Most people learn Spider solitaire by trial and error, discovering the rules by bumping into them. That works, but it leaves gaps, and those gaps are exactly where games are lost. This article lays out the complete rules of Spider solitaire in plain language, so nothing about the game surprises you again. Whether you are settling a disagreement, teaching someone else, or simply want to play with full confidence, you will find every rule here.

We will cover the equipment, the deal, the goal, every legal move, the special role of empty columns, and the precise conditions under which you may deal from the stock. Keep a live game of Spider open as you read, and each rule will make immediate sense against the board in front of you.

Equipment and the Objective

Spider is played with two standard 52-card decks shuffled together, giving 104 cards. Because two decks are in play, there are two of every card and two of every suit. The objective is fixed and simple to state: assemble eight complete sequences, each running from King down to Ace within a single suit. As each sequence is completed it is removed from play, and clearing all eight wins the game.

There are no foundations to build up as in Klondike, and no reserve or free cells. Everything happens in the tableau columns and the stock, which keeps the rule set compact even though the game itself is deep.

The Deal and Starting Layout

At the start, the 104 cards are dealt into ten tableau columns. The distribution is deliberately uneven, and knowing it helps you read the board.

  • The first four columns receive six cards each.
  • The remaining six columns receive five cards each.
  • This uses 54 cards; the other 50 cards form the stock.
  • Only the final (bottom) card of each column is face up at the start; all cards above it are face down.

So you begin every game looking at ten face-up cards, with hidden cards beneath them and a large stock in reserve. Turning those hidden cards face up is the engine of the whole game.

Building Cards in the Tableau

The core of Spider is arranging cards within the columns. Two rules govern this, and understanding how they interact is the key to the game.

Descending Rank, Any Suit

You may place a card onto another card that is exactly one rank higher, regardless of suit. A 7 of any suit can sit on any 8, a 4 on any 5, a 10 on any Jack. This means you are never blocked from making a descending move by colour or suit, which keeps play flexible.

Moving Groups of Cards

While you build without regard to suit, you can only pick up and move a group of cards together if they form a same-suit run in descending order. A run of hearts reading 9, 8, 7 can be moved as one unit onto any 10. But if that 9, 8, 7 is a mix of suits, only the bottom card moves, and the rest stay put. A single card can always move on its own to any legal higher card or empty column.

Automatic Turning of Face-Down Cards

Whenever you move the last face-up card off a column and reveal a face-down card beneath it, that card is automatically turned face up. You never manually flip cards; the game does it for you the instant a face-down card becomes the bottom of its column.

Completing and Removing Suits

The winning move, repeated eight times, is completing a suit. When a column contains a full descending run of one suit from King all the way down to Ace, that run is complete. The game lifts the finished King-to-Ace run off the board, either automatically or with a click, freeing the cards beneath it. You do not have to manually stack them elsewhere; a complete suit simply leaves play. Removing all eight suits clears the table and wins the game.

Rules for Dealing from the Stock

When your moves run dry, the stock provides fresh cards, but under strict conditions that catch many players out.

  1. A deal adds one card to every column. Clicking the stock deals ten cards at once, one face up onto the bottom of each of the ten columns.
  2. No column may be empty when you deal. If even one column is empty, the game refuses to deal until you fill it.
  3. The stock supports five deals. With 50 cards and ten dealt per deal, you get exactly five rounds of dealing before the stock is exhausted.
  4. Empty stock means no more cards. After the fifth deal you must complete the game using only what is on the tableau.

The no-empty-column rule matters because a deal covers every column with a new, often mismatched card. Dealing at the wrong moment can bury a carefully built run. For that reason, experienced players treat each deal as a commitment and squeeze out every move first.

Suit Difficulty Variations

Spider is usually offered in three difficulty levels, and the only thing that changes between them is how many suits are in play. The number of cards, columns, and stock deals stays the same.

  • One suit: All 104 cards are spades. Any descending run is automatically same-suit, so almost everything moves as a group. This is the friendliest version.
  • Two suits: Two suits are used, doubled to fill 104 cards. You must now watch suit when planning group moves.
  • Four suits: The full spread of all four suits. Keeping runs in a single suit becomes genuinely demanding, and this is the classic, hardest challenge.

The rules of play are identical across all three; only the difficulty of keeping runs together changes. Our guide to one-suit vs two-suit vs four-suit Spider breaks down which level suits your skill.

It helps to see how Spider's rules compare with its relatives, because the contrast makes each rule clearer. The single-deck Klondike abandons the tableau-only structure entirely, building cards up onto four foundations in alternating colours rather than removing complete suits from the columns. The spider-family Scorpion keeps the King-to-Ace goal but changes the movement rule, building strictly by suit and letting you lift any face-up card with everything on top of it. Against those two, Spider's own rules stand out plainly: build down in any suit, but move only same-suit runs as a group, and remove finished suits from the tableau. Learning the neighbouring rule sets is one of the fastest ways to lock Spider's own rules firmly into memory.

Undo, Hints, and Scoring

Physical Spider offers no take-backs, but online versions usually add helpful features. An undo button lets you reverse a move you regret, which is invaluable for learning. Hints can point out an available move when you are stuck. Many versions also keep a score that starts at a set number and decreases with each move, rewarding efficient play, while others simply track wins and time. These features do not change the underlying rules; they are aids layered on top. You can try them all on the live Spider board.

Conclusion

The rules of Spider solitaire are compact but precise: two decks dealt into ten columns, building down by rank in any suit, moving same-suit runs as a group, revealing face-down cards automatically, completing King-to-Ace suits to remove them, and dealing from the stock only when no column is empty. Know these and you can play any version with confidence. Put them to the test on the free Spider board, then read how to play Spider solitaire for a gentle walkthrough or common Spider solitaire mistakes to avoid the classic traps. Explore every game on the spidersolitairecardgames.com homepage whenever you are ready for more.