If you have a fear of our eight-legged spider friends, do not fret! There are no actual spiders in freecell spider solitaire. Instead, you will find a challenging and fun game of solitaire that will keep your brain stimulated and your fingers moving as you try to move all your cards by suit from the dangling legs the solitaire tableau columns make. The name for this game comes from a spider's eight legs, referencing the eight foundation piles you must fill to win the game. It makes sense now, doesn’t it?
If we have piqued your interest, keep reading to learn about the freecell spider solitaire's history and how to play and win this game that will have you hooked like prey in a spider's web!
Much like several variations of solitaire such as FreeCell, Klondike, and Pyramid Solitaire, spider freecell solitaire games saw their invention and popularity grow as the age of Microsoft came to and exploded onto the pop culture scene. Classic Solitaire had already made its way to the main stage, but on June 25, 1998, Windows 98 made its official debut on the market, including a premium package called Windows 98+ that included the very first version of Windows Spider Solitaire.
After that, computer gamers couldn't get enough, and almost every newer operating system version included an updated game version. The most avid freecell spider solitaire fans will tell you that the Windows XP version published on August 24, 2001, is still considered the best version ever made.
No matter the difficulty level you choose to play of spider solitaire, the setup is relatively similar, even though the objective will differ slightly. Since this game is played with two 52-card decks, you will shuffle the decks together (minus the jokers, of course)! After shuffling, you will deal a horizontal line of ten cards, all face-down. This row begins your tableau piles. This is where it gets tricky. You will deal across those ten cards again to create your rows. The first four vertical columns will hold five cards each, and the last six will have four. Make sure the last card in each column is placed face up.
The rest of the cards in your hand become the stockpile and will be placed face-down on the table in a stack. You will draw from these cards when no moves are left on your tableau.
The rules of spider solitaire free cell vary slightly depending on your playing difficulty level. First, let's talk about those levels and then the rules for each. There are several different difficulty levels in freecell spider solitaire. These levels increase dependents on the number of suits in play. Below are the difficulty levels you should be familiar with.
Easy Solitaire Spider Free Cell (One suit) - Very similar to the classic solitaire, but you can mix and match whichever suit as long as they are in their descending numerical order. In some versions, you only play with one suit, usually spades. Here are the rules:
Intermediate Solitaire Spider Free Cell (Two suits) - In this level, you can match all black and red suits together. This means that clubs and spades are considered one suit, while hearts and diamonds are considered the other. This is a common version seen on computers. Here are the rules:
Advanced Solitaire Spider Free Cell (Four suits) - All four suits are played in this level, making it the most difficult. You must match and move all eight suits off the board to complete the game. Here are the rules:
If the rules seem complicated, don't worry; it just takes a little practice to get the hang of each difficulty level.
Once you've chosen a difficulty level to play freecell spider solitaire, it's on to how to play. We will break down the steps to playing once you have set up your game below so that you can start practicing and winning at the game.
#1 Move the top card on a pile or all face-up cards below it that follow in descending sequence to another stack of cards to create your build. Remember that depending on your playing level, hearts and diamonds will count as one suit and clubs and spades another.
#2 If needed, break the sequence of available cards to move part of a build to the desired column. If you need to access a covered card, you must wait until you can place the remaining cards onto a column.
#3 Continue moving single cards and grouped cards to create columns of descending sequence until you can move cards around to create a king through ace sequence of the same suits.
#4 If you cannot make any more moves, deal another row of ten cards face up and start moving cards again. A deal can only be made once all empty spaces are filled, ideally with a king or stack of cards beginning with a high rank.
#5 You win when all cards have been sequenced, suited, and removed from the tableau!
If you are looking for tips on how to win this game, look no further. Here are five tips for winning in freecell spider solitaire card game.
Move fully packed builds - This is when an entire sequence of cards appears in order. The faster you move these, the more room you have for additional moves and building new sequences.
Always expose hidden cards whenever possible - Revealing hidden cards opens up the possibility for new moves and is a great way to create an empty pile.
Empty piles as soon as possible - Always move cards from columns with fewer cards and use empty piles to store cards while rearranging sequences. Moving cards to empty spaces also allows you to turn over more cards.
Build on your higher cards first - Use cards with the highest rank first to start building. Using a low card means you finish the pile quicker and are stuck. The higher the card you start with, the more you can stack on top of it.
Kings in open columns - A king cannot be placed on any other card, so move them immediately to an open column when available.
Although similar in the primary goal of building sequences of cards that turn into foundation piles, the big difference in spider solitaire is that you have to build your sequences by suit-specific or color right in the tableau before you may remove them from the game. Spider solitaire, for this reason, is known to be more challenging and harder to win.
Sadly, there are some games that, through the luck of the draw, are not winnable. But the majority are. In fact, 8 out of 10 spider solitaire games can be won. Each move you make or don't make increases or decreases your odds of winning. If you follow the tips listed above for how to win in spider solitaire, your probability of conquering the game gets much higher. Above all, remember that practice is key. The more you play and solidify your strategy, the more games you win.
Solitaire, including freecell spider solitaire, is an interactive and mind-stimulating game that, no matter which level you choose, is bound to keep you entertained and constantly learning new strategies and tricks to winning. When you are looking for games freecell spider solitaire, you are bound to get caught up in the eight-legged frenzy of the freecell spider solitaire game!