Spider Solitaire Rules: A Complete Playing Guide

Short answer: PlaySoli Spider uses two 52-card decks, ten tableau columns, and five stock rows. You may place a single exposed card on any card exactly one rank higher, even across suits. A group moves together only when every card forms an uninterrupted descending sequence in the same suit. Any exposed card or legal same-suit group may use an empty column, but every column must be occupied before a new row can be dealt. A complete same-suit King-to-Ace run is removed automatically, and removing all eight runs wins the game.

Spider’s difficulty comes from a deliberate split between legal placement and group mobility. A red 8 can legally go on a black 9, but that cross-suit pair cannot later move as one unit. The move may expose a useful card, yet it can also create a seam that must be repaired. Understanding that distinction prevents most rules errors.

This guide defines the shared PlaySoli rules for Spider One Suit, Spider Two Suits, and Spider Four Suits. The number of active suits changes how often movable runs can be formed; it does not replace the underlying layout or movement system SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006. Decision-making is covered separately in Spider strategy.

Contents

• The layout at a glance
• How the opening deal works
• Which cards are available
• How single-card placement works
• When a group may move
• How empty columns work
• How stock rows work
• How completed runs are removed
• What changes between suit levels
• A complete worked example
• Win, stall and no-progress states
• Historical rules and current PlaySoli rules
• Common rules mistakes
• In brief
• Frequently asked questions

The layout at a glance

Spider uses 104 cards: two standard decks without jokers. The opening tableau has ten columns. Four columns begin with six cards each, and six columns begin with five, for 54 cards in total. Only the top card of each opening column is face up. The remaining 50 cards form the stock and are delivered as five rows of ten SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006.

Area	Quantity	Function
Tableau	10 columns	Where cards are exposed, arranged, and assembled into runs
Initial deal	54 cards	Four columns of six and six columns of five
Stock	50 cards	Five later rows, one new card per column
Completed-run area	8 runs	Receives same-suit King-to-Ace sequences automatically

Unlike Klondike, Spider has no separate waste pile. Stock cards go directly onto the tableau. Unlike FreeCell, it has no fixed free cells. Empty tableau columns provide the temporary workspace.

The objective is to assemble eight complete sequences. Each sequence contains thirteen cards of one suit in strict descending order:

King–Queen–Jack–10–9–8–7–6–5–4–3–2–Ace.

When such a run becomes exposed and continuous, PlaySoli removes it automatically SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006. Eight removed runs account for all 104 cards.

How the opening deal works

The first four columns contain six cards; the other six contain five. In each column, the top card is face up and all lower cards are face down. This produces ten available cards at the start and 44 hidden cards to expose.

The layout can be represented as:

Columns	Cards per column	Face-up cards	Face-down cards
1–4	6	1 each	5 each
5–10	5	1 each	4 each
Total	54	10	44

When the top face-up card leaves a column and a face-down card becomes the new endpoint, the interface turns that card face up. Exposing hidden cards is therefore a core source of progress, but exposure alone does not complete the game; the revealed cards still have to be organized into eight suited runs.

The 1949 Morehead–Mott-Smith rules use this same 54-card, ten-pile opening structure SRC-022. That historical continuity does not mean every interface detail is identical, but it shows that the modern layout is not merely a recent screen convention.

Which cards are available

A card is available when it is face up and no card lies on top of it. Usually that means the bottom visible card of a column. More than one card can be moved only when the available card heads a legal movable sequence.

Face-down cards cannot be selected, even when their position is obvious. A card inside a face-up stack also cannot be selected independently unless the cards below it form a same-suit descending group that can travel with it, or those lower cards have first been moved elsewhere.

Example: a column ends with 10♠–9♠–8♠. The 10♠ heads a three-card movable group, the 9♠ heads a two-card movable group, and the 8♠ can move alone. If the column instead ends with 10♠–9♥–8♥, the 9♥–8♥ pair can move together, but 10♠–9♥–8♥ cannot move as one group because the suit changes between the 10 and 9.

How single-card placement works

An exposed single card may be placed on an exposed card exactly one rank higher. Suit does not affect the legality of this single-card placement SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006.

Legal examples:

• 8♥ onto 9♣;
• Queen♠ onto King♦;
• 4♣ onto 5♣;
• 10♦ onto Jack♥.

Illegal examples:

• 8 onto 10, because the rank gap is two;
• 8 onto 8, because ranks must descend;
• Jack onto 10, because that builds upward;
• any card onto an Ace, because no rank is one step below Ace;
• a King onto a nonempty column, because there is no rank above King.

Suits still matter strategically. Placing 8♥ on 9♣ is legal, but the pair is not a same-suit sequence and cannot later move together. Placing 8♣ on 9♣ is both legal and suited, so the 9♣–8♣ unit remains movable.

A legal move can therefore create one of two structures:

• a suited link, which preserves group mobility;
• a suit break, which allows rank building but divides the stack into separate movable segments.

That distinction applies in all three suit modes. In One Suit, every active card belongs to the same represented suit, so every correct rank link is also suited. In Two and Four Suits, the distinction appears constantly.

When a group may move

A group may move only when all of its cards are:

1. face up;
2. in exact descending rank order;
3. in the same suit;
4. uninterrupted from the selected leading card to the bottom card.

The destination must be either an empty column or a card exactly one rank higher than the group’s leading card SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006. The destination suit does not have to match, although matching it preserves a longer movable run.

Consider this column ending:

Jack♣–10♣–9♣–8♣.

All four cards may move together onto a Queen of any suit. The 10♣–9♣–8♣ subgroup may also move onto any Jack. Selecting a shorter tail is legal because that tail is itself a continuous same-suit sequence.

Now compare:

Jack♣–10♦–9♦–8♦.

The 10♦–9♦–8♦ segment moves as a unit. The entire four-card stack does not. The first rank link is legal for tableau building, but the change from clubs to diamonds is a movement boundary.

This rule explains a common interface surprise. Cards can look perfectly ordered from high to low and still refuse to move together. Rank order determines whether they may sit together; rank plus suit continuity determines whether they may travel together.

How empty columns work

An empty column accepts any available single card or any legal same-suit descending group SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006. There is no King-only restriction as in Klondike.

Empty columns are powerful because they remove the destination-rank requirement. You can use one to:

• park a blocking card;
• move a complete suited segment aside;
• expose a face-down card;
• split a mixed stack into separate suit segments;
• rebuild those segments in a better order;
• receive a King-led run that has no possible nonempty destination.

Example: one column ends with 9♠–8♥–7♥–6♥, while another exposes 10♥. The 8♥–7♥–6♥ segment cannot jump directly onto 10♥ because its leading card is an 8, not a 9. With an empty column, move 8♥–7♥–6♥ into the space, move 9♠ elsewhere if possible, and then use the newly exposed card or reconstruct a suited chain. The precise sequence depends on available destinations, but the empty lane makes operations possible that a fully occupied board cannot support.

An empty column also creates a stock restriction: you may not deal the next row while any column remains empty. Before using the stock, each space must be filled deliberately.

How stock rows work

The stock contains 50 cards, delivered in five rows. Activating the stock deals one face-up card onto each of the ten tableau columns. No waste pile is created, and you do not choose which column receives which card SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006.

A new row is legal only when all ten columns contain at least one card. If a column is empty, PlaySoli blocks the deal. This is not merely a software convenience; the same all-spaces-filled condition appears in the 1949 rules SRC-022.

A row deal changes access across the entire board at once. Every prior endpoint receives a new card. A beautifully arranged suited sequence remains in place, but its lowest exposed card becomes covered by the new arrival. You must move that arrival before using the older endpoint again.

Before dealing, check three questions:

1. Is any face-down card still exposable with current moves?
2. Can any mixed stack be repaired while an empty column exists?
3. Which ten endpoint ranks will receive the new cards, and are avoidable obstructions still present?

These are strategic questions, not extra legality conditions. The only formal precondition is that no column be empty.

How completed runs are removed

A completed run must contain thirteen exposed cards of one suit in exact descending order from King to Ace. When the final link is formed in PlaySoli, the interface removes the run automatically SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006.

The run may have been assembled in pieces. For example:

• King♠ through 9♠ in one column;
• 8♠ through 5♠ in another;
• 4♠ through Ace♠ in a third.

If workspace and destination ranks permit, those segments can be joined into one continuous sequence. Once King♠–Queen♠–…–Ace♠ is exposed without a suit break, it leaves the tableau.

Removing a completed run takes 13 cards off the board. It may expose the next card, and it creates an empty column only when no cards remain underneath the run. Removal counts one of the eight required runs; because it is automatic, a completed run cannot be retained on PlaySoli as a temporary stack.

The 1949 printed rules differ slightly: they allow a complete run to be taken off but say removal is not compulsory SRC-022. This is a useful example of a historical procedural variation. The shared objective remains the disposal of all cards as eight suited runs.

What changes between suit levels

The current One Suit, Two Suits, and Four Suits modes share the same core framework:

• 104 cards;
• ten columns;
• 54-card opening tableau;
• five stock rows;
• rank-by-rank single-card placement;
• same-suit-only group movement;
• no stock row while a column is empty;
• automatic removal of completed suited runs;
• eight runs required to win SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006.

Suit count changes the frequency of compatible links. In One Suit, every rank-correct link is also a suit match. In Two Suits, a rank-correct move may join or split one of two suit families. In Four Suits, each exact suit must be managed separately.

No rule says One Suit is automatically solvable, and no reliable percentage is supplied here for any mode. The practical comparison is developed in spider suits comparison.

A complete worked example

Suppose the exposed endpoints include:

• Column A: 9♣;
• Column B: 8♥–7♥–6♥;
• Column C: 5♥–4♥;
• Column D: 10♣;
• Column E: empty;
• the remaining five columns are occupied.

Several rules interact.

1. Move the 8♥–7♥–6♥ group to Column A. This is legal because the group is internally descending and same-suit, and its leading 8 fits on the 9♣. The destination suit may differ.
2. Recognize the result. Column A now ends 9♣–8♥–7♥–6♥. The heart segment remains movable, but the 9♣ cannot travel with it.
3. Use the empty column. Move 5♥–4♥ into Column E. Any legal same-suit group may enter a space.
4. Join heart segments if a 6 destination is exposed. The 5♥–4♥ segment can later move onto 6♥, producing 8♥ through 4♥ as one movable unit.
5. Do not deal yet. Column E is no longer empty after step 3, so the formal restriction is satisfied, but further rearrangement may still be possible.
6. Evaluate the 9♣–8♥ suit break. If 8♣ becomes available, replacing the heart segment with a club continuation could improve Column A. Alternatively, the mixed placement may be accepted temporarily because it exposed a hidden card in Column B.

The example shows why Spider rules cannot be reduced to “build downward.” Every action must be read at two levels: whether the placement is legal now and which portion will remain movable later.

Win, stall and no-progress states

You win when eight complete same-suit King-to-Ace runs have been removed. The tableau and stock are then empty.

A temporary stall occurs when no useful rearrangement is obvious but stock rows remain. You may deal a row if all ten columns are occupied. The new cards can create options, although they also cover existing endpoints.

A blocked deal control is not a loss by itself. It usually means at least one column is empty; fill it before dealing.

A terminal no-progress state occurs when no legal move can improve access and no legal stock row remains. Software may allow undo or replay, but the rules do not promise that every deal can be completed. Avoid treating a stalled attempt as proof that the game or mode is universally impossible; it describes that line of play and that deal.

Historical rules and current PlaySoli rules

The 1949 rules document the same basic ten-column, two-deck system, downward building regardless of suit, same-suit group movement, space filling before a row, and removal of thirteen-card suited sequences SRC-022. That makes them highly relevant to current Spider.

Important differences remain:

Procedure	1949 text	Current PlaySoli
Completed run	May be removed; removal not compulsory	Removed automatically
Bookkeeping	Player turns, deals, validates, and removes cards	Interface enforces and automates operations
Suit levels	Historical chapter describes its own standard form	Product offers One, Two, and Four Suits

Historical comparison belongs in the Spider history, while the rules in this guide control current PlaySoli play.

Common rules mistakes

Treating every descending stack as movable

A descending stack moves together only when it is uninterrupted and same-suit. Mixed-suit rank order is not enough.

Requiring matching suits for a single-card move

Single cards may build across suits as long as the destination is exactly one rank higher. Suit matching affects mobility, not basic placement legality.

Applying Klondike’s empty-column rule

Spider spaces accept any available card or legal group, not only Kings.

Dealing with an empty column

PlaySoli blocks the stock row until every column is occupied.

Moving a group onto the wrong rank

The group’s leading card must land on a card exactly one rank higher. Its bottom card is irrelevant to the destination test.

Counting a mixed King-to-Ace stack as complete

Removal requires one continuous suit. Correct ranks with a suit break do not form a completed run.

Expecting to keep a completed run on the tableau

PlaySoli removes it automatically. Historical paper editions may describe a different procedure.

Assuming suit count changes the movement rule

The same-suit condition for group movement applies in every mode. One Suit feels different because all active cards share the represented suit.

In brief

• Spider uses two decks, 104 cards, and ten tableau columns.
• The opening deal has 54 cards: six in each of the first four columns and five in each of the other six.
• The stock contains 50 cards, dealt as five rows of ten.
• A single exposed card may go on any card exactly one rank higher, regardless of suit.
• A group moves only when it is an uninterrupted descending same-suit sequence.
• Any available card or legal same-suit group may enter an empty column.
• A stock row is unavailable while any column is empty.
• A complete same-suit King-to-Ace run is removed automatically.
• Eight removed runs win.
• One, Two, and Four Suits share the legal-move framework; suit count changes the structural challenge.

Frequently asked questions

Can I place an 8 of hearts on a 9 of clubs?

Yes. A single card may build on a card exactly one rank higher regardless of suit SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006. The resulting cross-suit pair cannot move together.

Why will a descending stack not move as a group?

At least one adjacent pair probably changes suit, or the ranks are not perfectly consecutive. Every card in the selected group must descend by one and share the same suit.

What can go into an empty Spider column?

Any available single card or any legal descending same-suit group. Spider has no King-only space rule.

Why is the stock disabled when I have cards left?

One or more tableau columns is empty. Fill every space before dealing the next ten-card row SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006.

How many stock rows are there?

Five. Fifty cards remain after the 54-card opening deal, and each row uses ten cards.

Does a completed run have to be the same suit?

Yes. The full King-to-Ace sequence must be one suit. Mixed ranks do not qualify.

Can I choose not to remove a completed run?

Not in the current PlaySoli implementation; removal is automatic. The 1949 printed rules made removal optional, which is a historical variation SRC-022.

Do One Suit and Four Suits use different movement rules?

No. They use the same framework. Four Suits creates more suit breaks and fewer immediately compatible links, but the legal tests remain the same.

Is every Spider deal winnable?

No such guarantee is made. Do not infer universal solvability from the existence of legal moves, an undo function, or the easier One Suit mode.

Related PlaySoli guides

• Spider strategy — choosing useful moves within these rules.
• Common Spider mistakes — diagnosing immovable stacks and mistimed rows.
• Spider suit comparison — what One, Two, and Four Suits change.
• Spider history — printed evidence and rule evolution.
• Solitaire rules explained — concepts shared across game families.

Sources used

• SRC-001 PlaySoli implementation and editorial specification: primary authority for the current game rules.
• SRC-004 PlaySoli Spider One Suit product page: current One Suit layout and movement summary.
• SRC-005 PlaySoli Spider Two Suits product page: current Two Suits layout and movement summary.
• SRC-006 PlaySoli Spider Four Suits product page: current Four Suits layout and movement summary.
• SRC-022 Morehead and Mott-Smith, The Complete Book of Solitaire and Patience Games (1949): historical layout, movement, stock-row, and run-removal comparison.

Material checked: 2026-07-17.

Disputed or unverified facts: The current PlaySoli rules are treated as product facts. No universal Spider solvability rate is asserted. Historical editions may differ in automatic removal, terminology, scoring, and optional procedures.

Editorial responsibility: PlaySoli Editorial Team.