Play 4 Suit Spider Solitaire

The full game: four suits, two decks of cards and no shortcuts. Deal a free game and see how far you get.

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4 suit Spider Solitaire is the standard, hardest form of Spider. It uses all four suits, and a run only moves as a group when every card in it is the same suit. You build columns from King down to Ace and clear each finished suit run. Play it free above, with unlimited undo and no sign-up.

How 4 suit Spider is set up

This is standard Spider: two full decks, 104 cards, with every card appearing exactly twice.

The deal fills 10 columns. The first four get six cards, the last six get five, and only the top card of each column is face up. The other 50 cards form the stock.

The rules:

  • Put any card on a card one rank higher, in any suit.
  • Move several cards together only if they run down in order and all share one suit.
  • Fill an empty column with any card or any group that could move.
  • Deal from the stock to put one card on every column, but only when no column is empty. There are 5 deals.
  • A complete King-to-Ace run in one suit clears off the board on its own. Clear 8 to win.

Windows called this level Advanced.

Why four suits is so much harder

With one suit, every build keeps a run movable. With two, you can at least spot a suit change by colour. With four, you lose both.

Most of your builds will be off suit, because the card that fits by rank usually belongs to a different suit. A 7 of clubs on an 8 of spades looks clean at a glance, since both are black, but it’s a break. The 8 can’t carry the 7 with it when it moves.

So you’ll build mixed stacks all game. The skill is choosing which ones, and taking them apart again before the stock runs out.

Strategy for 4 suit Spider

Read the suit, not the colour

In 2 suit Spider, black on red tells you there’s a break. Here, spade on club and heart on diamond are breaks too. Before you plan a move, read the symbols in the column you want to move. It takes a second and saves you from planning around a run that won’t move.

Put face-down cards first

Every face-down card hides information. Early in the game, the best move is usually the one that turns a card over, even if it makes an off-suit build. You can’t plan around cards you can’t see.

Empty columns are your main tool

In 4 suit Spider, you’ll need empty columns to undo the mixed stacks you build. With one empty column you can split a stack with one break. With two, you can handle a stack with two breaks:

  1. Move the top suit run into the first empty column.
  2. Move the middle suit run into the second.
  3. Move the top run back onto the middle run (it sat there before, so the build is legal).
  4. Move the bottom run to where you wanted it.
  5. Move the top run into an empty column, the middle run onto the bottom run, and the top run back on top. Both empty columns are free again.

That’s why a second empty column is worth so much more than the first. Treat empty columns as working space, not a place to store cards. If you park a long mixed stack in one, you’ve lost your tool.

Count the two copies

Each card exists twice. That makes counting practical. If you need a 10 of diamonds and both are already showing, one of them buried under a stack of five, you know there’s no third one coming from the stock. If one is showing and you haven’t seen the other, it’s face down, still in the stock or already cleared in a finished run, so it may be worth keeping a spot open for it.

Build off suit only for a reason

Off-suit builds are unavoidable, but each one adds a break. Make one when it turns a card over, empties a column, or sets up an in-suit build on your very next move. If a move does none of these, it probably makes the board worse.

Think twice before freeing a King

A King can only go into an empty column. Early in a 4 suit game that space is precious. Move a King into it only when doing so turns over a card or frees something you need right away.

Deal on your terms

Each deal drops a card on all 10 columns, and most will be off suit. Before each deal:

  1. Make every in-suit join you can.
  2. Fix any break you can fix cheaply.
  3. Fill each empty column with the run you’ll least mind moving again (the game won’t deal while one is empty).

Then deal, and look first for new cards that land on the same suit. Those are free in-suit builds.

Use undo, and replay deals

Undo is unlimited here. It costs 1 point each time, but if you’re playing to win, that doesn’t matter. Try a line, see what turns over, and undo if it goes nowhere.

Every deal also has a number. If you lose a hard one, start it again from its number and try a different plan. You’ll learn more from replaying one deal three times than from three random deals.

Scoring at 4 suits

The score starts at 500. Each move costs 1 point, each undo costs 1, and each finished run adds 100. Dealing from the stock is free. Long games cost points, so compare yourself with your own best, which the game saves in your browser. The Spider scoring guide covers the details.

Is 4 suits right for you?

If you’re new to Spider, start with 1 suit Spider to learn how empty columns and deals work. Then move up to two suits, where suit breaks first appear, and 3 suit Spider Solitaire, a middle step few sites have.

When you’re ready for 4 suits, the Spider strategy guide and tips for winning Spider go deeper. Curious how Spider compares with other tough games? See our hardest solitaire games ranking.

Features for long games

Four-suit games run long, so the tools matter. You get unlimited undo, hints when you’re stuck, auto-complete once the win is certain, and stats for each suit count saved in your browser. Turn on big cards for small screens, switch to left-hand mode or fullscreen, and pick a theme. It runs in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer, with no download.

Want a different challenge? Try Scorpion, where you can move any face-up card, or see every game in the Spider family.

Rules source: Pretty Good Solitaire (Goodsol)

Frequently asked questions

Is 4 suit Spider Solitaire the hardest version?

Of the standard versions, yes. With four suits, most builds you make are off suit, and those stacks can’t move as one group. You need empty columns and careful timing of each deal to take them apart. One suit is the easiest, two suits sits in between, and three suits is a step below four.

How many of each card are in 4 suit Spider?

Two. The game uses two complete standard decks, so every card, such as the queen of hearts, appears exactly twice. That makes counting useful: if you can see both copies of a card you need, you know the stock won’t bring you another one, and you can plan around that.

What is the difference between 2 suit and 4 suit Spider?

Two suit Spider uses only spades and hearts, so every suit change is also a colour change and easy to spot. Four suit Spider uses all four suits. A club on a spade looks clean but is a break, so more of your builds lock up, and you need more empty columns to fix them.

Can I replay the same 4 suit deal?

Yes. Every deal has a number. You can start the same deal again to try a different plan, or copy its link and send it to a friend so they play the exact same cards. This is a good way to learn, because you can see how different choices change the result.

What is the best tip for 4 suit Spider?

Make empty columns and keep them free. In four suits, most of your stacks will mix suits, and empty columns are the main way to split them and rebuild in suit. Turn over face-down cards first, build off suit only when it gains you something, and tidy up before every deal.