How to Play Spider Solitaire

Playin card setup for spider solitaire over green felt

Here's an illustrated guide to playing Spider Solitaire

What is the goal of Spider Solitaire?

Spider Solitaire is a bit more challenging than the more popular Klondike, but with a similar goal of clearing the cards from the tableau and placing them into the foundation. Here are the main differences:

Played with 2, 4 or 8 Real Decks of Cards Depending on Number of Suits
104 Cards Total to Play
8 Foundation Piles, Compared to Klondike’s 4
10 Tableau Piles Compared to Klondike’s 7
Can be played with 1 Suit (Easy), 2 Suits (Intermediate) or 4 Suits (Hard)

The game is won when you successfully arrange all the cards into the 8 foundation piles in descending order from King to Ace.

Here's a look at the different elements that make up spider solitaire.

Spider Solitaire Setup

The game varies based on the number of suits:

1-Suit Spider Solitaire: Uses only one suit (usually Spades), where the goal is to form eight King-to-Ace sequences of the same suit, offering a simpler gameplay.
2-Suit Spider Solitaire: Incorporates two suits (Spades and Hearts), challenging players to build four King-to-Ace sequences for each suit, adding complexity to the game.
4-Suit Spider Solitaire: Involves all four suits, requiring players to create two King-to-Ace sequences per suit, making it the most challenging version, demanding strategic play and careful management of all four suits.

Remember, if you are using a real deck of cards you will need 2 decks for 4-suit play, 4 decks for 2-suit and 8 decks for 1-suit.

Spider solitaire terminology like stock pile, foundation and tableau

Cards can be moved between columns in descending order.
Any descending sequence can be moved, regardless of suit, since all cards belong to the same suit.
If a card or sequence is moved out of a column leaving a face-down card, that card can then be turned over.
Unlike Klondike Solitaire, you can move any card or sequence into a vacant column of the tableau.

Spider Solitaire Gameplay

1-Suit Play

Once you run out of moves to be made in the tableau you can then place 1 card face-up from the stock pile into each of the 10 tableau columns.
You cannot have an empty column when dealing from the stock pile. Make sure to move a card or sequence of cards before dealing out new cards from the stock pile.

dealing cards from the stock pile when out of moves

Moving Cards in 1-Suit Spider Solitaire

Building Sequences in 1-Suit Spider Solitaire

The objective is to create complete sequences from King to Ace within the tableau.

Since all cards are of the same suit, any descending sequence forms a valid sequence.
Once you make a sequence of a King to Ace you can then move that sequence to one of the foundation piles.

Out of Moves

The game is won when all the cards are placed into the 8 foundation piles as shown below.

Winning in Spider Solitaire

Spider Solitaire comes in three main variations, each with a different level of difficulty:

a. One-suit Spider Solitaire: This is the easiest version, with the highest chance of winning. b. Two-suit Spider Solitaire: A moderate level of difficulty. c. Four-suit Spider Solitaire: The most challenging variation, requiring advanced skills and strategies.

Solitaire, as they can be used to temporarily store cards while rearranging the tableau. Be strategic when using empty columns, as they can help you reveal more cards and create new moves.

Tips & Tricks

Understanding the Game Variations

Take a moment to study the initial card layout before making your first move. Identify potential sequences and plan your moves accordingly. This will help you avoid getting stuck later in the game.

Analyze the Initial Deal

Always prioritize building descending sequences of cards in the tableau, starting with the King and ending with the Ace. Once a complete sequence (King to Ace) is formed, it will automatically be removed from the tableau, freeing up space and allowing you to uncover more cards.

Build Sequences in Descending Order

Empty columns are valuable in Spider Solitaire, as they can be used to temporarily store cards while rearranging the tableau. Be strategic when using empty columns, as they can help you reveal more cards and create new moves.

Spider Solitaire allows you to move cards between columns, even if they don't form a complete sequence. Use this to your advantage to reveal more cards and create new opportunities.

Use Empty Columns Wisely

Spider Solitaire is a game of patience and strategy. Don't rush your moves, as you may miss out on better options. Take your time to analyze the current situation and plan your moves accordingly.

stacks into the vacated pile. This will help you to reveal previously "trapped" cards and create new moves, increasing your chances of winning the game.

Don't Be Afraid to Move Cards Between Columns

Since only the up-facing cards can be moved around the tableau you should look to expose and then turn over the face-down cards as soon as possible to allow for move move options.

Have Patience

Since dealing a new set of 10 cards to the tableau makes it more difficult to make moves you should make sure to make all the possible moves you can before doing so.

Expose Face-Down Cards Quickly

Since any card can be moved into an empty column you can use this to your advantage by temporary moving cards there to allow you to make other moves. Think outside the box.

Exhaust All Possible Moves Before Dealing

When playing Spider Solitaire, it's important to prioritize moves that involve stacking cards of the same suit. This is because the ultimate goal of the game is to clear the tableau by moving complete, single-suit stacks to the foundation pile. By focusing on suit-based moves, you can avoid "trapping" useful cards, which would prevent them from being moved or accessed later in the game.

Use Empty Columns to Your Advantage

In Spider Solitaire, building stacks of cards in the same suit is essential for moving them later in the game. To avoid "trapping" cards, it's helpful to prioritize building on higher-value cards of different suits first. This way, you minimize the number of cards that become inaccessible and increase your chances of creating movable stacks in the future.

2 & 4 Suit Specific Tips

Prioritize Suit-Based Moves

Once you have moved a completed stack to the foundation pile, take a moment to examine the remaining cards on the tableau. Look for opportunities to utilize the extra space by moving smaller stacks into the vacated pile. This will help you to reveal previously "trapped" cards and create new moves, increasing your chances of winning the game.

Prioritize Building on High-Value Cards

Keep Re-arranging

The more you play Spider Solitaire, the better you'll become at identifying patterns, planning your moves, and implementing strategies. Don't be discouraged by losses; instead, use them as learning opportunities to improve your skills.

Practice Makes Perfect

While there is no guaranteed way to win every game of Spider Solitaire, following the tips and strategies outlined in this guide will significantly improve your chances of victory. Remember to be patient, analyze the game situations, and always be open to learning from your mistakes. Happy gaming!

Conclusion

In Spider Solitaire, your skill and efficiency are rewarded with points, while certain actions may reduce your score. Although relegated to digital versions here's how scoring works:

Revealing Down Cards: Each time you turn over a face-down card in the tableau, you earn +10 points.
Completing Foundations: Successfully moving a complete run from King to Ace to the foundations nets you +130 points.
Using Undo: Each use of the Undo function costs -5 points. Undoing a move that involved dealing from the stock is penalized more heavily, with -100 points.
Time and Moves Bonus: The game rewards efficiency in both time and moves. The time bonus is calculated as 1,000,000 divided by the seconds taken to complete the game. The moves bonus is based on the number of moves you make compared to the minimum and average moves required for the specific game type.
Hints: Using hints does not affect your score.
Difficulty Level: Bonus points are scaled according to the game's difficulty level, with 1-Suit Spider Solitaire being the easiest and 4-Suit the hardest.

The scoring system in Spider Solitaire incentivizes quick thinking, strategic planning, and efficient play, especially in higher difficulty levels.

Scoring

Cards can be moved between columns in descending order, but the difference here is they must be of the same suit to move as a group.
You can move a Heart on top of a Spade but you cannot move them as a group to another column.
For instance, if you have a 7 of Hearts on top of an 8 of Hearts and they both sit over a Spade card or sequence, you can move the Hearts as a group, leaving the Spade sequence behind.
If a card or sequence is moved out of a column leaving a face-down card, that card can then be turned over.
Any card or sequence can be moved into a vacant column of the tableau.

2-Suit Play

Players aim to create suit-specific sequences from King to Ace within the tableau.
Sequences of alternating suits can be made but not moved together.
Two suits requires a lot more strategic maneuvering.

Dealing cards from the stock pile is exactly the same regardless the number of suits. See 1-Suit Play for details and illustration.

Moving Cards in 2-Suit Spider Solitaire

Building Sequences in 2-Suit Spider Solitaire

Out of Moves

The odds of winning Spider Solitaire can fluctuate significantly, influenced by factors such as the number of suits used, the card layout, and the player's skill level.

Single-Suit Game: In the easiest version with just Spades, the odds of winning are high. An experienced player can win over 80% of single-suit games.

Two-Suit Game: Using Spades and Hearts, the game gets more challenging, and average win rates decrease. Even skilled players might only win about 30-40% of two-suit games.

Four-Suit Game: The standard version with all four suits is the toughest. Average players might win less than 5% of the time, while skilled players might not exceed 10-15%.

These percentages are approximate and can be impacted by the player's strategy and experience. Spider Solitaire is a game of skill, and win rates can improve with practice and better understanding of the game's strategies.

Odds of Winning

The inventor of Spider Solitaire is actually a bit of a mystery, much like the origin of the universe itself. Some say it was created by a secret society of card-playing monks, while others believe it was the result of a freak accident involving a radioactive spider and a deck of cards.

In all seriousness, the name "Spider Solitaire" was first mentioned in a 1917 book containing rules for various card games. However, it gained immense popularity and worldwide recognition when Microsoft began including it in their operating systems. The game made its debut in the Windows 98 Plus games and has remained a consistent feature in later versions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Invented Spider Solitaire?

Why am I unable to deal new cards from the stock?

In Spider Solitaire, dealing new cards from the stock comes with a crucial condition: every one of the 10 tableau columns needs to hold at least one card. If any column is empty, dealing from the stock is not possible. To resolve this, simply place a card in any empty column, and you'll be able to deal new cards from the stock once again.

Similar to the 2-suit version, cards must be in descending order and of the same suit to move as a group.
Mixed-suit sequences cannot be moved together, requiring very careful planning to form suit-specific sequences.
If a card or sequence is moved out of a column leaving a face-down card, that card can then be turned over.
Any card or sequence can be moved into a vacant column of the tableau.

4-Suit Play

The goal is to build suit-specific sequences from King to Ace for all four suits.
This version demands more strategic play to manage and build sequences for four different suits and is suited best for experts.

Dealing cards from the stock pile is exactly the same regardless the number of suits. See 1-Suit Play for details and illustration.