Play Spider solitaire (one suit)

Spider uses two decks' worth of cards spread across ten columns, and the one-suit version is the gentlest way to learn it: all 104 cards are spades, so the suit rule for moving runs never gets in your way. Deal Spider One Suit now to start a free round on this page, with no account and no money.

Your round is saved automatically in your browser and resumes when you return. This mode keeps its own statistics, apart from the two-suit and four-suit versions: rounds played, rounds won, best time and fewest moves for wins.

How to win

Build complete runs from King down to Ace inside the tableau. Whenever a column holds a full run of 13 cards, King to Ace, with the Ace on top, those cards are removed to the foundation automatically. Complete all eight runs, removing all 104 cards, and the round is won.

Rules

The deal

• 104 cards: eight sets of spades from Ace to King.
• Ten tableau columns. The first four get 6 cards each and the other six get 5 cards each, 54 cards in all. Only the top card of each column is face up.
• The remaining 50 cards form the stock, enough for 5 deals of 10 cards.
• Each deal shows its deal number, so it can be replayed.

Moving cards

• Any card may be placed on a card exactly one rank higher, regardless of suit. For example, any 7 may go on any 8.
• A run can be moved together only if it is in descending order and all one suit. In this mode every card is a spade, so any descending run qualifies.
• Any card or valid run may fill an empty column.

Dealing from the stock

• Draw deals one face-up card onto each of the ten columns.
• Draw is not allowed while any column is empty. Fill every gap before you deal.

Completed runs and the end of the round

• A complete King-to-Ace run of one suit on top of a column is removed automatically.
• Won: all eight runs completed and all 104 cards removed.
• Lost: the stock is empty and no legal move changes the position.
• A new deal started part-way through counts the unfinished round as abandoned.

Controls

• Tap or click a card (or the top card of the run you want to move), then tap the destination column; or drag and drop.
• Draw (D) deals a new row of ten cards from the stock.
• Hint (H) highlights one legal move without making it, and Auto move (A) plays the move the hint would show.
• Undo (U) is unlimited, all the way back to the deal; New deal is N.
• On the keyboard, Tab moves between piles, Enter or Space selects and places, and Esc cancels a selection.

Tips

1. Turn over the hidden cards. At the start, 44 of the 54 tableau cards are face down. Moves that uncover one of them give you new information and new options, so they usually come first.
2. Treat empty columns as gold. Any card or run can go into an empty column, which makes it the perfect temporary parking space for rearranging runs. Just remember that you must fill every empty column before you can draw.
3. Finish your moves before you draw. Each draw drops a card onto every column, covering whatever was on top. Make all the useful moves first, including joining runs together, so fewer good cards end up buried.
4. Plan where Kings will live. Nothing ranks above a King, so a King can never be placed on another card. The only way to move a King, or a run headed by one, is into an empty column.
5. Count your deals. The stock holds exactly five deals of ten. Knowing how many are left helps you decide whether to spend an empty column now or keep it for later.
6. Use Undo to compare options. When two moves look similar, try one, see what it uncovers and step back if the other looks better.

Once one suit feels comfortable, the strategy guide has more on planning runs, and the compare page shows how the Spider modes differ.

Related games

• Spider Two Suits adds hearts, so building in suit starts to matter.
• Spider Four Suits uses two full decks and is the strictest test of run-building.
• Klondike Draw 1 is the classic one-deck patience game with seven columns.