Spider Solitaire strategy

To win at Spider Solitaire, build runs in one suit whenever you have a choice, turn over hidden cards before tidying up, work towards an empty column and use it to sort mixed runs, and only deal a new row when nothing useful is left. Here is how each of those works, with examples for 1, 2 and 4 suits.

If you are new to the game, start with how to play Spider Solitaire: the layout, how cards move and when you can deal. This page picks up from there.

Build in suit whenever you can

Any card can go on a card one rank higher, but only cards of one suit, in order, move together, and only a full run of one suit from King to Ace leaves the table. So when a card has two places to go, choose the one in its own suit.

The 6♥ fits on the 7♠ or the 7♥. On the 7♥ it joins a run that moves as one and can become part of a full run of hearts. On the 7♠ it is stuck: the 7♠ and 6♥ can only be pulled apart one card at a time.

With 1 suit this never comes up, since every card is a spade. With 2 suits it is the most important habit in the game. With 4 suits you will often have no card of the right suit, and a mixed build is still better than no move, but count it as a debt you will have to pay back later.

Turn over hidden cards first

Forty-four cards start face down. Every one you turn over gives you new moves, and the hidden cards are where the Kings and the cards you are waiting for are. When two moves look equally good, take the one that uncovers a card. Work on the columns with the fewest hidden cards first: those are the ones you can empty soonest.

Make an empty column, and use it well

An empty column takes any card or run, which makes it the most useful thing on the table. Its best use is to sort mixed runs back into suits. Here two runs have each picked up a card of the wrong suit:

Each 7 sits on the wrong suit, so neither run can move as a whole.

Three moves fix both:

Move the 7♥ into the empty column.
Move the 7♠ onto the 8♠.
Move the 7♥ onto the 8♥.

Two runs in suit, and the column is empty again for the next job.

The same trick works for longer tangles; it just takes more moves, or two empty columns. And do not waste an empty column on a single card you could have left where it was. A King is the exception when it brings a run with it: a run that starts with a King never needs to move again.

Deal only when you have to

Each deal puts one card on every column, covering whatever you have built. You get five deals, and you must deal eventually, but every deal makes the table messier. Before you press Deal:

Make every move that turns over a card or joins cards of one suit.
Put something in each empty column, since you cannot deal while one is empty. Use a run you want to keep together, ideally one headed by a King.
Look at which runs the new cards will cover. A long run in suit at the front of a column is safe to cover: it can still move once you clear the new card off it.

1 suit, 2 suits, 4 suits

1 suit. Every card is a spade, so every run in order moves together. The game is about turning over cards and making empty columns. Every 1-suit deal on this site has been checked and can be won, so a lost game means there was a better line: undo and look for it.

2 suits. Spades and hearts. Build in suit at every chance, and keep an empty column free for sorting. Most 2-suit games can be won with care, though not every deal.

4 suits. The hardest version, and one of the hardest patience games there is. Empty columns are worth more than anything; turn over cards before you tidy; and use Undo freely to explore. Even strong players win only some of their games, so treat a win as a real achievement.

When you get stuck

Undo works on everything here, including a deal. If a deal went badly, take it back and try a different line before it.
Look for the column closest to empty, and count how many moves it would take.
Press Hint. It looks ahead for you and explains its move in one sentence.