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Information About Playing Spider Solitaire Online
Spider Solitaire is a game that, together with Klondike and Freecell has become extremely popular online. The name comes from the 8 foundations that look like the legs of a spider.
Most people will remember this game from their Windows computer, as it comes installed on every personal copy of Windows 7, 8, and 10. However, the game was actually invented in the 1940s. In those times, it was played with real playing cards.
The game can be found by clicking on the Microsoft symbol in the bottom-left corner of the screen. From there, it can be found in the “apps” section of the Home menu. Alternatively, you can play Spider Solitaire online here, or at Cool Old Games. Simply play in your browser, without downloading any programs.
What we like about the game playable here specifically are the large cards and “old school” feel.
How to Play
The game can be played with only one deck, but it is traditional to use two decks to increase the length of the game.
One-deck
In one-deck Spider, also known as Spiderette, one deck is shuffled and its cards laid out in a “stair-case” manner.
The first tableau will be a single card, then the next will be two, the next three, and so on, until there are 7 tableaus. The card at the bottom of each tableau will be flipped up, and the rest will be flipped down.
Two-deck
In the more traditional two-deck Spider, 10 stacks of cards will be made instead. The first 54 cards of the deck will be placed down in these stacks, with the remaining 50 retained in a deck.
The first four stacks will have 6 cards, and the last six stacks will have 5 cards in them. In all ten stacks, the card at the end of the stack will be flipped face up. These will be the play cards.
The deck of 50 remaining cards may be used to deal, ten cards per deal, to the stacks of cards already situated. The cards dealt will be face down, until flipped up by normal game conditions.
Gameplay
The goal of Spider Solitaire is to line up rows of cards, sequentially, from the same suit. In the two-deck version, 8 columns of cards must be formed.
In order to form a column, or “tableau”, the cards must follow specific instructions:
- A tableau can only be removed from the board once it is fully descending: K, Q, J, 10-2, A. Aces are low.
- The cards must always be in descending order. It is never possible to place a 5 on top of a 7. The 6 must be placed first, then the 5.
- All cards within a tableau must come from the same suit. ♣ cards cannot be in the same tableau as ♦ cards.
- Once all flipped-up cards in a particular stack or column are moved to another stack, the new bottom card may be flipped over to reveal it.
Sequences of cards may be moved and may be broken up if desired. For example:
- A tableau of 6, 5, and 4 can be picked up and moved to a tableau of 10, 9, 8, and 7, assuming they are the same suit.
- A tableau of 10, 9, 8, and 7 could also be broken up, for example, if another position on the board has another 10 of the same suit. The 9, 8, and 7 may all be picked up as one stack and moved to the other matching 10.
The game is over once all cards are removed from the board.
Instructions Summary
Two decks are used for a total of 104 cards
- Order cards in descending runs within suits from King to Ace.
- Move cards between columns following suit and rank rules. Sequences can be moved together.
- If stuck, draw a new card from the stockpile. Only draw when you have no moves left.
- Remove card runs once completed.
- Win by emptying all cards from the tableau. If stuck, restart the game or undo your last move.
Point counter
The counter stars with 500 points. And the game is won after clearing all 8 sequences, worth 800 points.
Losing 1 point for the following:
- Each card moved.
- Using the “Undo” button
- Drawing from the stock
You earn points by clearing full sequences, earning you 100 points each.
points earned + remaining points after all moves = final scoreOption
On the starting screen, you can choose between three different game modes:
- 1 Suit: play with only one suit, usually Spades (♠) – Easy
- 2 Suits: usually Spades (♠) and Hearts (♥) – Medium Hard
- 4 Suits: played with all four suits – Hardest
Once you are in the game, multiple buttons and pieces of information are available to you. Let’s start with the information in the dark red bar at the top:
- Time counter: keeps track of how long you are taking.
- Move counter: keeps track of how many moves you have made.
- Point counter: keeps track of your points.
- High score: your best result.
At the bottom left of the screen, you will find the settings menu. This menu has multiple options:
- Resume: simply continue your game.
- New Game: start a completely new game, either 1, 2, or 3 suits.
- Reset this game: start the same game over again.
- Sound on/off
- Statistics: see your number of played games, win/loss ratio, top score, and your best time.
The other two buttons at the bottom are very useful. One is the large lightbulb icon, when you click this the game will give you a hint. The other one is the “Undo” button, which will let you undo your last move.
Example Scenario
A possible scenario at the beginning of the game might include the following cards flipped up at the bottom of their stacks:
A♥, 4♣, 10♣, J♣, 2♥, 5♦, 5♣, 9♣, 8♣, 7♣, 10♦
The 7♣ can be picked up and stacked on the 8♣, which can then be stacked and placed on the 9♣, which can then be picked up and stacked on the 10♣, resulting in a stack of 10-8♣
Strategy & Tips
As part of a solid strategy, it is important to keep the below in mind:
Tip 1
Empty the larger stacks first. Due to the fact that there are more cards in the stack, it is more likely that you will be able to find the cards that you need in those piles.
Tip 2
Only kings can fill empty Tableau spots at the top of the stack. This means that emptying a tableau without a king available to fill it will result in losing an entire tableau to place cards in.
This limits the Player’s ability to move cards around and “hold” them while they find matching cards to complete the tableau. A Player’s strategy can be completely destroyed if this rule is forgotten.
Tip 3
Always reveal the first card from the deck as your first move, before doing anything else with the stacks. This is a free card that potentially could begin a tableau.
Tip 4
Building piles is important, but the real trick to winning is revealing the hidden cards. If as many hidden cards as possible are not discovered, then completed tableaus cannot be created and the game cannot be won.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cards do you lay out?
This depends if you are playing online Spider or Spiderette. In the first, 54 cards are initially placed. In the latter, only 28 out of the 52 cards are placed, the rest going into the deck.
Does Spider Solitaire always have a solution?
No, it is not always possible to win a game of Spider even if you play perfectly, simply due to the rules of the game. When playing optimally, about 1/3 of games can be solved.
Mistakes made by the player, particularly real blunders like clearing a tableau with no King to replace it, can further reduce those chances of victory.
What is the lowest score possible in Spider?
This depends on the scoring method being used, however, in Microsoft’s digital version of Solitaire, the Player starts the game with 500 points, and loses 1 point for each move made, and gains 50 points for each Tableau cleared.
In theory, it is possible to have an infinitely negative score, if the Player can somehow keep making moves without locking themselves out of the solution or completing the game.
Why do I keep losing?
If you are having trouble winning even a single game of Spider Solitaire, it is possible that you simply do not understand the rules. Be sure to review them, and understand the key mechanics of the game before playing it.
This is not exactly a self-explanatory game, and there are many kinks to it that have to be figured out. Although this can be done with trial and error, that could take a very long time.
