Spider Solitaire Beginner Tips: 1, 2 or 4 Suits, Undo, Hints and the 500-Point Score (2026)

Last updated: October 4, 2026 · Tested on Playnesta's Spider Solitaire build (MIT ES-module engine by Guven @ b662661d) · Goal: complete eight King-to-Ace runs and clear all 104 cards

Method: every rule and number below was read from this site's playable build and then re-checked in a headless browser. From the shipped code: a deal is 104 cards — 54 land on the tableau in ten columns (four columns of six, six columns of five) with only the bottom card of each column face-up, and the remaining 50 sit in the stock as five deals of ten; the deck is 8 ÷ suit count copies of each of the 13 ranks, so 1 suit is eight copies of spades, 2 suits are four each of spades and hearts, and 4 suits are two each of all four; score starts at 500, every move and every stock deal costs 1 point (floored at 0), and each completed run pays 100; eight completed runs win the deal; unlimited undo and redo are kept for the session; and the hint ranks a move +50 when it turns over a face-down card, +20 when the destination continues the suit, and −5 for an empty column. The headless run confirmed a clean start with zero console errors, 10 columns holding 54 cards with exactly 10 face-up, a stock deal that added 10 cards and moved 5 deals to 4, a real click-to-move that advanced the score and move counters, undo restoring it, the 4-suit switch re-dealing 54 cards, a 390px viewport with no page horizontal scroll where the felt swipes sideways, a touch tap selecting a card and playing the highlighted destination through the identical click path, and the same-origin iframe bridge emitting load / start / win / restart / 60s.

1. Before the first move, read the ten columns

Ten columns, fifty-four cards, and exactly one face-up card per column — that is all the information you start with. The four tallest columns hold six cards and the other six hold five, and only the bottom card of each is showing. So the first minute is not a move, it is a read: note which ranks are exposed, and where the buried cards you will need later must be.

Because only the bottom card is face-up, an early move is worth almost exactly one thing: whether it turns over a new card. Moving a face-up 7 onto a face-up 8 that sits on a shorter column buys you a reveal; moving the same 7 onto a six-card column usually does not. The hint ranks moves on exactly that logic (a reveal is worth +50, continuing a suit +20, emptying a column −5), which is a good sign that the engine agrees with the plan.

2. Suit count is the whole difficulty — decide first

The 1 suit / 2 suits / 4 suits buttons are not a cosmetic setting, they rebuild the deck. In 1 suit the game deals eight copies of every spade rank, so every descending run you build is automatically a same-suit run and finished runs arrive fast. In 2 suits you get four copies each of spades and hearts: runs are possible, but you must watch which of the two suits you are joining. In 4 suits every rank appears twice per suit, so the same-suit pairs you need are rare and the game becomes a long grind of holding spare columns open.

Practically: learn the movement rule on 1 suit, then move to 2 suits once a deal takes under ten minutes. Play 4 suits for the challenge, not for the score — and note that a 4-suit deal can genuinely dead-end below eight foundations, because the deck can be ordered so that no legal sequence exists. There is no loss state in this build: a stuck deal is answered with undo or a new game.

3. Colour never matters. Suit always does

This is the single rule that separates spider from Klondike, and the single mistake almost every beginner makes. In Klondike you build down in alternating colours. In spider you build down in one suit: a 7 of spades may only sit on an 8 of spades, never on an 8 of hearts, however tidy the colours would look. The engine enforces it exactly — a mixed-colour descending stack is not a movable run at all, so it cannot be picked up as a group.

A second consequence: the destination only has to show the next higher rank, regardless of colour, so a lone red 8 on the felt accepts your black 7. When you are unsure why a card will not move, check the suit of the card under it before you check anything else.

4. The stock will refuse to deal — keep every column alive

Dealing a row from the stock requires all ten columns to hold at least one card; an empty column blocks the deal until you fill it. That single rule is why empty columns are the most precious and the most dangerous thing on the board. An empty column is a free parking space for a long run, but it is also a deal-stopper, so a board played down to one or two empty columns can leave you holding five deals you are not allowed to use.

The habit that follows: never empty a column unless you have a card to put back, and when you do have a legal move into an empty column, prefer the move that starts rebuilding a run rather than the one that parks a stray card. If you are stuck with an empty column, look for any face-up card that can legally move there — almost anything can — and take the deal back.

5. A run only counts at the bottom of a column

A completed run is thirteen consecutive face-up cards of one suit from King down to Ace, sitting as the last thirteen cards of a column. The moment that exists, the engine removes it to a foundation and pays 100 points; eight such runs clear the deal. Two things follow that beginners miss.

First, the run must be in one column and in order — assembling King-through-Ace across several columns does nothing until you actually stack them. Second, because the run is collected from the bottom of the column, you should funnel complete suits toward the bottoms of your columns as they form, rather than letting a finished suit sit on top of two cards you still need. Watch the eight foundation slots above the board: they are your only progress indicator.

6. Undo, redo and hints are free — use them

Undo and redo are unlimited for the session, and neither costs a point beyond the point the move itself already cost. That makes spider a game you can play by experiment: try the move that looks promising, and if it buries a card you needed, undo and try the other order. The clock only runs while the tab is visible, so a pause to think does not cost you anything either.

The hint button is equally generous. It highlights a movable sequence and tells you which column to send it to, ranked by the rules above, so a hint is the fastest way to answer "is this board still alive?". And because the run auto-saves to your device, a deal survives a closed tab — come back later and the board is exactly where you left it, timer included.

FAQ

How do you play spider solitaire?

Deal 104 cards into ten columns with only the bottom card of each column face-up. Move face-up cards or descending same-suit runs onto a column that shows the next higher rank, or onto an empty column. Turn over the newly exposed card after each move, deal a row of ten from the stock when every column is occupied, and collect eight King-to-Ace same-suit runs to clear the deal.

What is the difference between 1, 2 and 4 suit spider?

The number of suits in the deck. One suit deals eight copies of each spade rank, so any descending run you build is already a same-suit run and finished runs come quickly. Two suits deal four copies each of spades and hearts; four suits deal two copies of every card in all four suits, which makes same-suit runs rare and the deal much longer.

Do I have to build in alternating colours like Klondike?

No. Spider builds down in one suit: a 7 of hearts can only be placed on an 8 of hearts. The destination card may be any colour, but the two cards that form a movable run must match in suit and descend by one rank.

Why will the stock not deal a new row?

Because at least one column is empty. The stock deals ten cards, one per column, so every column must hold a card before the deal is allowed. Fill the empty column — almost any face-up card can go there — and the stock becomes usable again.

How does scoring work?

You start at 500. Every move and every stock deal costs one point, and the score never drops below zero. Each completed King-to-Ace same-suit run adds 100 points. The score therefore measures how efficiently you cleared the deal, not how lucky the shuffle was — eight completed runs is the win.

Is every spider deal winnable?

No, and this build does not pretend otherwise. With four suits the cards can be ordered so that no legal sequence leads to eight runs, and the game has no loss screen for that: you can undo as far back as you like, or start a fresh deal. In one suit most deals are winnable with patient stacking.

Does it work on a phone, and does it save my progress?

Yes to both. The board is a ten-column felt that swipes sideways on a narrow screen while the page itself never scrolls sideways, and a tap runs the same code path as a mouse click. The deal you are playing is saved on your own device and resumes when you come back, timer and all.

Where can I play it?

Right on this site's spider-solitaire page. It is built on the MIT-licensed ES-module engine by Guven (commit b662661d); the cards are CSS shapes and suit symbols rather than image files, and the license and attribution are listed under the game.