Spider Solitaire in 30 seconds
Spider Solitaire is a two-deck card game played across ten tableau columns. Your goal is to organise the cards into eight complete descending runs from King to Ace and clear every card from the table. In the free Solitaire Superstars browser game, you play the approachable 1-suit version, so every descending sequence is also a movable same-suit sequence.
How the cards are dealt
A standard Spider game begins with 54 cards across ten columns. Only the top card of each column is face up. The remaining 50 cards form the stock, giving you five later deals of ten cards.
The immediate objective is not to finish a whole suit. It is to expose face-down cards. Every hidden card you turn over gives you new information and usually creates new moves.
The movement rules
You build downward by one rank: a 9 goes on a 10, an 8 goes on a 9, and so on. In this 1-suit edition, a correctly ordered descending run can move together as a group. An empty column can accept any card or movable run.
Two- and four-suit Spider use the same descending-tableau idea but make grouped movement harder because a multi-card run normally needs to be in the same suit. That extra suit management is why the higher-suit versions are more difficult.
Empty columns and the stock
An empty column is your most flexible space. Use it as temporary working room to rearrange other columns and expose hidden cards. Do not rush to fill it with a card that cannot easily move again.
That means the best time to exploit an empty column is usually before the next deal. Reorganise as much as possible, then refill the column only when you are ready to deal.
How a run is completed
Build a descending King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace run. When the sequence is complete it is removed from the tableau automatically. Complete all eight runs and the game is won.
Finishing one run is valuable because thirteen cards leave the table at once, often creating a new empty column or exposing more hidden cards.
A good first-game checklist
- Look for moves that uncover a face-down card.
- Prefer moves that combine existing descending sequences.
- Try to empty one of the shorter columns.
- Use the empty column to reorganise before dealing.
- Only deal from the stock once the useful tableau moves are exhausted and all columns are filled.
- When a King-to-Ace run becomes available, finish it and remove it.
If you make a move you dislike, use Undo. It is a good way to learn why one sequence gives you more future options than another.