Playable Solitaire variant
Spider Solitaire
- Objective
- Clear all eight King-to-Ace same-suit runs from the tableau.
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Win rate
- Roughly 1 in 3 four-suit games are winnable with strong play; one-suit Spider clears above 80%.
How to play Spider Solitaire
Two standard 52-card decks (104 cards). Ten tableau columns are dealt face-down with the bottom card flipped face-up — the first four columns hold six cards each and the remaining six columns hold five cards each. The fifty leftover cards form the stock and are dealt in five rounds of ten cards across the columns.
- Move any face-up card or properly ordered same-suit descending sequence onto a column whose top card is exactly one rank higher.
- A King can be moved onto any empty column.
- Once a complete King-to-Ace run of one suit forms in a column, it is removed from play to the side and counts as one of the eight completed sets.
- Tap the stock to deal one new card to every column — but only when every column has at least one card.
- Hidden tableau cards flip face-up automatically when they become the top card of their column.
Objective and winning
Clear all eight King-to-Ace same-suit runs from the tableau.
A clean Spider clear typically takes 250–400 moves. Players who finish under 200 moves are usually working from a deal that allowed early empty columns. Use undo to test branching decisions before committing to a sequence.
Scoring on vSolitaire
vSolitaire awards +1 for every valid move, +100 for each completed K-A suit run, and -1 for every stock deal. A win bonus of +100 is added the moment the eighth run clears, so faster, cleaner games consistently outscore drawn-out grinds.
Strategy tips
- Build same-suit runs whenever you have the choice — mixed-suit stacks have to be unpacked again before they can clear.
- Empty a column early. Empty columns are the most valuable resource in Spider because any sequence can park there.
- Reveal hidden cards before chasing long sequences. A buried Ace is worth more than a tidy three-card run on top.
- Delay the next stock deal until you have made every move available. Each deal locks in ten new face-up cards and removes optionality.
- Track the suit you are short on. If only one suit has zero foundation potential, prioritize stacks of that suit before clearing the easier ones.
Common mistakes
- Stacking mixed suits "just to move" — every off-suit move adds an unpacking step later.
- Dealing the stock too early while empty columns or face-down cards still exist.
- Completing a suit run that buries a more useful column underneath it.
Difficulty and odds
Two-deck Spider is one of the hardest mainstream Solitaire variants. Studied win rates for the four-suit version sit around 25–30% with optimal play and below 10% for casual play.
Origin and history
Spider was first described in print in 1949 by Albert Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith, who praised it as "the king of all solitaires." It became a worldwide household game when Microsoft bundled it with Windows ME in 2000, where its one-suit, two-suit, and four-suit difficulty modes introduced millions of players to the game.
Spider Solitaire in multiplayer
Spider works best as a same-deal score race rather than a turn-based match. Two players solve the identical shuffle and compare completed runs, time, and final score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Spider Solitaire always winnable?
No. Even with one suit, some Spider deals are unwinnable from the opening cards. Four-suit Spider is unwinnable in a sizeable fraction of deals; estimated solvability sits around one in three with strong play.
Can I undo in Spider Solitaire?
Yes. vSolitaire supports unlimited undo within a single game, which is the simplest way to test whether a planned sequence actually clears a column.
What is the difference between one-suit and four-suit Spider?
One-suit Spider uses 104 cards of a single suit and is the easiest version. Four-suit Spider uses two full decks across all four suits and is significantly harder because cross-suit stacks must be unpacked before runs can clear.
How long does a Spider game take?
A typical four-suit Spider game runs about 8–15 minutes. Quick clears under 5 minutes happen when an early empty column appears in the first stock cycle.