Play Black Widow Solitaire
Spider where any run in sequence can move, whatever the suits. Deal a free game of Black Widow below.
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Black Widow Solitaire is two-deck Spider with the move rule opened up. Any run that goes down in sequence can move as a group, whatever its suits. You still build down in any suit across ten columns, deal from a stock, and win by clearing King-to-Ace runs that are all one suit.
How the Black Widow deal is laid out
The deal matches standard Spider. You get 104 cards from two decks in 10 columns: six cards in each of the first four, five in each of the rest. Only the top card of each column is face up. The other 50 cards form the stock.
Black Widow rules
These rules follow Pretty Good Solitaire’s Black Widow page.
- Building. Place a card on any card one rank higher, in any suit.
- Moving. Move a single card, or any run going down in sequence, whatever the suits. The 8 of clubs, 7 of hearts and 6 of spades move together.
- Empty columns. Fill with any card or legal run.
- The stock. Deal one card onto each column, once every column holds at least one card.
- Completed runs. A King-to-Ace run in one suit is removed automatically.
- Winning. Clear every card in completed runs.
How Black Widow differs from Spider
Pretty Good Solitaire puts it simply: in Spider, only runs in one suit can move as a group. In Black Widow, any run in sequence can.
That’s the same freedom you get in 1-suit Spider, where every card is a spade, so every run moves. Pretty Good Solitaire makes the same link, listing Black Widow next to Spider One Suit. The difference is the finish. In 1-suit Spider, any King-to-Ace run clears. In Black Widow the deck has four suits, and a run only clears when all 13 cards are the same suit.
So Black Widow plays like 1-suit Spider in the middle of the game and like 4-suit Spider Solitaire at the end. Tarantula sits between the two, letting only one-colour runs move.
Black Widow strategy
Move freely, sort later. Long mixed runs are fine here. They move as a block, so use them to dig out face-down cards fast.
Watch the end game. A long mixed run won’t clear. At some point you have to turn it into suit runs, and that takes free columns. Leave yourself room.
Split runs at suit changes. Since any part of a run can move, you can lift off the top cards at the point where the suit changes. Do that onto a same-suit card whenever you can, so the pieces start forming real runs.
Don’t let Kings get buried. A King with a long run on it can only go to an empty column. Note where the Kings are and plan which columns they’ll anchor.
The board above is free in your browser, with unlimited undo, hints, auto-complete and numbered deals you can share.
Rules source: Pretty Good Solitaire (Goodsol)
Frequently asked questions
What is Black Widow Solitaire?
Black Widow is a two-deck version of Spider Solitaire with a looser move rule. You can move any run that goes down in sequence as a group, even if the suits are mixed. The deal, stock and building rules match standard Spider, and you still win by clearing King-to-Ace runs that are all one suit.
What is the difference between Black Widow and Spider?
In Spider, only a run in a single suit can move as a group. In Black Widow, any run in sequence can move, whatever its suits. Everything else is the same: ten columns, the same stock, building down in any suit, and removing completed runs only when all 13 cards share a suit.
Is Black Widow the same as 1-suit Spider?
Close, but not the same. Both let every run move as a group. 1-suit Spider uses only spades, so any King-to-Ace run clears. Black Widow uses four suits, so a run only clears when it’s all one suit. You get 1-suit freedom while you dig, then have to sort by suit to finish.
Is Black Widow easier than Tarantula?
Yes. Pretty Good Solitaire calls Tarantula harder than Black Widow. Tarantula only lets runs of one colour move together, while Black Widow lets any run in sequence move. Both are easier than standard Spider, where only runs of a single suit can move as a group.