Spider Solitaire with Two Suits
Spider Solitaire 2 Suits deals 104 cards in two suits, 52 Spades and 52 Hearts, with four copies of every card. It is the middle of the three levels: Windows XP called it Medium, and Windows Vista and 7 called it Intermediate. The game above starts at two suits. If it feels too easy or too hard, switch to Spider with 1 suit or Spider with 4 suits. Only the suits in the deck differ between levels; the deal, the stock, and every move rule are the same.
What Changes with Two Suits
Any card still goes on any card one rank higher, but only a run in one suit moves as a unit. At two suits, a new card matches the suit of a given open card one rank higher half the time, so you often choose between a join that keeps a pile movable and one that breaks it.
Two suits has one gift that four suits lacks: suit is color. Spades are black and Hearts are red, so every break in a pile shows up as a change of color.
A pile that alternates every card, such as 9 of spades, 8 of hearts, 7 of spades, 6 of hearts, is four separate pieces. Moving all of it onto a 10 takes two empty columns, so chains like that are the ones to avoid building.
How a Two-Suit Game Is Dealt
You play toward eight runs, four in Spades and four in Hearts, from a deal of 54 cards: six in each of the first four columns, five in each of the other six, and only the top card of each column showing. The last 50 cards form the stock, which you deal ten at a time and never while a column is empty.
Read the table by color. A black card on a red one, or red on black, marks a break you will have to repair; a pile that stays one color is already on its way to a run. Each finished run leaves the table and scores 100 points.
Two-Suit Strategy
Take the same-suit target first. If a 7 of hearts could go on an 8 of spades or an 8 of hearts, and either move turns up the same hidden card, choose the 8 of hearts. The pair becomes one piece, and the 8 of spades stays open for any of the four 7s of spades.
Swap mixed pairs through an empty column. One column ends 8 of spades, 7 of hearts; another ends 8 of hearts, 7 of spades. Park the 7 of hearts in the empty column, move the 7 of spades onto the 8 of spades, then move the 7 of hearts onto the 8 of hearts. After three moves the space is free again.
Merge two mixed stacks. One column ending 9 of spades, 8 of hearts, 7 of spades and another ending 9 of hearts, 8 of spades, 7 of hearts become two clean runs in six moves with one empty column: swap the 7s as above, carry the 8-7 of hearts into the space, move the 8-7 of spades onto the 9 of spades, and finish with the hearts on the 9 of hearts. Each column is then one piece that moves the moment a 10 opens.
Go off-suit only to flip or empty, and go high. An off-suit join earns its place when it turns a face-down card or clears a column. Make it high in rank, a Jack of hearts on a Queen of spades rather than a 3 on a 4, so the pile still has room to grow.
Keep your only space away from Kings. A King in an empty column flips one card, then holds that column until you build its whole run. Swaps and merges need the space far more, and every empty column must be filled before you deal, so make your repairs while the space is still free.
Spider Solitaire 2 Suits FAQ
Which suits are used in 2 suit Spider Solitaire?
Spades and Hearts in most versions, ours included: four copies of each Spade and each Heart, 104 cards in all. You build four Spade runs and four Heart runs. One free program uses Clubs and Hearts instead, which plays exactly the same, since only the number of suits matters.
Is 2 suit Spider Solitaire hard?
Moderately: harder than one suit, far easier than four. A pile you build can end up mixed and stuck, so every join is a choice. But a new card matches a given card's suit half the time, color shows every break, and with four copies of each card the pair you need for a swap turns up often.
How do you play Spider Solitaire with 2 suits?
Start from the usual 54-card deal, using a deck of 52 Spades and 52 Hearts, with 50 cards held in the stock. Build down in any suit, but move a group only when it is all Spades or all Hearts. Fill every empty column before each deal, and finish four Spade and four Heart runs to win.
Try Another Level
The same deal with fewer or more suits. Read the complete Spider rules, see how scoring works, or pick another level.