Spider solitaire, solo or with friends

Spider is a solitaire played with two decks and ten columns. You build long runs of cards from king down to ace, and every finished run leaves the table. ShuffleFast plays it in your browser with one, two or four suits, on your own or at a shared table with a friend. There is nothing to install and no account to make.

New to Spider? Start with one suit. It is the easiest version and teaches the same moves as the harder ones. The buttons above open a game right away; how to choose the number of suits is below.

The goal

Build eight complete runs, each of one suit, from king down to ace. Each time you finish one, it is removed from the columns to the completed area above the board. Complete all eight and you have won.

The layout

• Two decks. 104 cards, shuffled together. With one suit they are all spades; with two suits, spades and hearts; with four, all four suits.
• Ten columns. The first four hold six cards each and the last six hold five each. Only the last card of each column is face up. That is 54 cards.
• The stock. The other 50 cards, face down. Each deal takes ten, so the stock holds five deals. A badge on the stock shows how many are left.
• The completed area. Eight slots above the board that fill with a king as each run is finished.

How to play

Building on the columns

You can place a card on any card that is one rank higher, whatever its suit. A 6 of hearts can go on a 7 of spades or a 7 of clubs. Aces are low and kings are high. Nothing can be placed on an ace, and a king cannot be placed on any card.

Moving runs

Suit matters when you move more than one card. Cards can be moved together only if they form a descending run of a single suit, such as the 9, 8 and 7 of spades. A run that mixes suits, even one in perfect rank order, cannot be picked up as a whole. Only its same-suit cards at the end can. In ShuffleFast the cards you cannot move simply don't respond to a drag.

Empty columns

Any single card, or any movable run, can be moved into an empty column. An empty column is one of the most useful things you can build, because it lets you rearrange a long run or park a card.

Dealing from the stock

When you have no moves left that you like, click the stock. It deals one face-up card onto each of the ten columns. The standard rule applies: you cannot deal while any column is empty. If you try, ShuffleFast tells you to fill the empty column first.

Finishing runs

When a column ends with a king-to-ace run of one suit, all thirteen cards leave the column automatically and the face-down card beneath them turns over. A deal can finish a run too. You don't need to do anything to collect it.

How many suits should you choose?

The number of suits is the difficulty setting. More suits means fewer cards fit together in one suit, so runs are harder to build and harder to move.

The number is fixed for a game, and New game deals another game with the same number. To change it, go back to the home page, choose Spider and pick 1, 2 or 4 suits above the play buttons. The win screen compares your time and moves only with other games of the same number of suits.

Controls in ShuffleFast

• Move cards by dragging with a mouse, a finger or a pen. Pick up a card that starts a movable run and you carry every card below it. Drop it on another column. If the move is not legal, the cards slide back.
• Deal by clicking or tapping the stock. It is a real button, so the keyboard can reach it.
• Suggested moves. Under the board, “See suggested moves” lists a few straightforward plays: moves that turn up a hidden card, join cards of one suit, or clear a column. When there are none, it suggests dealing if a deal is allowed. It won't find every good line.
• Timer and moves. The bar above the board shows elapsed time and a move count. Each move and each deal counts once.
• No undo. ShuffleFast has no undo button, in any game, so look before you move.
• Any screen size. The ten columns fit a phone in portrait. Cards are small there, and tall columns overlap more tightly so they stay on screen.

Spider strategy tips

These are habits that help in most games. They are not guarantees, and some deals cannot be won.

• Uncover hidden cards first. Every face-down card is unknown information. Prefer moves that turn one over, especially from the columns with the most hidden cards.
• Build runs of one suit. Put a card on one of its own suit whenever you can. A same-suit run can be moved as a unit; a mixed one blocks the column.
• Work toward an empty column. Clearing the column with the fewest cards is often the quickest way to get one. Then don't fill it lazily. Use it to untangle something.
• Deal last. A deal puts ten new cards, most of them unhelpful, on top of your columns. Use up the good moves first. Remember that you cannot deal while a column is empty, so put a card in it before you do.
• Keep low cards free. Burying a low card such as an ace or 2 under a long run of a different suit makes that run hard to finish.
• Think about which suit to break. With two or four suits you will sometimes have to place a card on the wrong suit. Do it on the column you can clear soonest, and try to keep that column short.

The strategy guide covers Klondike, but its habit of thinking a few moves ahead applies here too.

Play Spider solitaire with a friend

Spider is a natural fit for a shared table: the columns are long and there is nearly always more than one reasonable move. On ShuffleFast a co-op Spider game is one shared board, not a race. You and your friends see the same cards, and when anyone moves, everyone sees it.

1. Choose the number of suits and start a room with one of the buttons below. You become the host, and the room begins with a fresh Spider deal. (You can also choose Spider on the home page and then Play together.)
2. Send the invite. Use Copy invite link (or “Invite a friend” on a phone) above the board, or share the room's five-digit code.
3. Your friend opens the link, or chooses “Join a friend” on the home page and types the code. They land in your game as it stands, and they get the same Spider game and number of suits automatically.

Here is what is shared, and what the host controls:

• The board and the stock. Any player can move a run or deal a row. There is no turn order, so anyone can move at any time.
• The clock and the move count. They belong to the shared game.
• New games. Only the host can start a new game. It deals a fresh Spider game to the room with the same number of suits, after a confirmation.
• The win. When the eighth run is completed, everyone at the table sees the finished game.

Because Spider rewards planning, co-op works well as a conversation: one of you can look after the stock and the count of hidden cards while the other hunts for an empty column. If two of you move at the same instant, the server keeps the first move and puts the other player's board back in step. Rooms work as described in the co-op guide: you can only be in one room at a time, a room disappears 90 seconds after its last player leaves, and anyone with the link can join.

Common questions

Why can't I deal from the stock?

Either a column is empty, or the stock has run out. Put a card in every empty column and try again.

Why won't a group of cards move?

Only a run that goes down in rank and stays in one suit can be picked up as a group. If a card in the middle is a different suit, only the cards after it can be moved.

Can I play Spider in the daily puzzle?

No. The daily puzzle is a Klondike deal. Spider is available as a solo game or a co-op room.

Is every Spider deal winnable?

No. Deals are shuffled at random, and some cannot be won, especially with four suits.

Ready to play?