Rules for Spider Solitaire

Spider Solitaire is one of the most popular and demanding solitaire games. It uses two standard decks (104 cards) and takes some patience to get through. The name comes from a spider's eight legs, which refers to the eight sequences you need to complete to win.

The goal is to arrange all cards into eight complete sequences from King down to Ace, all in the same suit. When a sequence is finished, it is automatically removed from the table.

The game starts with 10 columns (tableau piles) in the play area:

• The first 4 columns get 6 cards each
• The last 6 columns get 5 cards each
• Only the top card in each column is face up
• The remaining 50 cards form the stock pile

There is also space for 8 foundation piles at the top, but these only fill up as complete sequences are formed.

Basic rules for moving cards:

• You can place a card on another card that is one rank higher (for example, a Queen on a King)
• Suit does not matter when moving a single card
• To move several cards together, they must all be in the same suit and in descending order
• Face-down cards are automatically flipped when the card on top is moved away
• Empty columns can be filled with any card or sequence

When you run out of moves, you can deal new cards from the stock:

• Click the stock to deal 10 cards, one onto each column
• Important: all columns must have at least one card before you can deal
• You can deal a maximum of 5 times (50 cards in total)
• Keep in mind that new cards can break up sequences you have already built

Spider Solitaire comes in three variants:

• 1 Suit (Easy): All cards count as the same suit. A good starting point for beginners.
• 2 Suits (Medium): Played with two suits, usually red and black.
• 4 Suits (Hard): All four suits are in play. Best suited for experienced players.

The more suits you use, the harder it gets to build sequences you can actually move.

In the most common scoring system (the Microsoft version):

• You start with 500 points
• Each move, including undo, costs 1 point
• Each completed sequence awards 100 points

Example: completing 3 sequences in 70 moves gives you 500 - 70 + (3 x 100) = 730 points.

A few things worth keeping in mind:

• Reveal hidden cards: Turning over face-down cards early gives you more options
• Empty columns: Free columns are very useful for maneuvering cards around
• Build in the same suit: You can stack cards of different suits, but same-suit sequences are the ones that count
• Think ahead: Consider what dealing new cards will do to your current layout before you click
• Start with high cards: Building from Kings and Queens gives you more room to work

Other popular variants of Spider Solitaire:

• Spiderette: Played with one deck and 7 columns, similar to regular solitaire
• Relaxed Spider: Allows dealing even when some columns are empty
• Scorpion: Combines elements from Spider and Yukon
• Simple Simon: A one-deck variant with its own set of rules

How often you can win depends heavily on the difficulty level:

• 1 Suit: Around 50% of games are winnable with solid play
• 2 Suits: Roughly 17% of games can be won
• 4 Suits: Only about 6% of games are winnable

Not every deal can be won, no matter how well you play. Practice helps, and so does patience.