How to Play Spider Solitaire: Rules, Suits and Strategy

Spider Solitaire is played with two decks (104 cards) dealt into ten columns. Your goal is to build eight runs from King down to Ace, each in a single suit. You can stack any card on a card one rank higher, whatever the suit, but you can only move a group of cards together when they are all in the same suit. Finished runs leave the table, and you win when all eight are gone.

This guide covers the layout, every rule, how the 1, 2 and 4 suit versions differ, and a worked example of the kind of choice that decides Spider games. You can follow along in Spider Solitaire on Poozee.

The layout

• Ten columns of cards. The first four columns get six cards each and the other six get five, 54 cards in all.
• Only the top card of each column starts face up. The rest are face down.
• The stock holds the other 50 cards. Each deal puts one card face up on every column, so the stock gives you five deals.
• There are no foundations to build on. Completed runs are removed from the table as a set.

The rules

Building on a card

You can put a face-up card on any card one rank higher, and the suit doesn't matter. A 7 of hearts can go on an 8 of spades or on an 8 of hearts. Aces are low, so nothing goes on an Ace, and a King can't go on anything.

Moving several cards at once

You can move a group of cards together only when it is a run in one suit, going down one rank at a time, such as 9♣ 8♣ 7♣. The group moves as a unit onto any card one rank higher than its top card.

A mixed stack is different. If a column ends 9♠ 8♥ 7♥, you can move the 8♥ 7♥ together, because they are both hearts, but you can't move the 9♠ with them. That is the heart of Spider strategy: anything you build out of suit is harder to move later.

Empty columns

When a column is empty, you can move any card or any same-suit run into it. It doesn't have to be a King. Empty columns are the most valuable thing in the game, because they give you somewhere to park cards while you untangle a mixed stack.

Turning over cards

When you move the last face-up card off a column, the card underneath turns face up. Turning over face-down cards is how you make progress: every one you reveal is a new card to play with.

Dealing from the stock

When you run out of useful moves, deal from the stock. A deal puts one new face-up card on every column, including on top of runs you've built. You can only deal when no column is empty, so fill any empty columns first.

Completing a suit

When a column ends in a complete run from King down to Ace in one suit, those thirteen cards are removed from the table. On Poozee it happens automatically, and the card under the run turns over if it was face down.

1 suit, 2 suits or 4 suits

Every version uses 104 cards. The difference is how many suits they come in, and it changes the game completely:

• 1 suit (spades only): every card you build is already in suit, so every run can move as a unit. The game becomes a puzzle about face-down cards and empty columns. This is the best way to learn.
• 2 suits (spades and hearts): now building out of suit has a cost, and you have to choose between a quick move and a clean one. It's a good next step once you know the rules.
• 4 suits (two full decks): the classic hard game. Mixed stacks pile up quickly and you'll lean on empty columns and undo much more.

Worked example: the obvious move isn't always best

Here are four columns from a 4-suit game. Assume the other columns don't offer anything useful, and no other 10 is showing. The last card listed is the one at the bottom of the column, where you can play it.

The move that jumps out is 9♥ onto 10♠: it turns over column B's face-down card right away. But look at what it leaves behind. Column A's 9♠ still needs a 10, and the only 10 is now covered, so column A's face-down card stays buried. Column D becomes a mixed stack starting 10♠ 9♥.

The better line takes two moves:

1. Move 8♥ 7♥ onto the 9♥. They could also go on the 9♣, but the 9♥ keeps them in suit. Column B now holds 9♥ 8♥ 7♥, all hearts.
2. Move the 9♠ onto the 10♠. That turns over column A's face-down card.

You turn over one card either way, but now you have two runs in suit, 10♠ 9♠ and 9♥ 8♥ 7♥, and each can move as a unit later. Neither run blocks the other.

We set up this exact position in Poozee's Spider engine to check it. The whole 9♠ 8♥ 7♥ stack can't move onto the 10♠, because it isn't one suit, and Poozee's Hint button suggests this two-move line (8♥ 7♥ onto 9♥ first), since its hints look one move ahead.

Strategy that wins more games

1. Turn over face-down cards first. Hidden cards are the real enemy. When you have a choice, pick the move that reveals a card.
2. Build in suit whenever you can. If a 7♥ could go on 8♥ or 8♠, choose the 8♥. On Poozee, tapping a card picks the same-suit spot first for exactly this reason.
3. Empty a column early, and use it as a workspace instead of filling it for good. It is the only way to take a mixed stack apart and rebuild it in suit.
4. Be careful with Kings in empty columns. A King can never go on another card, so once it fills a column it usually stays there. Put one there when you plan to build its run on it.
5. Tidy up before you deal. A deal covers every column. Before you deal, make every move that turns over a card or puts cards back in suit, so there is less to dig out afterwards.
6. Use undo to explore. With 104 cards and so much hidden, trying a line and taking it back is how to find the good ones, especially at 4 suits.

Common mistakes

• Dealing too early. The stock feels like a fresh start, but each deal buries ten cards. Deal only when nothing useful is left.
• Building out of suit just because you can. Every off-suit card makes that stack harder to move. Do it when it turns over a card or frees a column, not just to tidy up.
• Filling an empty column with a single low card. It makes you lose your best space for very little. If you have to fill a column to deal, use the highest card you can.

Keep playing

Try it now in Spider Solitaire, starting with 1 suit. When you're ready for 2 and 4 suits, our Spider Solitaire strategy guide shows how to use empty columns to untangle mixed stacks. If you'd rather play a solitaire where every card is face up from the start, try FreeCell and our FreeCell strategy guide. For the classic game with a single deck, read how to play Solitaire.