Play Spider Solitaire — 10 Columns, King-to-Ace Runs
Spider is a two-deck solitaire played across ten tableau columns. The goal is to build eight complete King-to-Ace runs in the same suit; each completed run lifts off the board and goes to the foundations. The game ships in three difficulty levels — 1, 2, and 4 suits — and the difficulty curve is steep. Free in your browser, no sign-up. Works offline once the page has loaded.
How Do You Play Spider?
Goal: Build eight complete King-to-Ace sequences in the same suit. When a sequence is complete, it auto-lifts to the foundation area.
Setup
- Tableau: Ten columns dealt face-down with the top card face-up. The first four columns hold six cards; the last six hold five.
- Stock: 50 cards remain in the stock — five additional deals of ten cards each (one to every column). You cannot deal if any column is empty.
- Foundations: Eight slots, top-right. Filled automatically by completed King-to-Ace runs in the same suit.
Rules
- Build tableau columns down by rank — King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9 ... Ace — regardless of suit. Suit only matters when you move sequences.
- You can move a single card or a properly-ordered sequence of the same suit as a group. Mixed-suit sequences move only one card at a time.
- Any card can fill an empty column.
- Complete King-to-Ace runs in the same suit lift to the foundations automatically.
- Click the stock to deal one card to every column. The stock cannot deal if any column is empty.
1, 2, or 4 Suits — How They Differ
The deck is always two decks (104 cards). What changes is how many suits the cards span. Same rules apply across all three.
| Mode | Suits in play | Practical win rate | Recommended for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Suit | Spades only (×2 decks) | ~95% with care | Learning the rules |
| 2 Suits | Spades + Hearts (×2) | ~30–40% with skill | Most players |
| 4 Suits | All four suits (×2) | ~5–15% with skill | The standard challenge |
The 4-suit win-rate range is wide because Spider has no Yan-et-al-style peer-reviewed solvability study (unlike Klondike at ~82%). Estimates come from large-scale play data, which mixes skill levels. Skilled play in 4-suit Spider is generally accepted to win between 5% and 15% of deals.
What's the Best Spider Strategy?
- Empty columns are gold. They let you reorganise long mixed-suit groups into clean same-suit sequences. Every empty column you can hold open extends what you can move.
- Expose face-down cards before forcing a deal. Each face-down card flipped is information you didn't have. Once the stock is dealt, your options narrow sharply.
- Don't deal until you've worked through the position. Dealing covers up your work; once cards land on top, the sequences underneath are harder to reach.
- Build same-suit when you have the choice. Mixed-suit columns look fine but cost you mobility — you can only move the top card from a mixed group.
- Save Aces for last. Aces close out a sequence. Until you have everything else lined up beneath them, an Ace stuck mid-column is a blocker.
- Plan past the stock. The stock will deal five times. After the fifth deal, you're playing what's on the board. Set up before each deal so the new cards land in useful places.
About This Version
This Spider runs in your browser — free, no download, no sign-up. Pick 1, 2, or 4 suits before you start. Install it as an app on your phone or computer; once installed, it works offline. Unlimited undo, statistics tracked per difficulty, and a daily challenge that gives the same deal to everyone that day so you can compare times.
Other Solitaire Games to Try
- Klondike — the classic Microsoft solitaire
- FreeCell — every card visible; almost every deal winnable
- Spiderette — single-deck Spider on seven columns
- Scorpion — Spider's harder cousin; no stock pile
- Yukon — all cards face-up in seven columns