Spider Solitaire Windows XP is the classic Spider Solitaire card game designed specifically for the Windows operating system. On a green baize virtual card table, the player uses 10 columns and a stock pile to make eight descending order (K to A) columns, or spider legs. They also attempt to earn a high score with few moves. They can track their current score and number of moves in a darker green rectangle at the bottom-center of the table.
The player selects one of three difficulty levels (Easy: One Suit, Medium: Two Suits or Difficult: Four Suits). With the first option, for example, all cards display spades, which is why it's the easiest of the three modes. The player makes the spider legs by rearranging cards. For example, they place a Q under a K or a 10 under a J. They drag these partial builds under other partial builds to make each column. If they run out of moves, they use the stock pile. That said, it releases 10 cards at a time, which means they must then unblock their builds.
Spider Solitaire Windows XP allows the player to perform commands with text at the top of the window framing the table. They can start a new game, restart the current one, switch the difficulty level, adjust the sound, receive a hint and undo a move. When they choose the hint option, two cards turn black in descending order to indicate that the player should drag the first one under the second one.�
This game also features free cells under the columns. When the player transfers every card out of a preexisting column, the game displays a green spot outlined with white at the top. The player can use this space to temporarily transfer a card that's blocking a build.�
