Spider Solitaire: How to Play, One Run at a Time

Read the opening deal

Spider begins with ten columns containing a mixture of hidden and face-up cards. The rest of the 104-card deck waits in the stock. In Klondike Gold 24K, all Spider cards are spades. Each rank appears multiple times, making it possible to build the eight complete runs needed to win.

Place a lower rank on the next higher rank: a nine can go on a ten, then an eight on the nine. A correctly ordered face-up sequence can move together. If moving it exposes a hidden card underneath, that card turns face up and adds a new possibility to the table.

Build runs while opening the board

An empty column can hold any card or legal run. Use that space to uncover a card, connect two sequences, or untangle a column. Try to give each move a purpose beyond making one pile look neater. A short sequence that exposes a hidden Queen may help more than extending a long sequence that leaves the rest of the table blocked.

1. Check for a move that uncovers a face-down card.
2. Join descending runs when doing so preserves useful working space.
3. Use an empty column to solve a specific blockage.
4. Complete a King-to-Ace sequence; the app clears it automatically.

Deal a row only after checking the table

A stock draw places one new card on each of the ten columns. Every column must contain a card before that draw is allowed. New cards can break up the sequences you have been assembling, so examine available joins and uncovering moves first. When an empty column blocks the deal, put a card or legal run into it.

The coming-soon iPhone and iPad app includes a solvable Spider warm-up, hints, Undo, and local saving. Hints show a possible move; they do not guarantee a solution for a full shuffled deal. This guide describes the collection's one-suit rules. Two-suit and four-suit versions are not included in the current app.