What is Simple Simon?
Simple Simon is a one-deck Spider variant with a crucial difference: all 52 cards are dealt face-up at the start and there is no stock pile. This means the entire game is visible from move one — no hidden information, no draws, no surprises. The challenge is purely about finding the right order of moves within a fixed, fully-known layout.
The goal is the same as Spider: assemble four complete King-through-Ace same-suit runs in the tableau. Completed runs are removed automatically. Win all four to finish.
Full rules
All 52 cards are dealt face-up into ten columns with descending counts: 8, 8, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (total 52). There is no stock and no waste pile.
Tableau columns build downward in rank (any suit to any suit). Only a same-suit descending sequence can be moved as a unit. A single card can be placed on any card one rank higher, regardless of suit. Empty columns accept any card or same-suit sequence. When a complete King-through-Ace same-suit run is assembled anywhere in the tableau, it is removed. Win all four suit runs.
How Simple Simon differs from Spider
Spider applies stock pressure — each deal from the stock adds ten cards simultaneously and can bury carefully organized positions. Simple Simon removes all of that. Every card is visible from the start and the position never gets worse due to new cards arriving. Losses come entirely from running out of legal moves, not from external pressure.
This makes Simple Simon a pure spatial puzzle rather than a time-pressure game. It rewards careful sequencing and look-ahead planning over the stock-timing intuition that helps in standard Spider. Many players find it intellectually satisfying precisely because a loss can always be traced to a specific wrong choice rather than an unlucky draw.
Why full information changes strategy
In Spider you sometimes make moves based on what might appear in the next deal. In Simple Simon, you know exactly where every card is. This means planning three, four, or five moves ahead is not only possible but expected.
The critical skill is suit separation: identifying which cards of each suit need to be assembled into a run, which cards are currently blocking them, and finding a sequence of moves that clears those blockers without creating new ones. Because the full layout is visible, you can trace these dependency chains before touching a single card.
Read the full Simple Simon strategy guide →
Spider family variants
- Spider Solitaire — two decks, ten columns, stock pressure
- Mrs. Mop — two decks, all face-up like Simple Simon but at full Spider scale
- Spiderette — one deck, seven columns, hidden cards and stock
- Relaxed Spider — two decks, stock skips empty columns
Related games and reference