Placement and movement use different rules
You may place a card on a card one rank higher, regardless of suit. Moving several cards together requires a descending run in the same suit. Colour does not decide either rule: Spider is different from Klondike’s alternating-colour columns.
In a one-suit game, any correctly descending run automatically meets the suit condition. Two and four suits add a second problem: a descending stack can be split into several smaller movable runs. Inspect those boundaries before covering an important card.
An eight that fits but locks the pair
Suppose one column ends in 9♠ and another ends in 8♥. A third column ends in 10♣. Moving 8♥ onto 9♠ is legal because eight is one rank below nine. The resulting 9♠–8♥ pair cannot then be lifted onto 10♣: its suits differ.
Compare a same-suit choice
If the eight were 8♠ instead, could you move 9♠–8♠ together onto 10♣?
Reveal the answer
Yes. The selected run is descending in spades. The destination ten may be any suit because placement compares the rank at the join. A same-suit run does not require a same-suit destination, although that would keep an even longer run movable.
A mixed-suit move is not necessarily bad. It may uncover a face-down card or free a column. The cost is the extra work needed to separate that stack later. Compare that cost with the information or space gained now.
Treat an empty column as temporary storage
Any movable card or run can fill an empty column; it does not have to begin with a King. In the mixed 9♠–8♥ example, an empty column lets you park 8♥, move the exposed 9♠ onto a ten, then decide where the eight belongs.
Before filling your last empty column, check whether the next useful rearrangement needs it. Empty space can separate suits, uncover a hidden card and combine shorter runs. Keeping it available may be more valuable than making a longer mixed stack.
A complete same-suit King-to-Ace run leaves the table automatically. That can reveal another card beneath it. Clear eight such runs to win; simply arranging ranks from King to Ace across mixed suits does not count.
Prepare before dealing ten more cards
The stock deals one face-up card onto every column, and every column must contain a card first. There are five stock deals and no stock recycling. Make useful moves before dealing: a new card can cover the exact card you wanted to use.
If the stock refuses to deal, inspect the whole table for an empty column. On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see the off-screen columns while keeping cards readable. Fit table is available when you want an overview.
Tap a card and its destination, or drag the card/run. Tab and Enter operate selections, and Ctrl/Cmd+Z undoes. Hint suggests a legal move, not a complete solution. Current progress and available undo history stay in this browser; New deal replaces that table.
For a one-deck game with different empty-column rules, try Klondike Solitaire. To compare the cost of temporary space in another version, work through Ember’s reserve puzzle.
Take it to the game
Found a rule that behaves differently or an example that needs explaining? Report the problem with the game and the steps you tried.