Spider Solitaire Games

What the Spider family has in common

In every game on this page, you build down by rank in the columns, and the aim is a full King-to-Ace run in one suit. In many of them, a finished run clears off the board by itself. In others, including the Scorpion branch, finished runs stay in the columns.

What changes from game to game:

• Decks and suits. One deck, two or three. One to four suits.
• Hidden cards. Some games deal most cards face down. Others deal everything face up.
• What can move. Spider only moves runs in one suit. Black Widow moves any run in order. Scorpion moves any face-up card along with the cards on top of it.
• The stock. Some games deal extra cards during play. Some deal everything at the start.

Our rules follow Pretty Good Solitaire first and Wikipedia second. Each game page names its source.

Spider by number of suits

1 suit. All 104 cards are spades, so every run you build can move as a group. It’s the easiest way to learn Spider, and it matches the Beginner level from Windows. Play Spider with one suit.

2 suits. Spades and hearts. You can build a heart on a spade, but that pile won’t move as one group, so you start choosing builds with care. This was Intermediate in Windows. Play two-suit Spider.

3 suits. A middle step between two and four suits, which few Spider sites offer. You get more suit breaks than at two suits, but fewer than at four. Try 3 suit Spider Solitaire.

4 suits. Standard Spider with two full decks, every card appearing twice. Most builds are off suit, and empty columns become your main tool. Windows called this Advanced. Play the full 4 suit game.

Relaxed Spider. Standard Spider has one strict rule: you can’t deal from the stock while any column is empty. Relaxed Spider drops it, so you can deal whenever you like. Play Relaxed Spider.

Two-deck Spider variants

Black Widow. Same deal as Spider, with one big change: any run in descending order moves as a group, whatever the suits. That takes away most of the pain of mixed stacks. Play Black Widow.

Tarantula. Dealt like Spider too, but with a looser rule than Spider’s for moving groups of cards, which makes it easier. Sources describe the exact rule differently, so the game page explains the version we use. Play Tarantula.

Beetle. Spider with every card face up from the start. You can plan from the first move, because nothing is hidden in the columns. Play Beetle solitaire.

Grounds for Divorce. Uses 2 decks in 10 columns, and the opening cards are all dealt face up. The stock skips empty columns when it deals, so a column you clear stays empty until you fill it. Play Grounds for Divorce.

Mrs Mop. All 104 cards are dealt at the start across 13 columns. There’s no stock, so every card is in play from the first move. Charles Jewell invented it. Play Mrs Mop.

Bigger Spider games

Big Spider. Spider with 3 decks and 13 columns. The rules match standard Spider, but you have 12 runs to complete, and the page opens with big cards turned on. Play Big Spider.

One-deck Spider games

Spiderette. Spider squeezed into one deck. The 7 columns are dealt like Klondike, one card in the first and one more in each column after it. The first known reference is a 1949 book, The Complete Book of Solitaire & Patience Games. Play Spiderette.

Will o’ the Wisp. A Spiderette variation with a flatter deal: every column gets three cards, two face down and one face up. Fewer hidden cards per column changes how you dig. Play Will o’ the Wisp.

Simple Simon. One deck, 10 columns, and every card dealt face up at the start. There’s no stock, so the whole game is in front of you. Play Simple Simon.

The Scorpion branch

Scorpion. One deck in 7 columns. You build down in suit, and you can move any face-up card together with every card on top of it, as in Yukon. Only a King can go into an empty column. 3 cards are held back and dealt once. Play Scorpion solitaire.

Easy Scorpion. A gentler version of Scorpion with a friendlier opening deal. The game page explains how its deal differs from Scorpion’s. Play Easy Scorpion.

Wasp. Almost the same as Scorpion, with one change: any card or group can go into an empty column, not just a King. That one change gives you much more room. Play Wasp.

Double Scorpion. The two-deck version of Scorpion, in 10 columns. You build in suit, move any face-up card with what’s on top of it, and fill empty columns with Kings only. Play Double Scorpion.

Which Spider game should you play?

• New to Spider: start with one suit, then move to two.
• Want a gentler two-deck game: try Black Widow.
• Want the full challenge: play four suits.
• Want a one-deck challenge: try Spiderette or Will o’ the Wisp.
• Short on time: one-deck games like Spiderette and Simple Simon use half the cards.
• Like Klondike or Yukon: try Scorpion or Wasp.

For a ranking by difficulty, see the hardest solitaire games. If you’re new to the whole family, start with how to play Spider Solitaire.