Spider Solitaire

Play Spider Solitaire free online — no download, no sign-up, full screen on any device. Choose 1, 2 or 4 suits, deal from two full decks, and clear all 104 cards by building complete runs from King down to Ace. Hints, unlimited undo and autosave are built in, and every game you start here is free — play as many times as you like.

Contents: What it is · The layout · Rules · 1, 2 and 4 suits · Strategy · Odds · Scoring · Controls · Spider vs. classic solitaire · History · FAQ

What is Spider Solitaire?

Spider Solitaire is a patience game played with two full decks — 104 cards. Your goal is to build eight complete sequences from King down to Ace, each in a single suit. The moment a run is finished it flies off the board, and when all eight are gone, you win. The name comes from those eight required runs: one for each of a spider's eight legs.

Where classic solitaire (Klondike) is mostly decided by the deal, Spider is a genuine strategy game. The same starting position can be won or thrown away depending on the order of your moves, which is why it has kept millions of players busy since Microsoft shipped it with Windows.

The layout

The game begins with 54 cards dealt into 10 columns: six cards in each of the first four columns, five in the remaining six. Only the top card of each column is face up. The other 50 cards wait in the stock at the corner of the board — five future deals of 10 cards each, one card for every column.

Spider Solitaire rules

• Goal: assemble eight runs of King through Ace, each in one suit. Completed runs are removed automatically.
• Moving one card: any face-up card can move onto a card exactly one rank higher, regardless of suit — a 9♠ may sit on a 10♥.
• Moving a group: several cards move together only if they form a descending run of the same suit. A mixed-suit sequence is legal on the board but moves one card at a time.
• Empty columns: any card or movable run may be placed on an empty column. Empty columns are the most valuable resource in the game.
• Revealing cards: when a face-down card becomes the top of its column, it turns face up.
• Dealing: when you are out of useful moves, click the stock to deal 10 new cards, one onto every column. The strict Microsoft rule forbids dealing while a column is empty; this version permits it, but filling empty columns first is almost always the better play, because the deal buries every column under a new card.

1 suit, 2 suits or 4 suits?

Spider is really three games in one, and the suit setting is its difficulty dial:

• 1 suit (easy): all 104 cards are spades. Every descending sequence is automatically same-suit, so whole stacks move freely. The place to learn the rhythm of the game.
• 2 suits (medium): spades and hearts. Now order matters — a red run interrupted by a black card is stuck. This is the version most regulars settle on.
• 4 suits (hard): the full pack. Keeping eight single-suit runs alive through four suits of interference is one of the toughest challenges in any solitaire game.

A sensible path: win a few games at 1 suit, move to 2 suits until you win more than you lose, then treat 4 suits as the long-term project it is.

Strategy: how to win more games

1. Build same-suit whenever the choice exists. Putting the 7♥ on the 8♥ instead of the 8♠ costs nothing now and keeps the stack mobile later.
2. Open empty columns early — and spend them wisely. An empty column is a free parking space that lets you re-sort whole stacks. Emptying the five-card columns is usually fastest.
3. Turn face-down cards over before anything else. Every reveal adds options; a pretty arrangement of face-up cards adds none.
4. Don't build on Kings without a reason. A King can never sit on another card — it leaves its column only for an empty column or as part of a finished run, so stacking cards onto it buries them.
5. Clear before you deal. Each deal drops a card on every column, breaking up runs and covering your work. Make every available move that reveals cards or extends same-suit runs first — and try not to deal onto an empty column.
6. Use undo to scout. Unlimited undo means a dead end is information, not a loss. Try a line, learn what's buried, take it back and play the better order.
7. Break suit on purpose, not by habit. An off-suit move is fine when it frees a reveal or rescues a column — just remember that stack now needs an empty column to untangle.

Can every game be won?

Almost. Computer analyses of Spider deals indicate the overwhelming majority are winnable in principle — at one suit, practically every game can be brought home, and even at four suits most deals can be won — if the winning line can be found. Human results are another matter: experienced players win most of their 1-suit games, roughly half or better at 2 suits, and treat any 4-suit win as an achievement. With unlimited undo those numbers climb steeply — which is exactly why we don't limit it.

Scoring

This site uses the classic Microsoft scoring. You start with 500 points, every move costs 1 point, and each completed run earns 100 points. A win therefore lands around 1,000–1,200 — anything above 1,200 means a remarkably economical game. Your move count and time are tracked alongside, so you can race yourself either way.

Playing on this site

• Move cards by dragging, or simply tap a card and the game plays it to the best legal spot.
• Keyboard: Space deals a new row, H shows a hint, U undoes, F toggles fullscreen.
• Hint glides the suggested card to its target and back, then marks it until you act — easy to follow at a glance.
• Autosave: close the tab mid-game and your position is waiting when you return.
• Works on phones, tablets and desktops alike — nothing to install, nothing to pay, no account.

Spider vs. classic solitaire

Klondike — the classic solitaire — deals one deck, builds foundations by suit from Ace up, and cycles a stock through your hand. Spider deals two decks, builds King-down runs inside the columns themselves, and its stock paves all ten columns at once. Klondike games are quicker and luck plays a bigger role; Spider is longer and deeper, and rewards planning several moves ahead. If you enjoy one, the other is the natural next step.

A short history

Spider appeared in American card-game compendia in the 1930s and ’40s, and Culbertson-era authors already singled it out as a thinking player's patience — it is often mentioned as a favorite of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its modern fame, though, came bundled with Windows: Microsoft included Spider Solitaire from Windows ME and XP onward, and for hundreds of millions of office workers it quietly became the default way to think with their hands. The version you're playing here keeps that classic feel — same rules, same scoring — with no download required.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play Spider Solitaire?

Stack cards in descending order to build runs from King to Ace in the same suit. Any card can rest on a card of any suit one rank higher, but only same-suit sequences move as a group. When no moves remain, deal 10 new cards from the stock. Complete eight full runs to win.

Can you move cards of different suits?

Yes — a single card can land on any card one rank higher, whatever the suit. The catch: a mixed-suit pile moves only one card at a time, while a same-suit run moves as a block. That asymmetry is the heart of Spider strategy.

Why is dealing sometimes blocked in other versions?

The original Microsoft rule blocks dealing while any column is empty. Here the deal is always available, so you're never artificially stuck — but the strict rule contains good advice: fill your empty columns first, or the new row wastes them.

Is every Spider Solitaire game winnable?

Nearly all deals are winnable in theory, but not in practice — at four suits even strong players lose most games played without undo. If a game feels impossible, it probably just needs a different move order; undo is the honest way to find it.

What's a good score?

With classic scoring (500 to start, −1 per move, +100 per run), any win is solid, 1,100+ is strong, and 1,200+ means you finished with very few wasted moves.

Is Spider Solitaire good for your brain?

It's a genuine planning exercise — you weigh move order, track hidden cards and manage scarce resources (those empty columns). No game makes grand health promises worth believing, but as a daily mental stretch, Spider has more to chew on than almost any other solitaire.