How to Set Up Spider Solitaire
Spider Solitaire is set up with 104 cards, two full decks. Deal ten columns face down: six cards in each of the first four columns and five in each of the other six, 54 cards in all. Turn the top card of every column face up and keep the remaining 50 cards face down as the stock. That is the whole layout, and it is the same whether you play with one, two or four suits.
Play Spider Solitaire NowThe layout in numbers
- Cards: 104 (two decks, no jokers)
- Columns: 10, holding 6,6,6,6,5,5,5,5,5,5 cards
- Dealt: 54 cards, 10 of them face up
- Stock: 50 cards, dealt in five rows of ten
- Goal: eight complete King-to-Ace runs in one suit
Setting up step by step
- Shuffle 104 cards. Spider Solitaire always uses 104 cards. For the standard four-suit game shuffle two ordinary 52-card decks together. For one or two suits, build the pack from the suits you want (see below) so it still holds 104 cards.
- Deal ten columns face down. Deal one card at a time across ten columns, left to right, until the first four columns hold six cards and the other six hold five. That is 54 cards on the table.
- Turn the top card of each column face up. Flip only the last card dealt to each column. The other 44 cards stay face down until the cards above them are moved away.
- Set the remaining 50 cards aside as the stock. Keep them face down in one pile. When you are stuck you deal ten of them, one on every column, face up. There are exactly five such deals.
- Leave space for eight finished runs. A complete King-to-Ace run in one suit is lifted off the table as soon as it is formed. Eight of them win the game, so leave room above the columns to stack them.
Dealing across rather than column by column is the traditional way and it keeps the counts straight: four rounds of ten cards fill every column to four, a fifth round of ten takes every column to five, and a final four cards go on the first four columns only.
What the table looks like
Each box below is one column, read left to right. The number is how many cards it holds; the top card of each is the only one face up.
Above the columns, keep the 50-card stock on one side and leave room for the eight finished runs on the other. Nothing is ever placed on the stock, and you never move cards to the finished-run area by hand; a complete run leaves the table as soon as it is formed.
Building the pack for 1, 2 or 4 suits
The layout never changes between the three levels; only the pack does. The names easy, medium and hard describe the pack, not a different set of rules.
| Level | The pack | With real cards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 suit | Eight sets of one suit (104 cards) | Two decks played as if every card were a spade: ignore suits entirely |
| 2 suits | Four sets of one suit and four of another (104 cards) | Two decks played by colour: black cards count as one suit, red cards as the other |
| 4 suits | Two ordinary decks shuffled together (104 cards) | Exactly two decks, suits as printed |
On CardCouch the two-suit pack is four sets of spades and four of hearts, which is the site's own choice; other versions pick a different pair, and the play is identical. The two-suit guide explains what changes once the pack has two suits in it.
Setup mistakes to avoid
- Dealing all the cards. Only 54 go on the table. If every card is dealt there is no stock, and the five deals are part of the game.
- Turning more than the top card face up. Ten cards are face up at the start, one per column. Face-down cards are what the game is about uncovering.
- Using one deck. Fifty-two cards cannot fill ten columns and a stock. The one-deck relative, Spiderette, is a different layout.
- Dealing from the stock onto an empty column. Not a setup mistake but the first rule people get wrong: under standard rules a stock deal is only allowed when every column holds at least one card. CardCouch refuses the deal until the gaps are filled.
After the setup: the first moves
With the table laid out, play builds down by one rank in any suit, while only a same-suit run moves as a unit, any card or run may fill an empty column, and a complete King-to-Ace run in one suit is removed. The full list is in the Spider Solitaire rules, the beginner walkthrough is how to play Spider Solitaire, and the strategy guide covers what to do with the ten face-up cards you can see.
Frequently asked questions
How many cards do you need for Spider Solitaire?
104, which is two standard 52-card decks without jokers. Fifty-four are dealt into the ten columns and the remaining 50 form the stock. This is the same for the one-, two- and four-suit games; only the mix of suits in the pack changes.
How many columns are there in Spider Solitaire?
Ten. The first four columns get six cards each and the other six get five, for 54 cards in all. Only the top card of each column starts face up.
Can you play Spider Solitaire with one deck?
Not the standard game. Spider needs 104 cards for its ten columns and five stock deals. The one-deck relative is Spiderette, which uses a seven-column Klondike-style layout; CardCouch does not offer it. With a single deck you can play Klondike Solitaire instead.
How do you set up 2-suit Spider Solitaire with real cards?
The pack must have 104 cards of two suits, so take the spades and hearts from four decks, or simply use two ordinary decks and play by colour: treat both black suits as one suit and both red suits as the other. Deal the ten columns exactly as for four suits. The two-suit guide covers the differences in play.
Which cards are face up at the start?
Only the top card of each of the ten columns, so ten cards. The 44 cards beneath them stay face down and are turned over one at a time as the cards covering them are moved. Nothing in the stock is visible until it is dealt.
Is the setup the same online?
Yes. On CardCouch the deal is laid out for you with the same 6,6,6,6,5,5,5,5,5,5 columns and a 50-card stock; the 1 / 2 / 4 control above the table chooses the pack before the deal and your choice is remembered between visits.