How to play Spiderette
A compact Spider with a single deck and seven columns. Build four complete King-to-Ace runs, each of one suit.
History & origin of Spiderette
Spider is one of the most celebrated two-deck solitaires. Its name comes from the eight foundations you must complete — like a spider’s eight legs. It appears in patience collections from the early 20th century, when two-deck games grew popular for offering longer, more strategic play.
A frequently repeated story credits U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt as a fan — the anecdote is hard to verify, but it endures because Spider is famous for rewarding patience and calculation rather than luck.
Like Klondike, Spider exploded in popularity once it shipped with Windows (from Windows ME/XP, around 2001), becoming for many people the definitive “hard solitaire”.
Facts about Spiderette
- Difficulty is set by the suits: 1 suit is approachable, 2 suits demands planning, and 4 suits is one of the toughest challenges among classic solitaires.
- Unlike Klondike, you stack without worrying about color to nest cards — but you can only move a group if it is all the same suit and in sequence.
- Each complete King-to-Ace run of one suit “escapes” the board to a foundation; gathering all eight is the win.
- Most 1-suit deals are winnable with good play, while in 4-suit even experienced players lose often.
How to play Spiderette step by step
- Goal: build four complete King-to-Ace runs, each of one suit — a compact Spider with a single deck.
- Stack cards in descending order (any suit fits just to nest them).
- To move a group at once, it must be the same suit and in sequence.
- Empty columns accept any card or group — use them as maneuvering space.
- Click the stock to deal one card to each column.
- Each complete same-suit run leaves on its own for a foundation; gather all four to win.