Spider Solitaire: the rules, the suits, and how to win more often

The layout

Two packs, 104 cards, are shuffled together and dealt into ten columns: six cards in each of the first four, five in each of the other six. Only the top card of each column lies face up. The other 50 cards form the stock at the bottom right: five deals of ten. Full runs you put away pile up at the bottom left.

The rules

• The goal: build eight full runs, each from king down to ace in one suit. A full run is put away by itself, and the game is won when all eight are.
• Any card on one a rank higher: a card can go onto any card one rank higher, whatever its suit, for example a 6 of hearts on a 7 of spades.
• Runs move together only in one suit: several cards can be moved at once only when they run down in order and are all of one suit.
• Empty columns take anything: any card, or any run of one suit, can go into an empty column.
• Face-down cards turn up: when the last face-up card leaves a column, the card under it turns face up by itself.
• The stock: tap it to deal one card face up onto every column. Every column needs at least one card before you deal.

One, two or four suits

Choose on the home screen how many suits the cards come in. With one suit all 104 cards are spades, every card fits on every card one rank higher in a run that can move, and most deals can be won: the best way to start. With two suits (spades and hearts) you have to sort them as you build. With four suits runs are much harder to make, and a win is a real achievement. Your choice is kept for the next game.

Every new game is a deal that can be won, with one, two or four suits: the game itself has found a way to win it before you see it (it prepares the next deal quietly while you play). If you would rather take any deal as it comes, some of which cannot be won, choose Settings → Deals: random.

Scoring

The score follows the long-standing standard for Spider:

The score never goes below zero. Beside it the game counts your moves and the time, from your first move until the last run is put away. Your home screen keeps how many games you have won, your fastest win, your fewest moves and your best score.

The daily deal

Every day there is one deal, the same for everyone in the world, played with one suit; from 7 November 2026, on Saturdays and Sundays, with two suits. Each daily deal has been checked by the game itself and can be won, so it is a fair puzzle rather than luck. Your best moves and time on it are kept, and the home screen ticks it once you have won it. A new deal comes at midnight UTC.

"Share" in the box that comes up when you win sends your moves to friends, with a link to the game; a shared daily deal's link opens the daily deal, so on the same day they get the same cards.

The calendar button beside "Daily deal" shows the month: every day whose deal you have won has a crown, and the days in a row with a crown are your daily streak. A day you missed can still be played from the calendar, from October 2026 on, and earns its crown too.

In Halloween week, 26 October to 1 November 2026, each day's crown is a pumpkin. The first pumpkin unlocks the Halloween theme (a night table and a card back of pumpkins) in Settings → Theme, and it stays yours after the week is over.

In Christmas week, 21 to 27 December 2026, each day's crown is a present. The first present unlocks the Christmas theme (a frosty table and a red card back with snowflakes) in the same place, and it stays yours too.

Hints and undo

• Hint shows a move worth making: the cards blink and the column they go to is outlined. If the best thing to do is deal, the stock blinks. Where the game can find a way to win from where you are, the hint follows it, so taking the hints never leads you into a dead end.
• Undo takes moves back, as many as you like (also with Ctrl+Z or Backspace). Each undo counts as a move.
• When nothing more can be done (no deal left, and no moves that turn up a card or put a run away), the game says No more moves and offers to undo, deal again or go to the menu. It also looks back through your game for the last point from which it can still be won, and offers to go back there in one step ("Go back 7 moves", say); from there the hint shows the way.

Lulu, a little spider in the beanie and scarf she knitted herself, comes on beside the box at the big moments: she cheers your win (more for a first win, a new best time, a streak, the daily deal or a first win with two or four suits), and when no more moves are left she reminds you that going back can untangle it. She comes less often after the first few times and never gets in the way of your cards: during play she only peeks in when a run is put away, and only where the screen has room beside the table. A tap sends her off, and Settings → Lulu: off turns her off.

Achievements and statistics

There are 17 achievements to collect: from your first win to a hundred, winning with two suits and with four, wins in a row, the daily deal, a win in six minutes or less, one in 150 moves or fewer, wins without undo or without a hint, three pumpkins in Halloween week and three presents in Christmas week. "Achievements" on the home screen lists them all, with how far along you are. They are kept on your device.

"Statistics", beside it, shows your games played and won, your win rate, your current and longest streak, and your best time, fewest moves and best score: for all your games together, or for one suit, two suits, four suits and the daily deal apart.

Tips for winning

• Turn up face-down cards first. Of two moves, prefer the one that frees a card in a column, especially in the columns with the most cards still face down.
• Build in suit when you can. A card on one of its own suit can move on with it later; a card on another suit is stuck there until it is moved alone.
• Empty columns are gold. An empty column lets you take a run apart, reorder cards and turn up what lies beneath. Keep one free as long as you can.
• Kings are hard to move. A king only goes into an empty column, so think twice before burying cards under one.
• Deal last. Make every useful move first; a deal covers every column with a new card.
• Stuck? Undo and try another line. Undo is unlimited: it costs a point a move, nothing more.

Controls

Drag a card (and the run on it) with the mouse or your finger and let go over the column where it should go. Or simply tap a card: it goes where it best can, onto a card of its own suit first. Tap the stock to deal. On a computer, Ctrl+Z or Backspace undoes and Esc goes back to the menu (the game is kept).

Questions and answers

Is Spider Solitaire free?

Yes. It is free to play, with ads in the browser version. There is nothing to buy.

Do I need to download anything?

No. It plays in any modern browser on a phone, tablet or computer. If you like, you can install it as an app: on Android and in Chrome on a computer, choose "Install app" on the home screen; on an iPhone or iPad, use Safari's "Add to Home Screen". Once installed, it starts even without a connection.

Is my game saved?

Yes. The game in hand and your records are kept on your device, without an account. Leave in the middle of a game and "Continue" on the home screen picks it up again.

Can every game be won?

Every deal the game gives you can be won (unless you choose Settings → Deals: random), and so can every daily deal. A game can still be lost by the moves made in it: then "No more moves" offers to go back to where it can still be won.

Which languages does it speak?

41, from English, Chinese, Hindi and Spanish to Turkish, Swahili and Vietnamese. It starts in your browser's language when it has it, and you can change it on the home screen.

Something is wrong, or I have an idea

Write to support@brookmoon.com.