The Comfort of Solitaire

In a world overrun with Zumas and Mystery Case Files and Diner Dashes, it can get a little overwhelming; sometimes even a little bit scary. I know there have been many occasions where I've cowered in fear and confusion due to the merciless onslaught of computer games and their many, many clones. Sometimes you want to just kick back, relax, and get back to what you know. And what is more comforting, more familiar than solitaire?

Technically, this is spider solitaire, but it's been a standard feature on home computers for long enough that I think everyone is used to it by now. For those who aren't familiar with the game, it's fairly similar to solitaire, with the exception of a few key differences. Also, keep in mind that the "original" spider solitaire available here is slightly different from the normal version.

You're still required to stack cards high-to-low in vertical rows; although some game versions only consist of a single color, not both red and black. Like the original game, you can move whole stacks at a time, provided that they're in order. You can also move any card - not just kings - to empty cells. Once you stack all of the cards from king to ace (yes, aces go in rows here, not up top), the entire row will be moved out of the game and you'll get points for it. There are five stacks of ten cards each that you can use, similar to the draw pile in regular solitaire. Clicking a stack will deal all of the cards onto the table, one at the end of each row. This complicates things by messing up your rows, but it's also necessary to use all of the cards.

Those are the basic rules of the game, with the end goal being to eliminate all of the cards. It can be really challenging and I had to play a few games myself before I was able to win any.

Mix It Up

Like any self-respecting computer game, Spyde Solitaire throws in plenty of power-ups and game modes in an effort to mix-up what could otherwise be a stale experience. During a game, you get three power-ups, in which you can use any of the available powers. Free cell adds a blank cell at the top of the screen in which you can place a card temporarily. Destroy does exactly what its name says: destroys a card. However, that card will appear later, as you need every card to complete the game. Finally, the push power will push any bottom card upwards in its stack, where it will either stop at a match or go all the way to the top.

Spyde really delivers in the game modes department. It offers the regular version, as I've outlined above, as well as choice, where you're given complete freedom to tweak the rules to your liking, and finally Spyde mode, which is just as much of a puzzle game as it is a card game. Each level follows a different set of rules and sometimes thrust you into various scenarios. It's perfect for the player who's mastered the game.

Spider Heaven

Spider solitaire is a fun game and this game is the absolute best representation of that. Between the various power-ups and game modes, any fan of cards will no doubt find something to like here.