Spider solitaire strategy

The best Spider Solitaire tips come down to three habits: build in the same suit whenever you can, treat every empty column as a precious tool rather than a place to dump cards, and make every useful move before you deal a new row. With one suit, those habits win most games. With two or four suits, they're the difference between a few wins and none. Try them in the free Spider Solitaire game, which has a hint button and an undo that remembers your last 200 moves.

These tips assume you know the rules. If not, start with how to play Spider Solitaire.

Spider Solitaire tips for every level

1. Uncover face-down cards first

There are 44 face-down cards at the start, in ten columns. Every face-down card is a card you can't plan around. When choosing between moves, prefer the one that turns a card over, and prefer columns with fewer hidden cards left, because they're closest to becoming empty.

2. Build high cards in the right place

Kings can only move into an empty column, and a king sitting at the bottom of a pile of face-down cards blocks it for a long time. Try not to bury useful columns under kings. When a king turns up at the end of a column, think of that column as "the king's column" and start building down from it.

3. Empty columns are tools, not storage

An empty column can take any card or any single-suit run, so it's your most flexible resource. Use it to:

• Move a long run in stages. If a mixed-suit stack blocks you, an empty column lets you shift the pieces one run at a time.
• Rearrange two columns so runs end up in the same suit.
• Reach a buried card by parking the cards above it temporarily.

Don't fill an empty column with a single low card just because you can. Ask what the column will let you do next.

4. Make every move before dealing

Dealing puts a random card on all ten columns. It often lands on top of a run you were building and splits it. So before tapping the stock:

1. Join any runs that can be joined in suit.
2. Turn over any face-down card you can reach.
3. Fill empty columns, which you must do anyway: our game won't deal while a column is empty.

Then deal. The face-down cards on the stock picture show how many deals are left, out of five.

5. Use undo and hint to explore

The Hint button prefers moves that join a run of the same suit or uncover a hidden card, and it avoids breaking a run you already have. When it has nothing better, it suggests dealing. It doesn't look several moves ahead, though, so treat it as a second pair of eyes, not a coach. Undo keeps your last 200 moves, so you can try a line and step back if it goes nowhere.

One suit: speed and clean columns

At 1 suit, every card is a spade, so every sequence is "in suit" and can move as one. Most games are winnable here. To win faster:

• Build long runs early, because they move as a block.
• Aim to empty one column in the first few minutes. With one empty column at one suit, almost any blockage can be untangled.
• Watch your time. Your best time for each suit setting is saved in your browser, so one suit is a good place to race yourself.

Two suits: keep spades and hearts apart

At 2 suits, half the cards are hearts and half are spades. Now placing a 7 of hearts on an 8 of spades is legal, but the result can't move as a group.

• Prefer same-suit moves, even if an off-suit move turns over a card. If both are available, take the same-suit one first.
• Use off-suit moves as temporary steps, especially to uncover a card, but plan to fix them.
• Count your kings and queens. A column that runs king, queen, jack all in hearts is worth protecting.

Four suits: patience and empty columns

At 4 suits, two of each suit are in play, and long mixed stacks pile up fast. Expect to lose more than you win; that's normal.

• Empty columns become everything. One is helpful, two are powerful. Avoid filling them unless it gets you closer to another.
• Untangle before dealing. With four suits, a deal often buries a column for good, so spend extra time sorting runs by suit first.
• Don't build on aces. Nothing goes on an ace, so an ace at the bottom of a column ends that column's run. Move it onto a 2 of the same suit when you can.

How tips change with the suit setting

	1 suit	2 suits	4 suits
Can most games be won?	Yes	Many	Far fewer
Most important habit	Build long runs	Prefer same-suit moves	Protect empty columns
When to deal	After the obvious moves	After sorting suits	Only when truly stuck
Off-suit moves	Never an issue	Temporary only	Last resort

Common mistakes

• Dealing too early when moves are still available.
• Filling an empty column with a lone card that had another home.
• Moving a run onto an off-suit card when a same-suit card was free.
• Ignoring the column with one face-down card left, which is the easiest column to empty.

Play a hand now

Start at one suit, apply tips 1 to 4, and move up when you win most games. The free Spider Solitaire game runs in your browser with no download or sign-up. For the one-deck classic, see our Solitaire tips.