Is Spider Solitaire free?
Yes, our Spider Solitaire game is 100% free to play and is supported by ads.
How do I play Spider Solitaire?
Spider Solitaire is played with 2 decks of cards (104 cards in total). The goal is to complete 8 ‘stacks’ of cards of the same suit. A completed stack is removed from the table, and eventually, all cards should be removed from the table in order to win.
To complete a stack, the cards must be stacked in a pile in descending order, from King all the way down to Ace. The cards must all be of the same suit for a stack to be considered complete.
A deal starts with 54 of the cards dealt into 10 columns on the table. Six columns begin with 5 cards in them, four begin with 6 cards in them.
Only the card on the top of the pile is face-up in the beginning, and the others below it are face-down and hidden. The remaining 50 cards not dealt in these columns are put into 5 piles of 10 cards each, and kept to the side in the ‘stock pile’.
The game starts when the player moves a card that is face-up on the table. A card is allowed to be moved to any card that is one value higher than it (e.g. a four can be placed on a five; a Queen can be moved to a King). This is how ‘sub-stacks’ are built (i.e. stacks of cards that are of the same suit but are not complete from King to Ace yet).
Cards are moved by tapping or dragging them. If a card is placed on top of a card that is the same suit, then these cards can be moved together as a sub-stack. If a card is placed on top of a card that is a different suit, then the higher card will be ‘locked’. The cards cannot be moved together if one is locked, and all cards underneath are also locked until the top card is moved elsewhere.
If a face-down card is directly below a card that is moved, it will then turn face-up and become playable. If all cards in a column are moved, there is an empty space, and a card of any value can be placed here.
The goal is to stack and uncover all cards until 8 stacks of the same suit from King to Ace are made. Once a stack is complete, it is removed from the table and moved to the ‘foundation’, where it is held until the end of the game.
A player can get more cards dealt to the table at any time by tapping on the stock pile. Tapping the stockpile is a useful move when there are no more moves to make on the table. When tapped, the stockpile will deal one of the 5 piles of 10 cards face-up (one per column) onto the table, opening up more possible moves. All 5 piles of the stockpile must be dealt onto the table before winning the game.
Once all 8 stacks are completed and removed from the table into the foundation, the player wins the game! If there are no available moves left before all 8 stacks are completed, the player loses the game.
How do I turn off sounds?
Tap the Settings button (the icon looks like a gear).
Tap the “Preferences” tab.
Drag the switch on “Enable Sound” to the off position (greyed-out) to disable it.
Tap the “Confirm Selections” button at the bottom.
How do I change the number of suits?
Tap the Settings button (the icon looks like a gear).
Tap the “Preferences” tab.
Tap the number of suits you would like to play.
Tap to either start a new game immediately and abandon your current game, or finish the game you were already playing before the new number of suits takes effect.
Why can’t I win a deal?
Firstly, don’t worry – you’re not alone! Spider Solitaire is a challenging game and most people can’t win every deal, especially on the first try. Some of the deals could have only one solution, and it can be difficult to find it. Spider Solitaire is recognized as a game that is more about the journey and learning the strategy, rather than winning every single deck. The game has a huge potential for deep analysis. Keep playing to learn the strategies and improve!
We recommend starting with one-suit games if you’re stuck. They tend to have more solutions and can help you learn the best strategies. Once confident, try a game in two suits, and gradually work your way up to four.
You can also try to make smaller goals, such as stacking 5 cards of the same suit or completing one stack. Work your way up to completing more stacks and count every accomplishment, no matter how small, as a success – we sure do!
If you find a tricky deck, try replaying it with a different strategy or play a different deal to reset your brain.