Play Spider Solitaire 4 Suits Online for Free

Spider Solitaire 4 Suits is the full game: two complete decks, all four suits, and ten columns. You build columns from King down to Ace, and every run of one suit that you complete leaves the table. Keeping the suits apart is hard, so this is the most difficult Spider. If it feels too hard, practise with Spider 2 Suits first. You can play it here for free, online, with no download and no sign-up, and in full screen if you like.

How to play Spider Solitaire 4 Suits

Goal

Clear the table. To do that, build eight runs from King to Ace, each run in a single suit. A finished run moves to the foundations by itself. When all eight runs are there, you win.

The deal

The game uses 104 cards: two full decks, with two sets of Spades, Hearts, Clubs and Diamonds.

• Tableau: 10 columns. The first four columns get 6 cards each and the other six get 5 cards each. Only the last card of each column starts face up.
• Stock: the other 50 cards. Each time you click the stock, one new card goes face up onto every column. That means you can deal five times in one game.
• Foundations: eight empty places for the finished King-to-Ace runs.

Rules

• Placing a card: any card can go on a card that is one rank higher, whatever the suit. A 6 of Clubs can go on a 7 of Hearts.
• Moving several cards: you can move a group of cards together only if it is in order and all in one suit. A 9, 8 and 7 of Clubs move as one group. A 9 of Clubs, 8 of Hearts and 7 of Clubs do not.
• Turning cards over: when you move the last face-up card off a column, the card under it turns face up.
• Empty columns: any card or same-suit group can go into an empty column, not only a King.
• Dealing from the stock: you can only deal when every column has at least one card. Fill your empty columns first.
• Finished runs: a complete King-to-Ace run in one suit goes to the foundations by itself.

Tips to win more often

• Build in suit whenever you can. If a card can go on two different 7s, choose the one of its own suit. Mixed runs can only move one card at a time.
• Turn over hidden cards first. Every card you turn over gives you more choices. When two moves look equally good, pick the one that shows a new card.
• Empty columns are gold. Use an empty column to take apart a mixed run and sort it by suit. Then empty it again for the next job.
• Deal from the stock as late as you can. Each deal covers every column. Before you click, make every useful move and join runs of the same suit.
• Start runs from Kings when you can. A King can only go to an empty column, so a run that starts with a King never needs to move again.
• Use undo often. There is no limit on undo. In 4 suits it is normal to try a line of moves, see that it fails, and go back.

Spider 1, 2 or 4 suits?

The rules are the same in all three. Only the number of suits changes. With 1 suit every run is already in one suit, so almost every game can be won. With 2 suits you have to choose which cards to keep together, so planning starts to matter. With 4 suits mixed columns are everywhere, and many games are lost even with good play. If 4 suits feels too hard, practise with 2 suits or 1 suit. The table further down shows how often players win each one.

Frequently asked questions

Is Spider Solitaire 4 Suits free?

Yes. Every game on Solitaire Land is free to play in your browser, on a computer, tablet or phone. There is nothing to download and you don't need an account.

Can I play in full screen?

Yes. Use the full screen button in the bar above the game. You can also make the cards bigger or smaller with the zoom slider in the bar below the game.

What does the Hint button do?

It shows you one move you can make right now. It doesn't play the game for you, so you still choose what to do next.

Why can't I deal more cards?

You can only deal from the stock when none of the ten columns is empty. Put a card or a run into every empty column first, then deal.

Why can't I move my run?

Only runs of a single suit can move together. If a run has two suits in it, you have to move the cards one at a time, or move the part that is in one suit.

What are the daily challenge and the levels?

Every day there is one daily challenge deal, the same for everybody. A calendar shows which ones you have finished. Levels go from 1 to 100 and get harder as you go up. Each level is a deal chosen from games played here. Winnable deals are deals that at least one player has already won. You can find all three in the New game menu.

Where Spider Solitaire comes from

Spider is an old two-deck patience game, known since at least 1949. It became famous when Microsoft added it to Windows, first in the Plus! 98 pack for Windows 98 and later in Windows Me, XP, Vista and 7. The usual explanation for the name is the eight foundations, like the eight legs of a spider. If you like Spider, try Scorpion Solitaire, which uses one deck and lets you move any face-up card together with the cards on top of it, or the classic Klondike Solitaire 1 Card.