Lesson 4: 2 Suits Spider Solitaire – Spider Palace

For Spider newbies, the game variation with only one suit is well-fitted. There is already enough to pay attention to, as we explained in Lesson 1, for example. But if you have mastered the one-suited Spider, you are now ready to challenge Spider two suits. At the Spider Palace, you can select the custom rule Two Suits to play Spider Solitaire 2 Suits free and online.

Spell it however you like – Spider Solitaire 2 Suits, 2 Suits Spider Solitaire, Two Suit Spider Solitaire, or a crisp Spider 2 Suit. The bottom line is: Playing Spider Solitaire with the cards sporting two suits! No matter how – it remains one of the most popular solitaire games and is quite challenging.

What Is Different?

Let’s get down to business: The one true difference to the standard game in Spider is the fact that two suits are in use instead of one. The setup remains the same, as well as the number of cards. The suits are distributed 50:50, of course. And the foundation still only takes complete, one-suited, correctly sorted rows of cards.

This is a potential setup in Spider Two Suits.

But some rules do not show their effect when playing with one suit yet. Thus, you might not have detected them yet.

Combining

As per usual, you can only combine cards if the card rank follows the order, the moved card being one rank lower than the target card. You are also relatively free concerning suits: Combining the same suit is allowed, and so are alternating suits. That comes in handy during sorting. Caution! If a row of cards is one-suited or two-suited bears consequences.

Moving

This is where it gets tricky: You cannot move multi-suited card rows, even if the ranks are in the correct order. You can only move such segments that are one-suited and at the end of a row.

Here, we marked each row‘s segment that you could theoretically move at once. To actually move one, you would need a proper target to combine it with, of course.

The Challenge

It seems harmless in sober words. But if you remember your first two-suited Spider round, you know that it is a harder nut to crack than one-suited Spider Solitaire. That is why we reward playing Spider Solitaire online using 2 suits with higher scores at the Spider Palace:

The greater challenge yields more points, as you can read in our game help.

How to Win Spider Solitaire 2 Suits

Your toolbox for Spider Two Suits consists of four pieces – combining alternating suits, the undo button, empty panels in the tableau, and cautious use of the stock. Using those you will find your personal Two Suit Spider Solitaire strategy soon.

Combining Alternating Suits

Just because you are not allowed to move mixed rows, you should not forgo combining alternating suits from time to time. Sooner or later, the game will pressure you to do so. It can also be a helpful tool to find your desired card for starting a one-suited row.

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In image 1, no more one-suited combinations are possible. So now, you should put the Two of Hearts on a black Three. You are lucky since the freed card in image 2 can be used to start a correctly sorted row in image 3.

Take a Step Back

Since such an attempt can go wrong at times, we have the undo button at the Spider Palace. With one click, you revoke your last move. That costs a point which is acceptable in comparison to the points gained for solving a game.

That is a high result with a few minus points for undoing moves.

When you are lucky, multiple accessible cards match one target. You could theoretically try out all options using the undo button and check which card would improve the playing field most. It might sound a bit tedious at first. But with a tricky riddle like two suits Spider Solitaire, you will quite certainly need that feature.

Empty Tableau Piles

Just like in standard Spider Solitaire, empty fields in the tableau reward you with space for maneuvering and sorting your cards. Thus, it is worthwhile to reduce a tableau pile when you get the chance to do so.

Stock

Due to using two suits and the fact that multi-colored rows cannot move, drawing from the stock can have especially chaotic consequences. That is why you should take care to combine all possible cards of one suit before drawing at all times. Then it becomes much easier to straighten out any surprises the stock might deal you.

Now you know a few tricks that can help you out when playing free online Spider Solitaire 2 Suits. Practice makes perfect, and sooner or later, you will master the two-suited Spider as well! If you want to read more on Spider details, consider our list of Spider Lessons, or find all our resources in the Spider School.