What Relaxed Spider changes
Standard Spider penalizes empty columns when you deal from the stock: if a column is empty when you deal, that column receives a card anyway, filling your precious open space. Relaxed Spider removes this penalty. When you deal from the stock, any column that is currently empty is simply skipped — it stays empty.
Every other rule is identical to standard Spider: ten tableau columns, two decks, build downward in rank, same-suit sequences move as units, complete K–A same-suit runs are removed automatically to foundations, win all eight suits to finish.
Why the change matters strategically
In standard Spider, maintaining an empty column while also wanting to deal from stock creates an impossible choice: deal and lose the empty column, or hold off on dealing until the empty column is productively used. Many promising Spider positions collapse here.
In Relaxed Spider, this dilemma disappears. You can hold an empty column indefinitely, deal from stock whenever you are ready, and the empty column survives. This makes suit separation — the hardest part of 4-suit Spider — significantly more achievable because you can stage partial sequences through an empty column without racing the stock deal.
Full rules
The 104 cards are dealt into ten tableau columns. Four columns begin with six cards and six columns begin with five; only the top card of each column starts face-up. The remaining 50 cards form the stock.
Tableau columns build downward in rank (any suit). Only same-suit sequences move as units. When a complete King-through-Ace run in the same suit is assembled anywhere in the tableau, it is automatically removed to a foundation. When you deal from stock, one card goes to each non-empty column; empty columns are skipped. Win all eight foundations.
How it compares to the Spider family
Relaxed Spider sits between standard Spider and Spiderette in terms of difficulty. It has the full two-deck, ten-column scope of Spider but removes one of Spider’s harshest punishments. Players who find standard Spider too punishing but want to stay in the same two-deck format typically find Relaxed Spider the most appropriate next step.
Compared to Spiderette or Will O’ the Wisp (which reduce the deck to one), Relaxed Spider is harder — more cards, more columns — but the stock-deal relief means empty columns are far more durable.
Read the full Relaxed Spider strategy guide →
Spider variants
- Spider Solitaire — standard two-deck version; empty columns receive cards on every stock deal
- Spiderette — one deck, seven columns, Klondike-style opening deal
- Will O’ the Wisp — one deck, equal-depth seven columns
- Simple Simon — one deck, all cards face-up at start, no stock
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