Spider Solitaire
Line up K down to A and watch the run fly off
How to play
Spider Solitaire on Matsuri is a free online Spider card game with one, two or four suits: 104 cards, ten columns, and a deal that a solver has checked can be won. It plays in any browser on phone or desktop and inside Telegram via @MatsuriGamesBot, with no download. The daily deal is two suits and the same for everyone, and a challenge link gives a friend your exact deal.
This is classic Spider Solitaire: 104 cards in ten columns, and five more deals of ten waiting in the stock. In practice you pick one suit (all spades, the gentle one), two suits (spades and hearts, the classic) or four suits (the hard one); the daily deal is always two suits. Any card can go on a card one rank higher, but only a run of one suit moves together, and a complete run from king down to ace of one suit flies off to the foundation. Clear all eight runs to win. Drag a run, or just tap it and it jumps to the best place (onto its own suit first). A new deal needs every column filled, as in the classic game. Every deal is checked by a solver before you see it, so it can be won; if you play into a dead end, the table offers to rewind to the nearest position that still wins. Scoring is classic Spider: start at 500, one point off per move, 100 for every finished run and 500 more for the win, while an undo costs 5 and a hint 10. The daily deal is the same for everyone, so you can rank on the leaderboard or send a friend the very same deal.
Also: Spider Solitaire (1 suit) · Spider Solitaire (2 suits) · Spider Solitaire (4 suits)
- Drag a run, or click it and it hops to the best spot (onto its own suit first).
- Any card goes on one rank higher; only a run of one suit moves together; a full K→A run of one suit flies off.
- Click the stock (or Space) to deal ten (no empty column allowed); ↶ or Z undoes (−5); 💡 or H shows a hint (−10).
- In practice you pick 1, 2 or 4 suits: one is gentle, four is tough. The daily deal is always two suits.
How to play Spider Solitaire
Eight 13-card sets are shuffled together: with two suits, four of spades and four of hearts; with one suit, all eight are spades; with four, two each of spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds. Fifty-four go into ten columns, six in each of the first four and five in the rest, with only the top card of each face up. The other fifty wait in the stock as five deals of ten. Any card may go on a card one rank higher, whatever its suit, and an empty column takes any card or run. Only a run that is in order and all one suit can be picked up together. When a column ends in a complete run from king down to ace of one suit, it is lifted off to the foundation at once and the card beneath turns face up. Lift off all eight runs to win.
Tapping the stock deals one card onto every column; as in the classic game, that is refused while any column is empty. Scoring is classic Spider: start at 500, lose 1 for each move, gain 100 for each finished run and 500 for the win. Dealing costs nothing, an undo costs 5, a hint 10 and a rewind out of a dead end a flat 50. A win never scores below 1300, and you may hand the game in with your finished runs counted.
Spider Solitaire strategy and tips
- When a card could go on two cards of the right rank, choose the one of its own suit. A mixed-suit join is fine as a stepping stone, but plan to sort it later, since a mixed stack cannot move as one.
- Go after the columns with the fewest face-down cards first. An empty column is the most valuable space in Spider, and the shortest columns are the quickest way to get one.
- Use an empty column as a workbench, not a parking spot. With it you can take a mixed stack apart piece by piece and put it back together in one suit, which a single card dropped there would block.
- A run headed by a king can only ever move into an empty column, so only place a king there when it unlocks something; otherwise you have spent your most flexible space for good.
- Before each deal, finish every move that turns over a hidden card. The deal buries each column under one more card, often of the wrong suit, and every move you shuffle back and forth costs a point.
Modes and difficulty
The daily deal is the same for everyone and changes at 00:00 UTC; your first try goes on the daily leaderboard. Practice deals a new solver-checked game as often as you like. After a game you can send it as a challenge: your friend gets the very same deal with your score to beat. In practice you pick the suits: one suit is the gentle game, two is the classic and four is the hard one. The daily deal is always two suits, and a challenge keeps the suits of the game you send.
Playing Spider Solitaire on Matsuri
If you play into a position that can no longer be won, the table notices and offers a one-step rewind, for 50 points, to the nearest earlier position that still wins, so a long game is rarely thrown away. A tap sends a run to its best place, onto its own suit first. Scores are rebuilt on the server from your moves, and Telegram groups get their own ranking.
A little history
Spider is a two-deck patience game whose name is often linked to its eight finished runs, one for each of a spider's legs. It reached millions of players when Microsoft added it to Windows, first in the Plus! 98 pack and then in Windows Me and XP, with one-, two- and four-suit levels. All three are here, and two suits, the default, is the level most regular players settle on.
In the same series: Solitaire
- Solitaire: Flip, move, and stack every suit from A to K
- FreeCell: Park cards in four free cells and clear the table
- Russian Solitaire: Build each suit down and dig out the hidden cards
- Montana Solitaire: Fill the gaps until every row runs ace to king
Update log
- · A switch for automatic hints: leave it on for a hand when you pause, or turn it off and tap the bulb only when you want one.
- · A refused deal says why: fill every empty column, then deal.
- · The hint never guesses, finds wins even on four suits mid-game, and the way back always leads somewhere you can win.
- · A classic look: white cards on deep green felt, the default in most languages.
- · For Halloween the Pumpkin Party look is free to wear until November 1.
Questions
- Is Spider Solitaire free to play online without downloading?
- Yes. It is free, needs no download or account, and plays in any browser on phone or desktop, or inside Telegram through @MatsuriGamesBot.
- Is there a daily Spider Solitaire deal?
- Yes. One daily deal is the same for everyone and has a leaderboard, and you can send a friend that very same deal as a challenge.
- Is every deal winnable?
- Yes. A solver checks every deal before you see it, and if you play into a dead end the table offers to rewind to the nearest position that can still be won.
- How many suits are there, and how does scoring work?
- You choose in practice: one suit (all spades), two (spades and hearts) or four, always 104 cards; the daily deal is two suits. You start at 500, lose a point per move, gain 100 for each finished run and 500 for the win; an undo costs 5 and a hint 10.