About the game
Spider Solitaire is the solitaire that rewards planning over luck. Two full decks are dealt into ten columns, and your job is to build complete runs from King down to Ace — then watch each finished run vanish from the table. Clear all eight and you win.
Unlike klondike-style games, every card is revealed from the start, so there's no gambling on an unknown pile — just an honest puzzle of ordering. That makes it the perfect "thinking cap" game: slow, calm, and genuinely satisfying when a run clicks together.
How to play
- Deal into the ten columns. Face-up cards can be moved onto another column if they land on the next-higher rank of the same suit.
- Move an entire descending sequence if its bottom card matches what you're stacking onto.
- When a column is empty, any card or sequence can move into it.
- Click the stock to deal one card onto each column. Use this before you run out of smart moves.
- Complete King-to-Ace runs to clear them. Clear all eight runs to win.
Controls
| Move a card / sequence | Click it, then click where it should go |
| Deal from stock | Click the stock pile |
| Undo | Use the in-game undo button |
| Touch screens | Tap-to-move works with a finger |
Five strategies that unlock useful moves
1. Never move a card just to move it
Every move should either expose a hidden card, complete a run, or open an empty column. Idle shuffling consumes space you'll need when the stock forces a deal.
2. Open an empty column early if you can
An empty column is the only spot that accepts any card — it's your reset button. Winning players go out of their way to create one in the first half of the game.
3. Build within one suit whenever possible
Complete runs require a single-suit King-to-Ace stack. Mixed-suit builder columns are fine, but a clean monochrome column is a nearly finished run waiting to be cleared.
4. Save faces-down cards for later
The stock deal gives you ten new cards no matter how many you can place. Try to deal onto a table where most of them will find a home, not grind the tableau to a halt.
5. Think in runs, not cards
Experienced players plan King→4-ish chains across columns before touching a card. Before your first move, scan for the longest complete run available and build around it.
Why you'll like it
Spider is the thinking player's solitaire: nothing is hidden, every choice is revealed, and the win always comes from clean sequencing rather than a lucky flip. It's the definition of a calm, long-play puzzle — the ideal game for a coffee and a clear head.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to match suits?
For the full King-to-Ace runs, yes — a run must be a single descending suit. Building columns can mix suits as long as each move follows the rank rule.
Can I undo a mistake?
Yes, this version has an undo option for misclicks and second thoughts.
Is there a timer pressure?
No. Spider is untimed in this version; you can take your time.
Is this game free?
Yes. It's an open source (MIT) Spider Solitaire by Tomás Malbran, license included.
Game credit: Spider Solitaire by Tomás Malbran (github.com/TomMalbran/games), open source under the MIT license.