How to play Spider Solitaire

Spider Solitaire is played with two decks — 104 cards — dealt across ten tableau columns. The goal is to build eight complete sequences, each running down from king to ace in a single suit. Every time you finish one, it flies off the board on its own. Clear all eight and you win.

The deal gives the first four columns six cards and the rest five, but only the bottom card of each column starts face-up. Build downward on the tableau — any card goes on a card one rank higher, regardless of suit, so a 9 of any suit can sit on any 10. An empty column accepts any card or run.

The catch is in what you can pick up. You can only lift a group of cards when they form a same-suit descending run — 9-8-7 of spades moves as one, but 9♠-8♥ does not. Mixing suits is how you build; matching suits is how you move.

Choosing a difficulty

The number of suits is the whole difficulty curve — the deck is always 104 cards:

1 Suit — every card is a spade. The friendliest way in: any descending run is automatically the same suit, so long stacks move freely. Great for learning the flow.
2 Suits — spades and hearts. You have to keep the two suits sorted to move runs, the classic middle ground.
4 Suits — the full deck and the real challenge. Untangling four intermixed suits takes planning and a healthy dose of undo.

Your fastest time and fewest moves are saved for each difficulty, so every mode keeps its own record to chase.

Controls — drag or tap

Drag and drop — pick up a card or a valid same-suit run and drop it on any column. A teal outline shows when the target will accept the move.
Tap to move — a single tap sends a run to the best legal column, keeping suits together when it can. The quickest way to play on a phone.
Deal — when you’re stuck, the Deal button drops one new card onto every column. You can’t deal while any column is empty, so fill the gaps first.
Undo is unlimited — walk back as many moves as you like to test a line.

Strategy tips

Uncover face-down cards first. Each one you flip opens new options; a board full of hidden cards is a board with no plan.

Keep runs in one suit whenever you can. Placing an 8 of the same suit on a 9 lets you move both later — mixing suits gets a card down now but locks the pair in place.

Guard an empty column. An open column is your most flexible tool: it parks an awkward card, reshuffles a run, or unblocks a suit. Try not to spend the last one right before you need to deal — you can’t deal with any column empty.

Deal only when you’ve made every move you can. Each deal buries the board a little deeper, so squeeze out your ordering moves first, then lean on undo to scout a risky line without losing your progress.