Spider Solitaire (Windows) - Highest Possible Scores

Highest Possible Scores

The final score in a Spider Solitaire game is calculated as follows. The initial score is 500 and every move subtracts one from the score. Using the “undo” feature also subtracts one point from the score. Every time the player is able to place an entire sequence of cards of the same suite in order (from kings down to ace), 100 points are added to the score. There is a total of eight such sequences in the game yielding a maximum achievable number of 800. Therefore, in a winning game the total score is 800 plus 500 minus the number of moves and “undo's.”

The maximum possible score therefore depends on the number of moves (and “undo’s”) the player made in the game. There is a total of 104 cards in a spider solitaire game (i.e., two decks of 52 cards each). We can subtract the kings from the number of movable cards, because once an entire sequence is constructed the kings move themselves out of the game. If each card is moved only once in the entire game this will produce a total of 96 moves (12 cards times 8 suites). This would mean, for example, that a seven of hearts was moved onto an eight of hearts and was not moved again at any time during the game. And similarly that the eight of hearts was moved only once to a nine of hearts and not moved again. So ignoring for the moment the possibility that cards in each draw will land in sequence the maximum score is 800 + 500 – 96 = 1204.

Theoretically, higher scores are possible given the fact that when a new draw is made some of the cards may land in sequence. For example, a six of hearts may land on a seven of hearts. All in all fifty cards will be drawn in the course of the game (five sets of ten cards each). If each card lands in sequence, this amounts to 50 cards that do not need to be moved by the player. So, in this unlikely event, this subtracts another 50 points from the total number of moves. Therefore the absolute minimum number of moves in a Spider Solitaire game is 96 - 50 = 46. The absolute maximum score in Spider Solitaire is therefore 800 + 500 – 46 = 1254, but the odds against such a game occurring are astronomical. This limit applies to games of each difficulty level.

In practical terms, the highest likely score is going to depend on the difficulty level of the game which in turn influences how many moves it will take to win the game. In the basic level where cards are all of one suit it's possible on average to win a game in fewer moves than at the advanced level where the cards are in four different suits.