Play Spider Solitaire with 4 suits online
Four suit Spider Solitaire is Spider as it was first played: two full decks, all four suits, 104 cards. It is one of the hardest solitaire games that people actually play. Plenty of good players have never won it, and many wonder whether it can be won at all.
It can, and this page is built to prove it to you. Every game the New game button deals is one that a solver has already won, so a way through exists before you make your first move. You get unlimited undo, hints, a full-screen table with real-looking cards, and no download.
4 suit Spider Solitaire rules
- The cards. Two complete decks: every card from ace to king twice in clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades.
- The deal. 54 cards in ten columns, six in the first four and five in the rest, only the last card of each face up. 50 cards stay in the stock.
- Any card goes onto the next rank up, whatever the suit or colour: 7♦ on 8♣, 7♦ on 8♥, 7♦ on 8♦.
- Only cards of exactly one suit move together. Same colour is not enough: 8♥ 7♦ is two separate cards.
- Face-down cards turn over as soon as nothing lies on them.
- An empty column takes any card or any run of one suit.
- Tap the stock to deal one card onto each column, five times in a game. Every column must hold a card first.
- King to ace in one suit is taken off the table. Two runs of each suit, eight in all, win the game.
Is 4 suit Spider Solitaire possible?
Yes, but not every deal, and not without care. To find out which deals are possible, a solver played the first 1,800 numbered games. It may look at the face-down cards, it tries the most promising positions first, and it gives up after a few seconds a deal.
It won 442 of 1,800, about 25%. That is a floor, not a ceiling: more of those deals can certainly be won by a longer search, but for these 442 there is a complete, checked solution. With one suit the same solver won 91% of deals and with two suits 88%, which tells you how much the extra suits cost.
Those 442 deals are the only ones the New game button and the daily deal use. A solution existing does not make it easy to find. The solver saw every card; you have to work with what is face up. Expect to lose more often than you win, and to use undo a lot.
How to win 4 suit Spider Solitaire
- Treat every join in suit as gold. Only one card in four that fits is the right suit. When you get the chance to put a 9♣ on a 10♣, take it ahead of almost anything else.
- Get one empty column early and guard it. Nearly every useful thing in four suit Spider needs somewhere to put a card for a moment. Go for the column with the fewest face-down cards and empty it before the first deal if you can.
- Mix suits on purpose, not by habit. Each wrong-suit join is a debt. Take one on when it turns over a card or frees a column, and know which empty column will pay it back.
- Keep the mess in a few columns. You cannot keep ten columns clean. Let two or three become junk piles and keep the others in long runs of one suit that can still move.
- Work on one or two suits at a time. Eight runs at once is too many. Once a suit has seven or eight cards in order, feed it. The first finished run usually frees the column that makes the second possible.
- Squeeze every position before you deal. A deal puts ten cards of random suit on your best work. Before tapping the stock, be sure there is no join in suit left to make and no card left to turn.
- After a deal, dig for the runs you buried. The new cards sit on top of your longest runs. Clearing them off again is the first job.
- Scout with undo. Try a line, see what the hidden card is, take it back and choose. In a game with this little margin, information is worth far more than the point it costs.
Scoring, game numbers and the daily deal
| What happens | Points |
|---|---|
| You start with | 500 |
| Every move, and every deal from the stock | −1 |
| Every undo | −1 |
| Every finished run, king to ace | +100 |
Every deal has a game number, shown at the top and in the page address. The same number always gives the same cards, so a deal that beat you can be tried again tomorrow, or sent to a friend. The daily deal under the same button is one four-suit game a day, the same for everyone, and always one of the solved deals.
Easier levels and other games
- Spider Solitaire: all three levels on one table, starting with one suit.
- Spider Solitaire 2 Suits: spades and hearts, the level most people settle on.
- FreeCell: every card face up from the start and every deal winnable.
- FreeCell Two Decks: the same 104 cards as Spider, all in view, with eight free cells.
FAQ
Is 4 suit Spider Solitaire possible?
Yes. It is very hard, but it can be won. A solver that can see the face-down cards found complete solutions for 442 of the first 1,800 numbered deals, about 25%, and more could be won with a longer search. The New game button on this page only deals those solved games.
What is 4 suit Spider Solitaire?
It is Spider Solitaire with two full decks, 104 cards in clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades. Any card may go onto the next higher rank, but only cards of exactly one suit move together, and a run from king to ace must be one suit to be taken off the table.
How often can you win 4 suit Spider Solitaire?
Much less often than the other levels. Strong players who plan carefully and use undo win a good share of their games, but a beginner should expect to lose most of them at first. Playing only deals that are known to be winnable, as on this page, helps a lot.
Why is 4 suit Spider so much harder than 2 suit?
Because only cards of one suit move together. With four suits only one fitting card in four is the right suit, so almost every move mixes suits, and every mix blocks a column until you have taken it apart again.
Can I put any suit on any suit?
Yes. A card can go on any card one rank higher. Colour does not matter either. But cards of different suits will not move as a group afterwards.
Is this game free, and can I play it full screen?
Yes to both. It runs free in the browser with no download or account. Open Options and choose Full screen, or press F on a keyboard.
Is there an easier version?
Yes. Click the Game # button at the top and choose 1 suit or 2 suits. The rules are the same, with fewer suits to keep apart.