How to Play Spider Solitaire

Getting Started with Spider Solitaire

Spider Solitaire is one of the most satisfying card games you can play on your own. It uses two decks of cards, a ten-column tableau, and a simple goal: build complete sequences from King down to Ace. This step-by-step guide walks you through everything you need to play your first game — no experience required.

What You Need

Two standard 52-card decks (104 cards total). Playing online is the easiest way to start — the game handles the dealing, enforces the rules, and automatically removes completed sequences for you.

If you're new to Spider, start with one-suit mode (all spades). This lets you focus on the core mechanics without worrying about suit matching.

Step 1: Understand the Layout

A Spider Solitaire board has three areas:

1. Tableau — Ten columns of cards in the center. The first four columns have 6 cards and the last six have 5 cards. Only the top card of each column is face-up; the rest are face-down and hidden.
2. Stock — A draw pile in the corner containing 50 cards. You can deal from it when you run out of moves.
3. Foundations — Where completed King-to-Ace sequences go. In Spider, these fill automatically — you don't drag cards to the foundation manually.

Step 2: Learn the Basic Moves

You can move any face-up card onto another face-up card that is one rank higher. For example:

• A 5 can go on a 6
• A Jack can go on a Queen
• An Ace can go on a 2

In one-suit mode, all cards are spades, so you never have to worry about suit matching. Just focus on descending rank order.

Moving Multiple Cards

If you have a group of cards in descending order and the same suit, you can pick them all up and move them together. For example, a run of 8-7-6-5 can be moved as one unit onto a 9.

This is a key advantage of one-suit mode: since every card is the same suit, any ordered descending group can always be moved together.

Empty Columns

When you clear all cards from a column, it becomes empty. You can place any card or sequence on an empty column. Empty columns are extremely useful for temporarily storing cards while you reorganize.

Step 3: Reveal Hidden Cards

One of your main goals during play is to flip over face-down cards. Each time you move the last face-up card from a column, the next card is automatically turned face-up, giving you a new card to work with.

Why is this important? You can't plan moves around cards you can't see. The more cards you reveal, the more options you have for building sequences.

Step 4: Complete Sequences

Here's the satisfying part: when you build a complete run of 13 cards from King down to Ace — all the same suit — at the bottom of a column, the entire sequence is automatically removed to the foundations. This clears 13 cards from the board in one dramatic move.

You need to complete 8 sequences total to win the game (two decks × four suits = 8 Kings and 8 Aces).

In one-suit mode, your goal is simply to create 8 ordered runs of K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-A.

Step 5: Deal from the Stock

When you can't make any more useful moves, click the stock pile to deal. This places one new face-up card on top of each of the 10 columns simultaneously.

There's one important restriction: every column must have at least one card before you can deal. If any column is empty, you must place a card there first.

Dealing adds complexity to the board, so try to organize your tableau as much as possible before dealing. There are 5 deals available (50 cards ÷ 10 = 5 rounds), and once the stock is empty, you're on your own.

Step 6: Keep Playing Until You Win (or Get Stuck)

Continue moving cards, revealing hidden cards, completing sequences, and dealing from the stock. The game ends when:

• You win — all 8 King-to-Ace sequences have been completed and removed
• You're stuck — no more moves are available and the stock is empty

Don't be discouraged if you don't win your first few games. Spider Solitaire has a win rate of roughly 60% in one-suit mode, so even experienced players lose about 4 out of 10 games.

Beginner Tips

• Focus on uncovering face-down cards — The more cards you can see, the better your decisions will be
• Keep columns organized — Try to build long descending runs rather than scattering cards across many columns
• Use empty columns wisely — Don't fill them immediately; they're valuable temporary storage
• Don't deal too early — Dealing adds 10 cards to the board, so make sure you've exhausted your current options first
• Build from Kings — When an empty column opens up, placing a King there starts a column that can receive any lower card
• Use undo freely — There's no penalty for undoing moves, and it's a great way to explore different strategies

Common Mistakes

• Dealing too quickly — Each deal adds complexity. Exhaust your tableau moves first.
• Ignoring empty columns — Empty columns are your most powerful tool. Don't waste them.
• Building short scattered runs — It's better to have one long run (K-Q-J-10-9) than three short ones spread across different columns.
• Forgetting the deal restriction — You can't deal if any column is empty, so plan ahead.
• Not undoing failed moves — If a move doesn't improve your position, take it back.

A Quick Example

Imagine column 3 has a face-down card with a 7 on top, and column 6 has a 9-8 sequence. You could:

1. Move the 7 from column 3 onto the 8 in column 6 (creating 9-8-7)
2. The face-down card in column 3 flips face-up, revealing a new card
3. Now you have a longer sequence in column 6 and more information about column 3

This simple two-step process — move a card to extend a run, reveal a hidden card — is the fundamental rhythm of Spider Solitaire.

Further Reading

• Spider Solitaire Rules — the complete rulebook with all difficulty levels and variations
• Spider Solitaire Strategy — advanced techniques for winning more games
• Solitaire Rules — how the classic Klondike version compares

Your First Game

Ready to try it? Play Spider Solitaire online for free — no account or download needed. Start with one-suit mode, take your time, and enjoy building those satisfying King-to-Ace sequences.