Spider Solitaire

Spider is the long-game solitaire: two full decks, ten columns, and a goal that sounds simple. Build complete runs from King down to Ace in a single suit. Every finished run lifts off the table on its own, and when all eight are gone, you have won.

How to play

• The game starts with 54 cards in ten columns, only the top card of each face up. The other 50 cards wait in the stock in the top right, enough for five more deals.
• You can put any card on a card one rank higher, whatever its suit: a 7 of hearts on an 8 of spades is fine.
• To move several cards at once, they must be a run in the same suit, like 9♠ 8♠ 7♠. Mixed-suit stacks have to be taken apart one card at a time.
• Any card or same-suit run can go into an empty column.
• Tap the stock (or the Deal button) to deal one new card onto every column. You can only deal when no column is empty, so fill gaps first.
• Drag cards with your finger or mouse, or tap a card to send it to the best spot, same-suit homes first.

Choosing a difficulty

With one suit every card is a spade, so any stack you build is already a run: a good way to learn. Two suits (spades and hearts) makes you think about which card to place where. Four suits is the hardest classic solitaire there is, and wins are rare enough to celebrate. Your stats are kept separately for each.

Scoring

You start with 500 points. Every move or deal costs one point, and every finished run earns 100.

Tips

• Turning over face-down cards matters more than anything else, especially in the first two deals.
• When you have a choice, place a card on one of its own suit. Mixed stacks are what get you stuck later.
• An empty column is your most powerful tool. Use it to untangle a mixed stack, then try to empty it again.
• Before dealing a new row, tidy up: the new cards will land on top of everything and bury what is there.
• Undo is unlimited, and each deal gives three free hints, so explore.