Frequently asked questions about Spiderette
What is the difference between Spiderette and Spider?
Spiderette is played with a single deck of 52 cards, in 7 columns of 1 to 7 cards, instead of two decks and ten columns. You must remove 4 sequences from king to ace instead of eight. The legal moves are the same: place a card on one rank higher, and only same-suit groups can move together.
Should you play with 1, 2 or 4 suits?
To learn, start with 1 suit ("Easy" in the app): all 52 cards are spades, and every group is easy to move. With 2 suits ("Medium"), spades and hearts are mixed; with 4 suits ("Hard"), you use a standard deck with only one of each card. The number of cards stays the same; only the mix of suits changes.
Why does the app refuse to deal?
Dealing places one card on each column: it is not allowed while any column is empty. First fill the empty column with a card or group, then deal. Dealing is also impossible once the stock is exhausted, after 4 deals.
What is the game code for?
Each deal in the app has a code, such as SD1-S1-AAAAABD. It identifies the number of suits and the shuffle: pasting it into the app ("Load a game using a code") recreates exactly the same deal. This lets you replay a game or offer it to someone else.
Can every deal be won?
There is no guarantee, and the app does not say whether a deal is winnable: it has neither hints nor a solver. The site shows a winning game with 1 suit and one with 2 suits (SD1-S2-AAAAAF2). For the 4-suit deal on the Examples page, the site's simple program found no winning game, which does not prove that the deal is unwinnable.
How is the score calculated?
The game starts at 500 points. Each move and each deal costs 1 point, each removed sequence earns 100 points, and the score can become negative. A game won in 53 moves therefore scores 500 − 53 + 400 = 847 points.
Can you undo a move?
Yes, the app keeps the last 100 actions. Undo restores the score and move counter to what they were before the move. If that move completed a run that was removed, the run is restored too.