Play Spiderette — Single-Deck Spider on Seven Columns

Spiderette is the single-deck cousin of Spider Solitaire, played on seven tableau columns instead of ten. The rules are otherwise identical: build columns down regardless of suit, but only same-suit Ace-to-King sequences clear to the foundation. The smaller deck and shorter board make Spiderette faster and noticeably easier than full Spider — a good entry point for players moving from Klondike. Free in your browser, no sign-up. Works offline once the page has loaded.

How Do You Play Spiderette?

Goal: build four complete King-to-Ace same-suit sequences. Each completed sequence flies to the foundation automatically.

Setup

• Tableau: seven columns dealt 1, 2, 3 ... 7 cards (28 cards total). Only the top card of each column is face-up.
• Stock: the remaining 24 cards face-down. Click to deal one card to each column. You can do this three times in our version (the standard ruleset varies between two and three deals).
• Foundations: four spaces, top right. Filled automatically by completed King-to-Ace same-suit sequences.

Rules

• Build tableau columns down by rank — King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9 ... Ace — regardless of suit.
• You can move a single card or a properly ordered same-suit sequence as a group. Mixed-suit sequences move one card at a time.
• Any card can fill an empty tableau column. (Unlike Klondike, no King requirement.)
• Complete same-suit King-to-Ace sequences fly to the foundations automatically.
• Click the stock to deal one card to each column. The stock won't deal if any column is empty — fill all columns before dealing.

Spiderette vs Spider

Same rules, smaller scale.

Spiderette is closer in difficulty to Spider 2-suit than to Spider 4-suit. The single deck means each rank has only four copies (not eight), which makes finding the right card much more predictable.

What's the Best Spiderette Strategy?

• Empty columns are gold. They let you reorganize long mixed groups into clean same-suit columns. Every empty column you keep open expands what you can move.
• Expose face-down cards before forcing a deal. Each face-down card you flip is information you didn't have. Once the stock deals, your options shrink sharply.
• Don't deal until you've worked the position. Dealing covers your work; once cards land on top, the sequences underneath are harder to reach.
• Build in one suit when you have the choice. Mixed-suit columns look fine but cost mobility — from a mixed group, you can only move the top card.
• Save Aces for last. Aces close a sequence. Until everything beneath is in place, an Ace stranded mid-column is a blockade.
• Plan beyond the stock. The stock deals three times. After the third deal you play with what's on the table. Set up before each deal so the new cards land in useful places.

A Short History

Spiderette appeared in patience anthologies in the mid-20th century as a single-deck adaptation of Spider for players who didn't have a second deck handy. The name is a diminutive of Spider — same rules, smaller game. It hasn't been included in Microsoft's Solitaire Collection but is common in modern multi-game collections. The 1949 publication of Spider in mainstream patience books predates the Spiderette variant by a decade or so.

About This Version

This Spiderette runs in your browser — free, no download, no sign-up. Install as an app on your phone or computer; once installed it works offline. Unlimited undo, statistics, and a daily challenge that gives every player the same deal that day so you can compare times.

Other Solitaire Games to Try

• Spider — the two-deck original on ten columns
• Scorpion — Spider's harder cousin with no stock pile
• Klondike — the seven-column classic with foundations you build manually
• Yukon — seven columns, all face-up, lift-anything moves