Spider Rules

What the starting layout looks like

Spider uses 104 cards — two standard decks. Ten tableau columns are dealt on the board. The first four columns get six cards each; the remaining six get five. Only the top card of each column is face up; the rest lie face down. The leftover cards stay in the stock and are dealt later as new rows.

In 1-suit mode all cards count as the same suit, so the player can focus on the order of ranks rather than colors. It is the most comfortable format for a first introduction to Spider: the rules are exactly the same, but the layout produces fewer conflicts.

Which moves are allowed

A card, or a valid sequence, can be placed on a card one rank higher. For example, a nine goes on a ten, and a ten on a jack. In the 1-suit version sequences are easier to build, because you do not have to track suits within a chain. You can move a single card or an entire block, as long as it is already arranged in unbroken descending order.

An empty column in Spider can take any card or sequence. That makes free columns your main rearranging tool: the sooner you manage to clear at least one column, the easier it becomes to move long runs and prepare the board for the next row deal.

When a completed sequence is removed

The main goal of the game is to build a full sequence in a column from king down to ace. When such a chain is complete, it is automatically removed from the table. That is why Spider has no foundations in the Klondike sense: everything important happens right in the tableau columns, and finished chains simply leave the board.

To win, you need to complete eight such sequences. Even in 1-suit mode this takes planning: sometimes it is better to temporarily break up a short, tidy chain in order to free a card for a stronger rearrangement in a neighboring column.

How dealing a new row works

When useful moves run out, the player can deal a new row from the stock. One card is added to each of the ten columns. But this action has an important restriction: if there is an empty column on the board, you cannot deal a new row. The empty column must be filled first, or the game would simply lock up.

That is why it pays to check for better rearrangements before dealing. If you deal a new row too early, unfinished chains can fall apart and hidden cards end up buried under new layers. Try these rules right away in the Spider 1 suit game, then compare your approach with the Spider guide and our strategy article.

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