Spider Solitaire Rules Explained — The Definitive Reference

Updated May 17, 2026 · 7-minute read

Spider Solitaire rules are simple to learn but easy to misremember. This reference covers every Spider Solitaire rule from setup to victory, including edge cases that other Spider Solitaire rule pages leave out — stock dealing restrictions, partial-run movement, scoring, win and loss conditions, and how the 1 Suit, 2 Suits, and 4 Suits variants change the official Spider Solitaire rules.

The Spider Solitaire Deck

Spider Solitaire uses two standard 52-card decks — 104 cards total. That’s why every rank from Ace to King appears eight times in the deck, and why a Spider Solitaire game produces exactly eight completed foundation runs. There are no jokers and no wild cards in standard Spider Solitaire rules.

The suit composition depends on the difficulty:

• Spider Solitaire 1 Suit rules: all 104 cards are the same suit (eight identical Ace-through-King sets, typically spades).
• Spider Solitaire 2 Suits rules: two suits, four sets each (commonly spades and hearts).
• Spider Solitaire 4 Suits rules: all four suits, two sets each — the standard advanced game.

Spider Solitaire Tableau Setup

The tableau is dealt into ten columns. Spider Solitaire rules specify exact dealing order:

• Columns 1, 2, 3, and 4 each receive six cards.
• Columns 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 each receive five cards.
• In every column, only the bottom card is face-up. All other cards are face-down.
• That puts 54 cards on the tableau. The remaining 50 cards form the stock.

The stock is divided into five face-down packets of 10 cards. Each packet is one stock deal.

Valid Moves in Spider Solitaire

The Spider Solitaire rules for valid moves are the heart of the game:

• Single-card move. Any face-up card on top of a column can be moved to another column whose top card is exactly one rank higher. Rank order is Ace (low), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King (high).
• Group move. You can move a group of cards together only if they form a perfectly descending run. In Spider Solitaire 1 Suit, the run doesn’t need to be same-suit (because every card is the same suit anyway). In 2 Suits and 4 Suits, only same-suit runs can move as a group.
• Mixed-suit stack. You can still move a single card off a mixed-suit stack — you just can’t move the whole stack at once.
• Empty column move. Any face-up card or valid group can be moved into an empty column. There is no Spider Solitaire rule restricting which rank goes into an empty column (unlike Klondike, where only a King can fill an empty space).

Spider Solitaire Stock Deal Rules

When no useful tableau moves remain, you tap the stock. Spider Solitaire rules for the stock are strict:

• One stock deal places one face-up card on top of every column simultaneously — exactly 10 cards per deal.
• You may deal the stock only if every column contains at least one card. If any column is empty, the stock is locked.
• There are exactly five stock deals available. Once all five are used, no more cards enter the tableau.

Many casual players assume you can keep dealing forever — that’s not a Spider Solitaire rule. Once the stock is gone, the position is whatever you make of it.

Completing a Suit and the Foundation

Spider Solitaire rules send a completed sequence to the foundation only when:

• 13 cards form a strict descending run from King to Ace.
• Every card in the run is the same suit.
• The run is at the bottom of a tableau column.

The moment those conditions are satisfied, the 13 cards are automatically removed and added as a single completed pile to the foundation. The card below them (if any) flips face-up. Completing a suit also awards a 100-point Spider Solitaire scoring bonus.

Winning and Losing Spider Solitaire

You win Spider Solitaire when all eight foundation slots are filled with complete King-to-Ace same-suit runs. That’s 104 cards moved off the tableau.

You lose Spider Solitaire when the stock is empty AND no legal tableau move exists. The official Spider Solitaire rules don’t actually require you to play to the end — you can declare defeat and start a new Spider Solitaire game whenever you like.

Spider Solitaire Scoring Rules

Most online Spider Solitaire games (including spidersolitaire.xyz) use a simple scoring formula:

• Start at 500 points.
• Subtract 1 point for every move.
• Subtract 1 point for every two seconds elapsed.
• Add 100 points for every completed suit.
• Add 50 bonus points if you win.
• Score never falls below zero.

Undo and Hint in Spider Solitaire

Traditional Spider Solitaire rules don’t cover undo or hints, but every modern online Spider Solitaire game implements them. Undo reverses your last move. Hint shows the recommended move. Neither is “cheating” — they’re part of the modern Spider Solitaire experience.

Ready to test your knowledge of the rules? Play a free Spider Solitaire game now. Or read more from the Spider Solitaire blog — start with the beginner’s guide or jump to advanced strategy.