How to Play Spider Solitaire: Rules, Setup and Tips

Learning how to play spider solitaire takes ten minutes, and mastering it can take years. This guide gives the standard spider solitaire rules for the real card game played with two decks, including the exact setup, how moves and deals work, how the scoring in many computer versions is counted, and the one-suit and two-suit versions that make it easier. Spider is a patience game for one player, a calm way to spend a quiet evening, and a step up in challenge from classic solitaire.

Quick rules

• Use two standard decks shuffled together: 104 cards.
• Deal 54 cards into 10 columns. Only the top card of each column is face up. The other 50 cards form the stock.
• Build down in rank, king high to ace low. Any suit may go on any suit.
• You can only move a group of cards together if they are all the same suit and in descending order.
• When stuck, deal 10 more cards from the stock, one face up on each column. You cannot deal while any column is empty.
• A full run of one suit from king down to ace is removed from play.
• Remove all eight runs to win.

What you need

• Two standard 52-card decks without jokers. They can have different backs; it does not matter in spider.
• A large table. Columns can grow long, so leave room below each one.
• One player. Spider is a solo game, though two people can play the same layout and compare results.

How to set up spider solitaire

1. Shuffle both decks together thoroughly.
2. Deal ten columns from left to right in rows. The first four columns get 6 cards each and the last six columns get 5 cards each, for 54 cards in total.
3. Turn the top card of each column face up. All the cards beneath stay face down.
4. Place the remaining 50 cards face down as the stock. They will be dealt out in five rounds of ten.
5. Leave space at the side for completed runs. There is no separate foundation that you build on card by card.

How to play

Moving single cards

1. Any face-up card at the bottom of a column can move onto a card exactly one rank higher at the bottom of another column. For example a 7 can go on any 8, whatever the suits.
2. Nothing can be placed on an ace. A king can only move into an empty column.
3. When a move uncovers a face-down card, turn it face up. It is now in play.

Moving groups of cards

1. A group can be moved as one unit only if every card in it is the same suit and in unbroken descending order, such as the 9, 8 and 7 of hearts.
2. A mixed-suit stack such as 9 of hearts, 8 of spades cannot move together. You can only take the cards from the bottom up to where the suit changes.
3. You may move part of a same-suit run, for example just the 8 and 7 from a 9, 8, 7 of hearts.

Empty columns

1. When a column is emptied, any single card or any valid same-suit run may be moved into it, not just a king.
2. Empty columns are your most powerful tool. Use them to unpack mixed stacks and rebuild them in suit.

Dealing from the stock

1. When you have no useful moves, deal the next ten cards from the stock, one face up on top of each column.
2. All ten columns must have at least one card before you deal. Fill any empty column first.
3. The deal goes on top of whatever is there, even if it breaks up a nice run. That is why you should improve your layout as much as possible before dealing.

Completing a run

When you build a full sequence of thirteen cards of one suit, king down to ace, inside a column, lift the whole run off and set it aside. Most players remove it as soon as it is complete. Turn up the card underneath if it is face down.

Scoring

The physical card game is simply won or lost. Many computer versions use this common scoring system, which you can also use at the table to compare games:

Scoring details differ between versions, so treat this as a guide rather than an official rule.

How to win

You win when all eight complete suit runs have been removed and the table is clear. If the stock is used up and no more moves are possible, the game is lost. Experienced players win most one-suit games, but four-suit games are hard and many deals cannot be solved.

Variations

• One suit (beginner): use 104 cards that are all spades, for example eight sets of the 13 spades taken from eight decks, or simply treat all suits as the same. Every descending stack can move together.
• Two suits (intermediate): use only two suits, such as spades and hearts, four sets of each. Runs must still be one suit to move or be removed.
• Four suits (standard): the full two-deck game described above.
• Spiderette: a one-deck cousin dealt in seven columns like classic solitaire, with the stock dealt seven cards at a time.
• Relaxed rules: some players allow dealing from the stock even with an empty column, or allow unlimited undo. Fine for practice, but it is easier than the standard game.

If you enjoy solving layouts, try FreeCell, where almost every deal can be won with careful planning.

Tips and strategy

• Turn face-down cards over first. Hidden cards are the main obstacle. Prefer moves that reveal a new card.
• Build in suit when you can. If you have the choice of placing a 6 on a matching-suit 7 or a different-suit 7, pick the matching one.
• Empty a column early. Target the column with the fewest cards. An empty column lets you reorganize mixed stacks.
• Do not rush the stock. Make every useful move first, and try to get kings low and runs tidy before each deal.
• Keep high cards at the top. A column that starts with a king is easy to build down from; a low card stuck high in a column blocks everything under it.

Common mistakes

• Trying to move a mixed-suit stack as one group. Only same-suit sequences move together.
• Dealing from the stock while a column is empty, which the standard rules do not allow.
• Thinking only kings can go into empty columns. That rule belongs to classic solitaire, not spider.
• Filling an empty column too quickly with a card that does not need the space.

Prefer games with other people? See our picks of card games for two or browse all card games.