Play 2-Suit Spider Solitaire Online for Free
2-suit Spider Solitaire is the version most regular Spider players settle on. It uses Spades and Hearts only, so you still get Spider’s long King-to-Ace runs, but now every build is a choice: put the red 7 on the black 8 because it’s the only move, or wait for the black 7 that keeps the run clean.
The game above starts in 2-suit mode. You can switch to 1 suit or 4 suits at any time with the buttons at the top, with unlimited undo and hints in every mode.
What Changes With 2 Suits
The rules are exactly the same as 1-suit Spider. What changes is how often those rules get in your way.
- Building is still easy. Any card can go on a card one rank higher, whatever the suit. A Heart 6 can sit on a Spade 7.
- Moving is not. Only a same-suit run moves as a unit. A Spade 7 carrying a Heart 6 has to be taken apart one card at a time.
- Runs only clear when they match. A column is removed only when it holds King to Ace of a single suit. Mixed runs never clear on their own.
In 1-suit Spider every build is automatically “clean”, so you rarely have to plan around suits. With two suits, roughly half of your natural builds are off-suit, and those mixed stacks are what decide the game.
Game Setup
- 104 cards (52 Spades and 52 Hearts) are shuffled together.
- 54 cards are dealt to 10 columns: the first four columns get 6 cards, the other six get 5. Only the top card of each column is face-up.
- 50 cards stay in the stock and are dealt 10 at a time, one onto each column, for five deals in total.
- Win by building all eight King-to-Ace runs (four Spade, four Heart).
- Scoring starts at 500, loses 1 point per move, and gains 100 for each completed run.
2-Suit Strategy
Prefer the same-suit build whenever you have a choice
If a Heart 6 could go on either a Spade 7 or a Heart 7, the Heart 7 is almost always right. It keeps the stack movable as one piece and puts it one step closer to clearing.
Keep off-suit stacks short
An off-suit build is fine as a stepping stone to flip a face-down card. Just avoid piling more cards on top of the join. The longer a mixed stack grows, the more free space you need to break it apart later.
Use empty columns to sort, not to park
An empty column is your most powerful tool. Its best use is temporary: move a Heart run into it, move the Spade card underneath onto its proper place, then bring the Hearts back to rebuild a clean run. Filling it permanently with a random card throws that tool away.
Flip face-down cards before you deal
Each deal from the stock drops a card on top of every column, including your tidy runs. Before dealing, work through every useful move and flip as many hidden cards as you can. Remember that you can’t deal while a column is empty.
Use undo to explore
With two suits, the order you untangle stacks in really matters. Undo is unlimited, so try a line of moves, see where it leads, and rewind if it goes nowhere. For a deeper walkthrough, see our Spider Solitaire strategy guide.
1 Suit vs 2 Suits vs 4 Suits
| 1 Suit | 2 Suits | 4 Suits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suits used | Spades only | Spades, Hearts | All four |
| Off-suit builds | Never | Common | Constant |
| Runs to complete | 8 | 8 (4 per suit) | 8 (2 per suit) |
| Best for | Learning Spider | Regular play | Experts |
If you’re winning most of your 1-suit games, 2 suits is the natural next step. Once you’re comfortable untangling mixed stacks here, 4-suit Spider is the ultimate test.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cards of each suit are in 2-suit Spider Solitaire?
2-suit Spider uses 104 cards: 52 Spades and 52 Hearts. Each suit appears four times from Ace to King, so you need four complete Spade runs and four complete Heart runs to win.
Is 2-suit Spider Solitaire hard?
It’s the middle difficulty. You can still place any card on one rank higher, but only same-suit runs move together. That makes it a big step up from 1 suit, and much more forgiving than 4 suits.
Can I deal from the stock when a column is empty?
No. Every column needs at least one card before you can deal a new row. Fill empty columns first if you want to deal.
More Spider Solitaire
- Spider Solitaire (1 suit): the classic starting point
- Spider Solitaire 4 Suits: the hardest version
- How to Play Spider Solitaire: full rules for beginners
- Klondike vs Spider: which one suits you