Spider Solitaire Strategy: How to Win More Games
To win more Spider Solitaire, turn over face-down cards first, work towards an empty column and use it to rearrange cards instead of parking a King there, and build in the same suit whenever you have a choice. Only deal from the stock when nothing useful is left, and tidy the table before you do.
Why Spider needs a plan
At the start of a Spider game, 44 of the 54 cards on the table are face down, and another 50 wait in the stock. Every deal from the stock drops a card on top of all ten columns, burying whatever you were working on. So the game is a race: uncover and sort as much as you can between deals.
The other big idea is the run rule: you can place any card on one a rank higher, but only same-suit runs move together. With 1 suit that never gets in your way. With 2 or 4 suits, every mixed-suit link is a knot you'll have to untie later. If the rules are new to you, read how to play Spider Solitaire first.
The strategies
1. Turn over hidden cards first
When you can choose between two moves, pick the one that turns a card face up. A new card is new information and often a new move. Moving cards around among the face-up ones without uncovering anything is usually wasted time.
2. Dig in the column closest to empty
Columns 5 to 10 start with four hidden cards and columns 1 to 4 with five. Pick one column with few hidden cards and work it down to nothing. One empty column early is worth more than one extra card turned in each of several columns.
3. Treat empty columns as gold
An empty column takes any card or same-suit run, which makes it the best tool in the game. Don't fill it just because you can. A lone King is the classic mistake: a King can't go on any other card, so once it's in, that column stays taken until its run is complete or another column empties. Move a King into an empty column only when doing so turns over a hidden card.
4. Build in suit whenever you can
If a card can go on two different cards of the next rank, choose the one of the same suit. A same-suit run can later move as one piece and eventually completes; a mixed link can't. On GameLake, tapping a card does this for you: it looks for a same-suit spot first.
5. Use an empty column to untie knots
A mixed run can't move as a group, but with an empty column you can move it one same-suit piece at a time. Here the 9♥ 8♠ sits on hidden cards. It can't move as a pair, so:
- Move the 8♠ into the empty column.
- Move the 9♥ onto the 10♠. Column 1 turns over a hidden card.
- Move the 8♠ back onto the 9♥. The empty column is free again for the next job.
The same trick works with longer chains: each same-suit piece takes one trip. Two empty columns let you move much longer mixed runs, which is why experienced players fight so hard for the second one.
6. Don't break a same-suit run for nothing
Splitting 9♠ 8♠ 7♠ to put the 7♠ on some other 8 only makes sense if it uncovers a card or completes something. Otherwise you've turned one tidy piece into two.
7. Get ready before every deal
Deal only when no move helps. Before you do, make every move that turns over a card, join up same-suit pieces, and fill any empty column (you can't deal with one open). Fill it with the least useful thing you have, such as the last card of a mixed run, not a long same-suit run you'll want to move later.
8. Finish runs as soon as you can
A completed King-to-Ace run leaves the table and usually turns over the card underneath. That's thirteen fewer cards to juggle, so when one is close, go for it.
9. On 2 and 4 suits, use Undo to explore
Harder Spider deals often hinge on one choice many moves earlier. On GameLake you can undo up to 40 moves: try a line, and if it ends in a jam, step back and try the other option. It's how most players learn which moves really matter.
A move checklist (the way Teach me thinks)
GameLake's Teach me button picks a move by going down this list, best idea first. It's a good order to use in your head:
- Complete a King-to-Ace run.
- Move a run onto a card one higher if that turns over a hidden card, preferring the column with the fewest hidden cards left.
- Park a run in an empty column if that turns over a hidden card.
- Empty a column.
- Swap a mixed-suit link for a same-suit one.
- Put a run on a card one higher to tidy up, same suit first.
- Only then, deal a new row (after filling empty columns).
Teach me also remembers the positions you've already been in, so it never suggests a move that just walks you back to one of them.
Common mistakes
- Dealing too early. Each deal buries ten cards. Squeeze every useful move out first.
- Filling empty columns with Kings. A King can't go anywhere else, so it locks the column.
- Building in any suit when the same suit was free. It works now and jams later.
- Spreading effort across every column. One column cleared beats five half-dug ones.
Practise on 1 suit (Easy) until the ideas feel natural, then step up to 2 suits (Medium or the Daily) and 4 suits (Hard). If you also play the classic game, our Solitaire strategies share a lot with these, and FreeCell strategy is all about the same skill of using empty spaces.
Frequently asked questions
Can every Spider Solitaire game be won?
No. Some deals can't be won however well you play, especially with 4 suits, because the stock can bury the cards you need. Good play wins far more of the deals that can be won.
What is the best strategy for Spider Solitaire?
Turn over face-down cards first, aim for an empty column, build in the same suit when you can, and deal from the stock only when nothing useful is left.
Should you put a King in an empty column in Spider?
Only if it uncovers a hidden card. Any card can go in an empty column, so it's more useful kept free for rearranging, and a King can never move anywhere else.
How do you win 4-suit Spider Solitaire?
Be patient: build strictly in suit where possible, work hard for empty columns, prepare carefully before each of the five deals, and use Undo to test different lines. Even strong players lose some 4-suit games.
When should you deal new cards in Spider?
When no move turns over a card, empties a column or improves a same-suit run. Fill every empty column first, since you can't deal while one is open.