Beginner Tutorial
Follow a step-by-step Spider Solitaire tutorial with a playable seeded practice board, setup notes, legal moves, stock deals, and beginner guidance. Regular browser games can save locally, so you can continue a run later from the same device.
Overview
To learn Spider Solitaire, start with a 1-suit game, understand the 104-card setup with 10 tableau columns and a 50-card stock, move cards in descending order, reveal hidden cards whenever possible, build same-suit King-to-Ace runs, use empty columns as workspace, and deal from the stock only after every column is filled and the tableau has no better move. This tutorial uses a seeded opening board so the first practice exercise is reproducible.
Step 1
Spider Solitaire uses two standard decks for 104 total cards. The tableau has 10 columns: the first 4 columns start with 6 cards and the remaining 6 columns start with 5 cards. Only the top card of each column is face up. The remaining 50 cards sit in the stock.
Step 2
You can place a card on another card that is exactly one rank higher, such as a 7 on an 8 or a Queen on a King. A single card can move even when the suits differ in 2-suit or 4-suit games, but a group of cards can move together only when the run is descending and all the same suit.
Practice Example
The tutorial board starts from the seed tutorial-opening-1-suit. Its visible top cards are 10, K, 3, 5, J, A, 6, 5, Q, and 2. That gives you seven legal same-suit opening moves: 10 onto J, J onto Q, Q onto K, A onto 2, 2 onto 3, plus either visible 5 onto the 6. Your job is to choose the move that opens the best follow-up, then compare it with a different line after replaying.
Step 3
Every hidden card is a locked option. When you move the face-up card covering it, the hidden card flips over and may open a new sequence, empty column, or stock-safe move. Many beginner mistakes come from making visible rearrangements while better reveal moves were available.
Step 4
An empty column is temporary space for reorganizing a messy tableau. You can move a valid card or same-suit run into an empty column, then use that opening to move cards out of the way and expose more hidden cards.
Step 5
The stock deals one new card onto each tableau column, which can cover useful cards and break your momentum. Before dealing, check every column for reveals, same-suit improvements, and empty-column maneuvers. You cannot deal when any tableau column is empty.
Step 6
1 suit is the recommended beginner tutorial mode because every descending run uses the same suit, so you can focus on the flow of legal moves and board control. Once you are consistent there, move up to 2 suits for more planning and 4 suits for the hardest board-reading practice.
Step 7
A good Spider tutorial is not just reading rules once. Replay close deals and watch which move actually led to more cards becoming visible. The daily board is especially useful after this tutorial because it saves your local best score, moves, and time for that date seed.
Before You Move
| Situation | Check first | Best action |
|---|---|---|
| First move | On the seeded tutorial board, can you turn A onto 2, 2 onto 3, 10 onto J, J onto Q, or Q onto K? | Pick a legal move that leads toward a reveal or longer same-suit run instead of moving the first pair you notice. |
| Legal move | Is the destination card exactly one rank higher than the card you want to place? | Move the card or run only when the rank goes down by one. Spider Solitaire is built on descending placement. |
| Mixed-suit move | Will the move help you reveal a card, create space, or set up a same-suit run later? | Mixed-suit stacks can be built, but only same-suit ordered runs can move together as a group. |
| Empty column | Can you use the open column to park a King, expose a hidden card, or rebuild a run with more room? | Treat empty columns as working space, not storage. Use them to improve the board before the next stock deal. |
| Stock deal | Are all 10 tableau columns filled, and have you already used the useful tableau moves available? | Only deal after a full scan. A stock deal adds pressure and is legal only when every column has a card. |
| Mode choice | Are you learning the rules or trying to maximize challenge? | Use 1 suit as recommended beginner practice. Our 75,000-deal study found it has far more same-suit opening mobility than 2-suit or 4-suit starts. |
| Scoring and replay | Do you want a cleaner practice loop or a better result on the same deal? | Replay close deals to practice the same decision tree and track how many same-suit runs and reveals you can create before the stock runs out. |
Start with 1 suit, learn the 104-card setup and the 10-column tableau, then practice one skill at a time: revealing hidden cards, making same-suit runs, opening empty columns, and delaying stock deals until the tableau is truly stuck. The tutorial board on this page uses a reproducible beginner seed.
Scan the visible cards for a move that flips a face-down card or improves a same-suit run. In the opening, information is usually more valuable than rearranging cards for appearance.
Deal from the stock only after checking every tableau column for useful moves. You also need at least one card in every column before the stock can deal 10 new cards.
Yes. You can build mixed-suit descending stacks, but only same-suit ordered runs can move together as a group. That is why same-suit builds are stronger whenever you have a choice.
Beginners should start with 1 suit because every descending run is easier to move. Move to 2 suits after the basic flow feels natural, then try 4 suits when you want the full challenge.
The goal is to clear the tableau by building complete King-to-Ace runs in the same suit. A full Spider game uses 104 cards, 10 tableau columns, and a 50-card stock.
Yes. This page includes a playable 1-suit Spider Solitaire game in the browser, so you can read each tutorial step and immediately practice it without downloading an app or creating an account. The first board is seeded for consistent tutorial practice.
A 75,000-deal opening-board simulation found that 1-suit starts averaged 6.46 same-suit top moves, while 2-suit starts averaged 3.20 and 4-suit starts averaged 1.61. Starting with 1 suit helps beginners learn the move pattern before suit friction becomes the main challenge.