How to play spider solitaire – Rules and Scoring GAMBLERS April 1, 2014 Home, Spider Solitaire Spider Solitaire is the most famous game that can be played for free on Microsoft Windows or online. The difficulty level varies from Easy to Hard and it depends on the use of suits a player utilizes. The rule and scoring varies too according to the number of decks. The Deck Two standard single decks 52 cards each are used. They are shuffled together. Card Layout After shuffling of two decks, there are initially 10 columns. The first four columns have 6 cards each with the first cards face up and the last card being face down. The rest six columns have 5 cards each, the first card being face up and the last four cards being face down. This tableau formation has 54 cards in total and the rest of the cards forms Stock. It can be played with single deck (beginner level), double deck (Intermediate level) and Four deck (Difficult Level). Only spades are used at beginner level and both spades and hearts at intermediate level. Object of Game To remove all the cards by building a suit of 13 cards in ascending order from King to Ace in the least number of moves as possible. If a suit of thirteen cards has been made in a column, that particular column is removed from the game. When all the eight suits are made, the game is won. Movement A card can be move over the top of another if it is a number or rank less from that card. The order of building a 13 pack suit is: King-Queen-Jack-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-Ace So, to build a 13 pack suit, Ace should be the top card and King is the bottom card of the pack. Valid Moves Queen can be placed over King. Jack can be placed over Queen. 10 can be placed over Jack. 9 can be placed over 10. 8 can be placed over 9. 7 can be placed over 8. 6 can be placed over 7. 5 can be placed over 6. 4 can be placed over 5. 3 can be placed over 4. 2 can be placed over 3. 1 can be placed over 2. Any descending card can be move the other (It is not necessary for them to be of same suit) but a set of cards can be moved from one column to another if they are in correct descending order. Illustration 1: A 7♣ can be placed over 8♣ or 8♥ or over any other 8 regardless of the suit. Invalid Moves Two card of different suits. Set of two cards of different suits. A card cannot be move over another if they are in Ascending order. A stock of 13 would not be discarded if all the cards are not of same suit. Game Tips Try to build cards of same suit as possible. Move set of cards if they are of same suit otherwise, soon there would be a deadlock. If there is no possible moves that can be made over the same suit, then draw a pack of cards from the stock. If you are playing this game on Windows O.S then press H. They would suggest you the next move. Player would be able to score long runs only if he empty columns quickly. Spider Solitaire Variations Easy(Spiderette) Only 1 single deck is used. The entire 54 card are spades which game very easy. Intermediate (Advanced) Widely played, 2 decks are used. Only two suits are used – Spades and Hearts. It is a little difficult. Difficult (Gigantic Spider) 4 standard single decks are used. Player is awarded with a good bonus, if he wins the game. Scoring in Spider Solitaire Every version use different algorithms to score. 1st Version 10 points would be awarded whenever a card is turned face down to face up from the tableau. 15 bonus points if the entire cards in a column are turned face up. 2 points for making a descending order. 50 points to discard an entire column from the tableau. So, a player can score maximum 990 points. Bonus two points would be awarded after the first three cards for each card if the player wins with more than 4 completed suits. Windows Version The total score is calculated from 500. One point is deducted for every move. Bonus 100 points are awarded for removing a pack of 13 cards of same suit in descending order. So, a player can score maximum 1254 points. Additional 100 points would be awarded for making 4 cards of same color. Latest Versions Spider Scoring Spider Scoring Rules Easy Level (Single Suit) Intermediate (Double Suit) Difficult (Four Suit) For discarding a suit of 13 cards +520 Points +780 Points +1040 Points Hint Taken (Press H) -50 Points -100 Points -150 Points The maximum score if he completes the game in 0 seconds 25450 Points 31050 Points 33650 Points Maximum Score if player completes the game in 7minutes (420 seconds) 17425 Points 20025 Points 22625 Points Common Scoring for Easy, Intermediate and Difficult Level Every second taken – Minus 1 Undo a Move (CTRL + Z) – Minus 100 Points Turning a face down card to face up from Tableau – Plus 150 Points Bonus is awarded among the following Formula: ((600 – Every second taken) * 25)+ (Game Score/4) If a player is able to make formations, he is going to score more and more points quickly and will win the game.
