How to play
Spider is a patience game for one player that uses two full decks, 104 cards in all. Your goal is to clear the table by building eight complete runs, each going from King down to Ace in a single suit. A finished run leaves the table and joins the row of completed sets at the top.
The game starts with 54 cards in ten columns: the first four columns get six cards and the other six get five. Only the top card of each column is face up. The other 50 cards wait in the stock in the top left corner and come into play ten at a time, one on every column. Choose one suit for a gentle start, two for a real challenge or four if you are experienced.
Rules
- Building: you can place any card on a card one rank higher, whatever its suit – a 7 of hearts on an 8 of spades, for example. Nothing can be placed on an Ace.
- Moving runs: cards in descending order that are all of the same suit can be moved together. A run that mixes suits has to be taken apart from the top.
- Empty columns: any card, or any run you are allowed to move, can go into an empty column. A King can only move to an empty column.
- Hidden cards: when the last face-up card leaves a column, the card underneath turns over automatically.
- Dealing: click the stock to deal one new face-up card onto each of the ten columns. There are five deals in total, and you cannot deal while any column is empty.
- Completed sets: a full run from King to Ace in one suit is removed automatically. You win when all eight sets are complete.
- Score: you start with 500 points, lose one point for every move or deal and gain 100 points for every completed set.
Controls
- Mouse: drag a card, or a same-suit run, and drop it on another column. It lands on the nearest column where the move is legal and snaps back otherwise. A single click moves it automatically: onto a card of the same suit if possible, then onto any card one rank higher, then into an empty column. If there is nowhere to go, the card shakes.
- Touch: the same on a phone or tablet. The cards follow your finger while you drag, and a tap works like a click.
- Keyboard: press Tab to move between the stock and the cards you can move, then Enter or Space to deal or to play the focused card. U or Ctrl+Z undoes a move, H shows a hint and D deals a new row.
- Buttons: Undo takes back moves and deals one at a time with no limit. Hint highlights a move; press it again for the next option. Restart plays the same deal from the beginning, and New game shuffles fresh cards.
Tips and strategy
- Turn over hidden cards. Every face-down card you reveal gives you more choices, so a move that uncovers a card is usually worth more than any other.
- Build in suit whenever you can. A same-suit run moves as one unit, while a mixed run stays stuck until you take it apart.
- Work towards an empty column. Columns with only a few hidden cards are the quickest to clear. An empty column lets you reorder runs and split mixed sequences, so do not fill it with a random card.
- Get ready before you deal. A deal drops a card on every column, so make your useful moves first.
- Experiment freely. Undo is unlimited, so you can try a line of play and take it back if it leads nowhere.
Frequently asked questions
Which difficulty should I choose?
Start with one suit: every card is a spade, so every build keeps the suit together and most deals can be won. Two suits (spades and hearts) makes you plan which cards belong together, and four suits is much harder. Statistics are kept separately for each level.
Why can't I deal new cards?
The stock only deals when every column holds at least one card. Move a card or a run into the empty column first, then click the stock again. After five deals the stock is used up.
How is the score calculated?
You start with 500 points. Every move and every deal costs one point, and every completed set adds 100. Undo takes a move back together with its point.
Can every game be won?
No. Every deal is random, and some cannot be solved however carefully you play, especially with four suits. If no legal move is left, the game tells you, so you can undo, restart the deal or start a new one.
Is my game saved if I close the page?
Yes. The game in progress, your difficulty setting and your statistics are stored in this browser on this device, so you can continue where you stopped. Nothing is sent to a server.
Does it work on phones and offline?
Yes. The table resizes so that all ten columns fit on a small screen, and once the page has loaded it needs no internet connection.