Semiconductor assembly and method in which very small pill-like packages can be mounted directly on boards and can be directly mounted in assemblies and stacks. The pill-like package encapsulates a semiconductor body having at least a portion of an electrical circuit formed therein with contact pads in a predetermined pattern carried by the body and lying in a common plane with a plurality of first leads bonded to the contact pads and the first leads extending outwardly from the semiconductor body and having outer extremities which lie in a predetermined pattern with encapsulating means encapsulating the semiconductor body and the portions of the first leads in engagement with the contact pads. The pill-like package is very small and has a spider-like conformation. The leads are formed in such a manner so that the packages can be directly mounted upon printed circuit boards without extending the leads through holes. The pill-like packages can be stacked into assemblies in which the leads are interconnected.