How to play Spider Solitaire

What you need

Spider is played with 104 cards, which is two standard packs without jokers. The game can be played with one, two or four suits:

• One suit: all the cards are spades. This is the best way to learn.
• Two suits: spades and hearts.
• Four suits: all four suits, as in normal packs. This is the hardest.

Setting up

Shuffle the cards and deal ten columns:

• The first four columns get 6 cards each.
• The other six columns get 5 cards each.

That is 54 cards. In each column, only the bottom card is face up.

The remaining 50 cards form the stock. They will be dealt out later, ten at a time, in five deals.

Building in the columns

You can move the bottom card of a column onto another column if it is exactly one rank lower than the card it lands on. The suit does not matter. For example, any 6 can go on any 7. Kings are high and Aces are low.

When you move away the last face-up card from a column, turn over the card beneath it.

Moving runs

A run is a group of cards in order, such as 9, 8, 7. You can move a run together only if every card in it is the same suit. If a run is mixed, you can only move the cards from the bottom up to where the suit changes.

This is why it pays to build in the same suit whenever you can, even though you are allowed to mix suits.

Empty columns

When a column is empty, you can put any card or any same-suit run in it. Empty columns are very useful for sorting out mixed runs.

Dealing from the stock

When you have made all the moves you want, deal from the stock. One card is dealt face up onto the bottom of each of the ten columns. In the standard rules, you cannot deal while any column is empty. The only exception is near the end of a game: if fewer than ten cards are left on the table, so the columns cannot all be filled, you may deal anyway.

Completing a suit

When a column holds a complete run of one suit, from King down to Ace, it is removed from the table. Most computer versions do this automatically.

Winning

You win when all eight full runs have been built and removed. If the stock is empty and you cannot make any more useful moves, the game is lost.

Scoring

Computer versions often start you with 500 points, take away 1 point for every move, and add 100 points for every completed suit. You do not need to keep score to enjoy the game.

Tips for beginners

• Start with one suit. It teaches you the game without the frustration.
• Turn over hidden cards. Freeing face-down cards gives you more choices.
• Build in suit when you can. Same-suit runs can be moved; mixed runs get stuck.
• Empty a column, then use it. An empty column lets you untangle mixed runs.
• Make every move before dealing. A new deal covers every column, so tidy up first.