Yes, Spider Solitaire has a strategy. Make every useful move before you deal from the stock, empty a column as early as you can, build in suit whenever you have the choice, and don’t break a same-suit run unless it gains you something. None of this guarantees a win, but each habit keeps more moves open.
Is there a strategy to Spider Solitaire?
There is. It starts with three rules that cause nearly all the trouble.
First, you can put any card on a card one rank higher, whatever the suit, but only a run in one suit can move as a group. Pretty Good Solitaire’s Spider rules state both. So a 6 of hearts can sit on a 7 of clubs, but once it’s there, the two cards can’t travel together.
Second, most of the deck starts hidden. Only the top card of each column is face up at the deal.
Third, the stock. Each deal from it drops one card face up on all 10 columns, and that card lands on whatever you had lined up.
Every tip below manages one of those problems. The goal is to build 8 runs of 13 cards, King down to Ace in one suit. The game clears each one as soon as you finish it. If you need the basics first, the beginner’s guide to playing Spider covers the layout and moves.
When to deal from the stock
Deal last, after every useful move on the board is done.
A deal covers the top card of every column. Say you have a 6 of clubs that could go onto a 7 of clubs in another column. Skip that move and deal, and the 6 might end up under a Queen of diamonds. The stock holds 5 deals in total, and each one is a reset you don’t get back.
Before you click the stock, check:
- Have you moved every card that can go onto the same suit?
- Can you join two short same-suit runs into one longer run?
- Is there a face-down card you can still turn over?
- Can a column be emptied, even if you’ll have to fill it again before the deal?
You must fill empty columns before a deal
On this site, as in the standard rules, you can’t deal while any column is empty. Goodsol puts it plainly: all tableau piles must be filled before dealing. So an empty column you’ve been saving has to take a card first.
A King is the best choice if you have one loose. A King can’t be placed on another card, so once it sits at the bottom of a column it never needs to move again, and you can build its run right on top. Next best is a long same-suit run headed by a high card. The worst choice is a lone low card, like a 3, which a deal will bury and which you’ll want to move again soon.
Solitaire Laboratory notes that most, but not all, computer versions use this fill-before-dealing rule, and that it can block a win late in a game when fewer cards remain than there are columns. If that bothers you, Relaxed Spider drops the rule. Wikipedia describes it as a version that does not require all spaces to be filled before redealing.
Why empty columns matter more than anything else
An empty column is the most useful thing you can have in Spider. It takes any card or any same-suit run, and it gives you room to sort cards that are stuck together in mixed suits.
Here’s how. Picture a column ending in 10 of spades, 9 of hearts, 8 of hearts. You want to move all three onto a Jack of clubs. You can’t do it in one go, because the 10 is a different suit from the 9 and 8. With an empty column, it takes three moves:
- Move the 9 and 8 of hearts (a same-suit run) into the empty column.
- Move the 10 of spades onto the Jack of clubs.
- Move the 9 and 8 of hearts back onto the 10 of spades.
The empty column is free again. And if the 10 was the last face-up card in its old column, the next face-down card turns over.
Goodsol’s own Spider tip says the same: make spaces as soon as you can and use them to sort cards into suit groups. So don’t fill an empty column just because you can. Keep it open while you have other moves, and use it as a holding spot.
Build in suit when you can
You’re allowed to build down regardless of suit, and you’ll need to. But when you have a choice, pick the same suit.
Say you’re holding a 7 of hearts and you can see an 8 of spades and an 8 of hearts. Put it on the 8 of hearts. That 8 and 7 now move together as a group, and they count toward a finished run. On the 8 of spades, the 7 is legal but stuck: to move the 8 later, you’d have to move the 7 off first.
Goodsol’s tip matches this: prefer same-suit sequences, even though the rules allow otherwise.
Off-suit builds still have their place. Make one when:
- it turns over a face-down card,
- it empties a column, or
- there’s nothing else to do before you’d have to deal.
Don’t break up same-suit runs
You can split a run. Solitaire Laboratory notes that partial sequences can be moved, so you could take the 6 of clubs off a 9-8-7-6 of clubs and put it somewhere else.
Most of the time you shouldn’t. That run took moves to build, and splitting it means rebuilding it later. Break a same-suit run only when the split gets you something real: a face-down card turned over, an empty column, or a longer same-suit run elsewhere.
Uncover face-down cards, starting with short columns
Every hidden card is a card you can’t plan around. When you move the face-up cards off a column, the next face-down card turns over, so freeing hidden cards is mostly about clearing columns.
Aim for the shortest columns first. At the deal, the first four columns hold 6 cards and the other six hold 5, so those six columns have fewer cards to get through. A column with one face-down card left is one good move away from being empty. A column with five is a long project.
When two moves look equal, count the face-down cards under each. Pick the move that works on the shorter pile.
Favour plays you can take back
Solitaire Laboratory passes on a tip from Albert Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith: favour plays that can be unmade. Their example is putting a 7 on one of two available 8s.
If both 8s are open and you move the 7 onto one, the other 8 is still free. You can move the 7 across later if that turns out better. Nothing is lost. Compare that with turning over a face-down card or dealing from the stock. Those change the game for good.
So when you’re unsure, make the reversible moves first and save the permanent ones for later.
Using undo and hints on this site
You can undo as many moves as you like here. Try a line of play, see where it goes, and back up if it fails.
Undo does affect your score. Under the Microsoft-style scoring this site uses, each move costs 1 point and each undo costs 1 point. A deal from the stock costs nothing. If you care about a high score, plan before you move. If you care about winning, undo freely. The Spider Solitaire scoring guide explains the full system.
The hint button shows you a legal move when you can’t spot one. Use it as a check before you deal. If the hint finds a move you missed, make it first.
If a deal beats you, replay it. Every game has a deal number you can share by link, so you can come back to the same cards and try a different plan.
How to never get stuck in Spider Solitaire
You can’t avoid getting stuck every time. Solitaire Laboratory points out that the fill-before-dealing rule alone can block a win near the end. What you can do is get stuck less often:
- Keep at least one column empty for as long as you can.
- Build in suit whenever two choices look equal.
- Don’t deal while a useful move is left.
- Work on the columns with the fewest face-down cards.
- Avoid moves you can’t take back until you’ve tried the ones you can.
When you’re truly stuck, the stock is your only way out. Deal, then start the checklist again.
Adjusting for 1, 2 and 4 suits
Every mode uses the same 104 cards. The number of suits changes which advice matters most.
1-suit Spider
Every card is a spade, per Goodsol’s one-suit rules. So every run you build is a same-suit run, and any descending run moves as a group. Building in suit stops being a concern. Your focus shifts to turning over face-down cards and emptying columns fast. Goodsol labels this version Easy. Play 1-suit Spider to learn the flow of the game without the suit problem.
2-suit Spider
Half the cards are spades and half are hearts. Now the choice between two 8s often matters, and a careless off-suit build can lock a column. Solitaire Laboratory calls two-suit Spider considerably easier than the standard game. It’s the best place to practise building in suit. Try a round of two-suit Spider once 1 suit feels comfortable.
3-suit Spider
This site also offers a 3-suit version, with the same 104 cards split across three suits. It sits between 2 and 4 suits, so the same advice applies with a little less room to spare.
4-suit Spider
With all four suits, you’ll make off-suit builds far more often, and each one costs you later. Empty columns become your main sorting tool, so protect them. Hold off on dealing until the board is in the best shape you can get, because each deal mixes the suits further. The 4-suit Spider page has the full game.
Where to go next
To put these tips to work, deal a fresh game of Spider and check each one as you play. When you want a quick, practical list for a single game, the step-by-step checklist for winning Spider puts these ideas in order. The full rules are on the Spider Solitaire rules page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important Spider Solitaire tip?
Empty a column as early as you can and keep it empty. An empty column takes any card or same-suit run, so you can use it to sort mixed-suit stacks into order and to turn over hidden cards. Goodsol’s own Spider tip says to make spaces as soon as possible and use them to sort cards by suit.
Should you always build in suit in Spider Solitaire?
Build in suit when you have a choice, because only same-suit runs move as a group and only same-suit runs clear. Off-suit builds are still useful when they turn over a face-down card, empty a column, or give you the last useful move before you’d have to deal from the stock. Avoid them just for tidying.
When should you deal new cards in Spider Solitaire?
Deal only when you’ve made every useful move. Each deal puts one card on every column and can bury a move you were planning. Before you deal, join same-suit runs, turn over any card you can, and if a column is empty, fill it with a King or a long same-suit run, since dealing requires it.
Does using undo lower your score?
Yes. Under the Microsoft-style scoring on this site, each undo costs 1 point, and each move costs 1 point. Undo is unlimited, so it’s a good way to learn by testing different lines of play. If you’re chasing a high score, plan your moves before you make them so you need fewer undos.
Is 2-suit Spider much harder than 1-suit?
It’s a real step up. In 1-suit Spider every run is spades, so any descending run moves as a group. With 2 suits, a heart built on a spade can’t move with it, so you have to choose builds carefully. Goodsol rates one suit Easy and two suits Medium. Solitaire Laboratory calls one-suit even easier than two-suit.