Spider Solitaire Variants

Spider Solitaire has inspired a rich family of related games. From the standard difficulty levels to entirely different layouts and rules, there is a Spider variant for every skill level and preference. Here are the most notable variants and how they differ from the classic game.

Standard Difficulty Levels

The most common Spider variants differ only in the number of suits used. All three use the same 104-card, ten-column layout and follow identical rules.

1-Suit Spider (Beginner)

All 104 cards are Spades. Since every card is the same suit, all descending sequences are automatically in-suit, and any group of ordered cards can be moved together. This eliminates the suit-management challenge and makes the game primarily about ordering. It is the most forgiving version by a wide margin, which makes it the right place to learn the game.

2-Suit Spider (Intermediate)

The game uses two suits, typically Spades and Hearts (one red, one black), with 52 cards of each suit. Suit management becomes important since only half the cards encountered will match any given suit. Players must balance building in-suit sequences with making practical off-suit moves.

4-Suit Spider (Expert)

All four suits are used (26 cards each). Only one in four cards will match any specific suit, making in-suit builds much harder to achieve. This is the most challenging standard variant. It is also the only level solver studies have covered, and only with every card visible; no study measures one or two suits. Mastering 4-suit Spider comes down to careful planning and efficient use of empty columns.

Spiderette

Spiderette is a scaled-down version of Spider that uses a single 52-card deck instead of two. Do not confuse it with Baby Spiderette, a separate game on the same layout that lets any descending sequence move, whatever its suits.

• Cards: One standard 52-card deck.
• Layout: Seven tableau columns (like Klondike), with one card in the first column, two in the second, and so on, up to seven in the seventh column. Only the top card of each column is face-up.
• Stock: The remaining 24 cards form the stock, dealt one to each column at a time. Twenty-four does not divide by seven, so the fourth and last deal covers only three columns.
• Objective: Build four complete King-to-Ace same-suit sequences.
• Difficulty: Quicker to play than full Spider but harder to win. Solitaire programs rate it hard, at or above four-suit Spider.

Spiderwort

Spiderwort is a three-deck Spider. No print source for the name has been found: one software collection credits it to its developer, Boris Sandberg, and another program uses the name for the game usually called Big Spider.

• Cards: Three standard 52-card decks shuffled together (156 cards).
• Layout: Thirteen tableau columns. One version deals six cards to each of the first six columns and five to the other seven, 71 cards with 85 left in the stock. The Big Spider version deals six to every column, 78 cards with 78 in the stock.
• Objective: Build twelve complete King-to-Ace same-suit sequences.
• Difficulty: Longer than Spider, with twelve runs to build, but its publishers rate it average to medium rather than hard.

Simple Simon

Simple Simon is a Spider-like game that uses a single deck and deals all cards face-up from the start, making it a game of pure strategy with no hidden information.

• Cards: One standard 52-card deck.
• Layout: Ten tableau columns with all cards dealt face-up, holding 8, 8, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 cards. That is all 52.
• Stock: No stock pile. All cards are dealt at the start.
• Rules: Build down by rank in any suit, as in Spider. Only a run in one suit moves as a unit, and any card or run can fill an empty column.
• Difficulty: Every card is visible from the start, so no luck of the draw is left and any deal can be worked out in advance. A 2019 solver study found about 97.5 percent of deals can be won, so roughly one deal in 40 has no solution. Solitaire programs rate it easy.

Scorpion

Scorpion is related to Spider but plays quite differently, because it borrows its movement rule from Yukon.

• Cards: One standard 52-card deck.
• Layout: Seven tableau columns of seven cards each (49 cards). The first four columns hide three cards under four face-up ones, and the last three columns are entirely face-up. The remaining three cards are held back as a reserve.
• Key Difference: Any face-up card can be moved along with all cards on top of it (regardless of sequence), as long as it is placed on a card of the same suit that is one rank higher. This makes movement more flexible but requires careful planning.
• Empty columns and reserve: Only a King, or a group with a King at its base, can fill an empty column. The three reserve cards are dealt once, one each onto the first three columns.
• Objective: Build four complete same-suit sequences from King to Ace within the tableau.

Mrs. Mop

Mrs. Mop is a two-deck Spider variant where all cards are dealt face-up, creating a pure strategy game similar to Simple Simon but at Spider's full scale.

• Cards: Two standard 52-card decks (104 cards).
• Layout: Thirteen tableau columns of eight cards, all 104 face-up. There is no stock pile.
• Rules: Build down by rank in any suit, as in Spider. Only a run in one suit moves as a unit, and any card or run can fill an empty column.
• Difficulty: All 104 cards are visible, and a 2019 solver study found about 98 percent of deals can be won. The game was devised by Charles Jewell.

Variant Comparison