Spider Solitaire, the way you remember it
This is the patience game that came with Windows: ten columns of cards, five more rows waiting to be dealt, and the quiet satisfaction of watching a run from King to Ace lift off the table. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to install, and your game is saved in this browser if you need to stop.
This page starts with 1 suit, where every card is a spade. It is the gentlest way to play, and the best way to learn: you only have to think about ranks, not suits. When you are ready, 2 suits adds hearts, and 4 suits is the full challenge.
Every 1-suit deal can be won
A deal that falls badly can be impossible from the start. Here, every 1-suit deal is played through by the computer before you see it, and only deals it has won are dealt. If you get stuck, the way out is still on the table: undo a few moves and try another way, or press Hint, which looks ahead for you.
How to play
Spider is played with two packs of cards, 104 in all, laid out in ten columns. The goal is to build eight runs from King down to Ace, each in a single suit. A finished run leaves the table by itself; clear all eight and you win. The full rules, with tips.
- Moving cards. A card can go onto any card one rank higher, whatever its suit: a 7 onto an 8. A run of cards that are all one suit and in order moves together as one.
- Empty columns take any card or run. They are the most useful thing on the table.
- Dealing. When you run out of moves, Deal puts one new card on every column. There are five deals, and every column must have at least one card before you deal.
- Hidden cards turn over when the cards on top of them move away.
Controls
Tap or click a card and it moves to the best place for it, with cards of its own suit first. You can also drag a card or a run to the column you want. With a keyboard, Tab moves between the cards you can move and Enter moves one. D deals, H asks for a hint, U undoes and N starts a new deal.
Undo takes back any move, including a deal, as many times as you like. Hint looks ahead and shows a good next move, with a sentence that says why.
Large, clear cards
The cards grow to fill your screen, and every card shows its rank and suit in large print in its top corner, so you can read them even when they overlap. Hearts and diamonds are red, spades and clubs are black, and the table is a calm green. If your screen is small, turn it sideways for wider cards, and use Settings to make the text larger.
Other ways to play
Spider Solitaire with 2 suits uses spades and hearts: you can still put any card on one higher, but only runs of one suit move together and leave the table. 4 suits uses all four, and is one of the hardest patience games there is.