useful moves, you can deal from the stock pile. Clicking the stock deals one card face-up to each of the 10 columns simultaneously (10 cards total). There are five deals available, using all 50 stock cards.

Important rule: You can only deal from the stock when every column contains at least one card. If any column is empty, you must fill it before dealing. This rule prevents you from ignoring empty columns and forces strategic column management.

Completing Sequences

When a complete sequence of 13 cards from King down to Ace of the same suit forms at the bottom of a column (all face-up), it is automatically removed to the foundations. This is the core objective of Spider Solitaire — you don't manually move cards to the foundations as in Klondike or FreeCell.

A completed sequence looks like: K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A — all of the same suit, all face-up, and all at the bottom of the column.

Winning the Game

You win when all 8 complete sequences (King through Ace) have been removed to the foundations, accounting for all 104 cards. With two decks, there are 8 possible sequences (8 suits × 13 cards = 104 cards total).

Difficulty Levels

One Suit (Beginner)

All 104 cards are spades. Since every card is the same suit, any descending sequence can be moved as a group. This removes the complexity of suit management and lets you focus on the core mechanics. Win rate with good play: approximately 60%.

Two Suits (Intermediate)

Uses 52 spades and 52 hearts (104 cards). You can still place any card on a higher-ranked card, but only same-suit sequences can be moved as a group. This adds a significant layer of strategy as you must keep suit runs together. Win rate: approximately 10%.

Four Suits (Expert)

Uses all four suits (26 cards × 4 suits × 1 deck, doubled = 104 cards). The full complexity of suit management makes this extremely challenging. Win rate with expert play: approximately 1–3%.

Key Differences from Other Solitaire Games

| Feature | Spider | Klondike | FreeCell | |---|---|---|---| | Decks | 2 (104 cards) | 1 (52 cards) | 1 (52 cards) | | Columns | 10 | 7 | 8 | | Hidden cards | Yes | Yes | None | | Free cells / waste | Stock pile (5 deals) | Stock + waste | 4 free cells | | Foundation building | Automatic (K-to-A) | Manual (A-to-K) | Manual (A-to-K) | | Empty column rule | Any card | Kings only | Any card | | Win rate (1-suit) | ~60% | ~25–30% | ~99.99% |

Variations

Spiderette — A single-deck version played on 7 columns instead of 10
Relaxed Spider — More lenient rules about which sequences can be moved
Spider Two Deck — The standard game as described in this guide
Simple Simon — A single-deck variant where all cards are dealt face-up

Quick Reference

Decks: 2 standard decks (104 cards)
Players: 1
Columns: 10 (first 4 get 6 cards, last 6 get 5 cards)
Stock: 50 cards, dealt 10 at a time
Tableau rule: Descending rank; same-suit sequences move as a group
Foundation rule: K-to-A same-suit sequences auto-removed
Empty column: Any card or sequence may be placed
Deal restriction: All columns must be non-empty to deal
Goal: Complete 8 King-to-Ace sequences (remove all 104 cards)

Ready to Play?

Now that you know the rules, give it a try. Play Spider Solitaire right here in your browser — no download required.