Official Rules of Spider Solitaire (4-Suit / 2-Deck)

Spider Solitaire uses two standard 52-card decks (104 cards). Goal: Build 8 foundation stacks (King → Ace) in same suit. Most common: 4-Suit (hardest), 2-Suit, 1-Suit (easiest).

Setup

1. Shuffle 104 cards together.
2. Deal 10 tableau columns:
   • Columns 1–4: 6 cards each (5 face down, 1 face up).
   • Columns 5–10: 5 cards each (4 face down, 1 face up).
3. Remaining 50 cards → Stock (5 piles of 10) face down.
4. 8 Foundation piles start empty.

Play

• Build Down in Suit: Place a card/sequence on a card one rank higher, same suit (e.g., 9♥ on 10♥). Sequences must be same-suit descending.
• Move Sequences: Only same-suit descending sequences can be moved as a unit. (In 1-suit, any descending sequence.)
• Empty Columns: Any card/sequence can fill an empty column.
• Flip: When a face-down card is exposed, turn it face up.
• Deal from Stock: When no moves (or choose to), deal 1 card face up to each of the 10 columns (uses 10 cards). Cannot deal if any column is empty. Fill empties first.
• No Redeal: Stock used once (5 deals). Some digital versions allow redeal of waste – not standard.

Winning

• Complete 8 suit sequences (K-A) moved to foundations (auto in digital).
• 4-Suit: All 8 stacks same-suit. Extremely hard (~1-3% win rate).
• 2-Suit: Red/Black only. ~15-20%.
• 1-Suit: All one suit. ~50%+.

Losing

No legal moves + stock exhausted + no empty columns to accept a deal.

Strategy Essentials

• Empty Columns Are Gold: Create them early. They're the only way to maneuver kings and long sequences.
• Build Same-Suit: Never mix suits in a sequence (in 2/4-suit). Mixed = immovable.
• Expose Face-Downs: Prioritize moves that flip cards.
• Don't Rush Stock: Exhaust tableau moves first. Each deal buries cards.
• Kings Are Anchors: Only Kings (or sequences ending in King) can fill empty columns. Keep Kings accessible.

Digital Note: Windows Spider (XP/7) uses 2-suit default. Microsoft Solitaire Collection (Win10/11) offers 1/2/4 suit. No official "tournament rules" body – these are the de facto standard from Microsoft implementation.