Spider (solitaire)

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Spider is a type of solitaire card game. It is one of the more popular two-deck solitaire games and, while difficult, the majority of games can be won. The game is also said to have been a particular favourite of Franklin D. Roosevelt^{[citation needed]}.

The object of the game is to remove all cards from the tableau, assembling them in the tableau before removing them. Initially, 54 cards are dealt to the tableau in ten piles, face down except for the top cards. The tableau piles build down by rank, and in-suit sequences can be moved together. The 50 remaining cards can be dealt to the tableau ten at a time when none of the piles are empty.

The most common software version of Spider is undoubtedly the one included in recent editions of Microsoft Windows. Another Windows version of Spider is Arachnid Solitaire. A version of Spider Solitaire comes bundled with KDE for Linux. It is has been a part of kdegames for some time. Versions for Macintosh and most other operating systems are also available.

There are several variants of spider, such as Relaxed Spider or Spiderette. The former doesn't require all spaces to be filled before redealing, while the latter is played with only one deck.

Spider Solitaire (Medium difficulty) at the beginning of a game.

1 Windows Spider
- 1.1 Scoring
- 1.2 High Win/Loss Ratio vs. High Scores
2 See also
3 External links

[edit] Windows Spider

Two-suit Spider Solitaire in the middle of a game.

Recent versions of Microsoft Windows (Windows Millennium, XP and beyond) contain the Microsoft version of Spider. This version allows the user to choose one of three difficulty settings. Easy mode is played with eight sets (Ace through King) of Spades; Medium mode uses four sets each of Hearts and Spades; and Hard mode is played with two standard decks.

Importantly, Windows Spider allows moves to be retracted, except dealing a new row or completing a run (ace-to-king sequence, which is then removed.) Any number of moves can be retracted, back to the last non-retractable move. Therefore a good strategy is to expose as many face-down cards as possible, retracting afterward, before choosing a move.

[edit] Scoring

A player's score for a game is calculated by subtracting the number of moves from 500, then adding 100 times the number of completed runs removed. Thus, a game requiring 100 moves to complete would result in a score of (500 - 100) + (8 * 100) = 1200. A game perfectly played with no wasted moves would result in a score of 1204 (96 moves). This is determined by taking the number of cards (104) and subtracting the number of Kings (8), since Kings are found at the top of a sequence.

Examples of wasted moves:

Moving a King.
Creating an empty pile before the next deal.
Moving a card that is already in sequence.
Moving a card (or stack) onto a card of non-matching suit.

Games requiring fewer than 96 moves to complete have been achieved. This can occur during the five deals when a card lands by luck in proper sequence (e.g. a 2♥ lands on a 3♥), saving the player a move.

[edit] High Win/Loss Ratio vs. High Scores

It should be noted that doing one's best to win games is much more challenging than playing for record high scores. The game's complexity comes from branching paths: different possible moves. A good strategy is to explore all branches as deeply as possible without making a non-retractable move. In doing so, the number of branches in some situations can get out of hand rapidly.

However, wasted moves constitute the vast majority of possible moves, and only non-wasted moves need to be considered by a player going for a perfect game. This narrows the options down immensely, as the number of possible non-wasted moves is quite often one or zero. Thus playing for a perfect (or near-perfect) game requires much less decision-making than playing for a win.