Solitario Spider

Spider Solitaire is one of the most popular and challenging solitaire card games. Played with two standard 52-card decks (104 cards total), the goal is to build complete runs of 13 cards from King down to Ace within the same suit on the tableau. When a full run is assembled, it is automatically removed. The game can be played with one suit (easy), two suits (medium), or all four suits (hard), making it accessible to beginners while offering deep strategy for experienced players.

Rules

1. Tableau: 10 columns are dealt. The first 4 columns receive 6 cards each; the remaining 6 columns receive 5 cards each. Only the top card of each column is face-up (54 cards dealt, 50 in the stock).
2. Stock: The remaining 50 cards form the stock, arranged in 5 deals of 10 cards each.
3. Goal: Build complete descending sequences of 13 cards (K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-A) of the same suit. Completed sequences are removed from the tableau.
4. Moving Cards: You can move a card onto another card that is one rank higher, regardless of suit. However, only sequences of the same suit can be moved as a group.
5. Dealing from Stock: When you are stuck (or choose to), deal one card face-up onto each of the 10 columns. All columns must be non-empty to deal.
6. Empty Columns: Any card or same-suit sequence can be placed on an empty column.
7. Winning: Remove all 8 complete sequences (2 per suit in 4-suit mode).

Difficulty Variants

• 1 Suit (Spades only): All 104 cards are Spades. Since suit doesn't matter, any descending sequence can be moved as a group. Win rate: ~60%.
• 2 Suits (Spades and Hearts): Two suits with 52 cards each. Mixed-suit stacks can be built but only same-suit runs can be moved together. Win rate: ~20%.
• 4 Suits: All four suits represented. Most challenging — requires careful planning. Win rate: ~8%.

Strategies

• Build Same-Suit Sequences: Always prefer placing cards on the same suit. Mixed-suit builds limit future mobility.
• Uncover Hidden Cards: Prioritize moves that reveal face-down cards, especially in columns with many hidden cards.
• Create Empty Columns: Empty columns are extremely valuable — they act as temporary storage and enable complex rearrangements. Avoid filling them carelessly.
• Delay Dealing: Exhaust all useful moves before dealing from the stock. Each deal adds complexity and may bury important cards.
• Plan Ahead Before Dealing: Before dealing from stock, try to arrange columns to maximize favorable placements for the new cards.
• Focus on Near-Complete Sequences: If a sequence is close to King-through-Ace, prioritize completing it to free up tableau space.

Spider Solitaire has been played with physical cards since at least the early 1900s, though its exact origins are unknown. The game appears in several mid-20th century compilations of card games, including books by Albert Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith. The name "Spider" is believed to reference the eight foundation piles (legs of a spider) in the original variant, though the most common modern version uses the tableau exclusively.

The game achieved worldwide fame when Microsoft included it in Windows ME (2000) and Windows XP (2001). The Microsoft version, programmed by David Vaskevitch's team, offered three difficulty levels based on the number of suits, making the game accessible to a wide range of players. It became one of the most played games on Windows, rivaling the original Klondike solitaire in popularity.

Spider Solitaire has been extensively studied from a mathematical perspective. With four suits, the theoretical win rate is estimated at roughly 1 in 3 games with perfect play, though practical win rates are much lower. The game involves significant hidden information (face-down cards) and long-term planning, making it one of the more strategically demanding solitaire games.

The game's enduring popularity has led to its inclusion in virtually every solitaire collection on mobile devices and computers. The Microsoft Solitaire Collection, which replaced standalone solitaire games starting with Windows 8, features Spider as one of its five core games, with daily challenges and global leaderboards.