Spider Solitaireone, two or four suits

Goal of the game

Build eight complete sequences, from King to Ace, in a single suit. Each finished sequence leaves the tableau.

The game is won when all eight are out and the tableau is empty.

Setting up

• Ten columns: the first four get six cards, the other six get five. Only the last card of each column is face up.
• The remaining fifty cards form the stock, dealt in batches of ten.
• Depending on the mode: one suit (easy), two suits (intermediate), four suits (hard).

Moves

• You build in descending order, whatever the suit: a 7 of clubs goes on an 8 of hearts.
• But you can only move a block of cards if it forms a descending sequence in the same suit. That is the whole tension of the game: you can place anything, but you only take back cleanly what is sorted.
• A face-down card turns over as soon as it is uncovered.
• An empty column accepts any card or any valid block.

Dealing

• Clicking the stock deals one card onto each of the ten columns, face up.
• You cannot deal while a column is empty: the game forbids it, and that is a good thing.
• Each deal covers the whole tableau: it is the most dangerous moment of the game. Tidy up as much as you can before dealing.
• Five deals in total. Once the stock is used up, you have to finish with what is on the table.

The method

• Empty a column as early as possible, and keep it empty as long as you can. That room to manoeuvre decides the game.
• Uncover hidden cards first: every card turned over is information, and short columns empty faster.
• Build in suit whenever you have the choice. Putting a black 7 on a red 8 gets you out of trouble; putting the red 7 on the red 8 builds something.
• Do not break a clean sequence for an immediate gain: rebuilding it almost always costs more.
• Save the empty column for a King when you have one: it is the start of a complete sequence.

The three levels

• One suit — every card is the same suit: any descending block can move. An excellent way in, almost always winnable.
• Two suits — you already have to sort, without it being suffocating. It is the best balance.
• Four suits — the full game. The win rate drops sharply, and every deal becomes a weighty decision.

Controls

Keyboard and mouse

• Click a card or a valid block, then the destination column.
• Click the stock to deal; it refuses while a column is empty.
• Undo goes back as many times as you need.

Touch screen

• Tap the top card of a block then the target column, or drag.
• Complete sequences leave the tableau automatically.
• Scroll sideways on small screens: the ten columns rarely fit all at once.

Frequently asked questions

How many cards does Spider use?

A hundred and four, that is two 52-card decks. Depending on the mode, they are reduced to one suit, to two, or left in four.

Can you put a card on any other card?

Yes for a single card, if its value is one lower. But a group only moves if it is already sorted in a single suit.

Why does the game refuse to deal?

Because a column is empty. The rules make you fill it first: it is a protection, since dealing onto an empty column would waste your best asset.

Which mode should you start with?

One suit to get the rhythm, then two suits for most games. Four suits is a challenge in its own right.

What do you do when no move is left?

Deal, if the stock is not used up and no column is empty. Otherwise the game is lost — hence the importance of tidying up before every deal.

More classics, free as well

• Sudoku — the 9×9 grid, four levels, pencil marks
• Sumito — fourteen marbles, push your opponent off the board
• Yams — five dice, thirteen combinations, three rolls