How to Play Spider Solitaire: Rules, Suits and Winning Tips

By Nesim Razon, independent Android developer

Spider Solitaire uses two decks and ten columns, and the goal is to build full runs from King down to Ace. It looks harder than Klondike, but the rules are short. The real skill is choosing which cards to uncover and when to deal.

The goal and the layout

Build eight complete runs, each from King down to Ace in a single suit. When a run is finished it leaves the table by itself. Remove all eight and you win.

The game uses 104 cards in ten columns. The first four columns start with six cards and the other six with five, and only the top card of each column is face up. The 50 remaining cards wait in the stock.

How cards move

• You can put a card, or a run, on any card that is exactly one rank higher. The suit does not matter for placing: a 6 of hearts can go on a 7 of spades.
• You can only pick up a run to move it if all its cards are in the same suit and in descending order. A mixed run is stuck together until you break it up.
• Any card or valid run can go into an empty column.
• When you uncover a face-down card it turns over, and it is then in play.
• Tap the stock to deal one new card onto every column. There are five deals in total.

1, 2 or 4 suits

Cardles lets you choose how many suits are in the game.

With one suit, every card of the same rank is interchangeable, so almost any descending run is a valid run. It is relaxing and a good way to learn. With two suits you must start to care about which suit you stack on. With four suits, the full game, mixed runs happen all the time and planning matters a lot. Many deals are very hard to finish, and a win is something to celebrate.

Start with one suit, move to two when you win most of the time, and treat four as a long-term goal.

Work on same-suit runs

• When you have a choice, place a card on one of the same suit. That keeps the run movable.
• Avoid burying a mixed stack: a same-suit run sitting on a card of a different suit can still move, but the card below it stays blocked until you rearrange things.
• Try not to cover cards of the same suit with a different suit unless it uncovers something valuable.
• Look for the column with the fewest face-down cards. Finishing it first gives you an empty column early.

Empty columns

An empty column is the most powerful thing on the table. It lets you move a whole run, split a mixed stack, or park a card while you reorganize.

Do not rush to fill it. Use it to shift a run that would otherwise be locked, and only drop a card in if there is a clear plan. Two empty columns at the same time let you restructure almost anything.

When to deal

Dealing adds a card on every column and often buries your work, so do it last. First make every useful move. In Cardles you may deal even when a column is empty, which is not true in every version of the game, so you can keep an empty column and still deal.

Before you deal, check that there is nothing better to do. If you are stuck, a deal can also bring a card you need, so it is not always a mistake. But look first.

Tips for winning more

• Uncover face-down cards in the tallest columns before you tidy small piles.
• Use the hint if you are stuck. Hints in Cardles look for a sensible next move and will suggest dealing when nothing else is left.
• Undo is free and unlimited, so test a line and step back if it blocks you.
• Count your suits. If you hold several cards of a rank already, think about where the missing ones are before you bury them.