Spider Solitaire Strategy: Build in Suit, Empty a Column, Deal Last

What wins in Spider Solitaire

Spider uses 104 cards in every mode. 54 are dealt into ten columns: the first four get six cards, the other six get five, and only the top card of each is face up. That leaves 44 face-down cards in the tableau and 50 in the stock, enough for exactly 5 deals of one card per column.

You win by building eight complete runs from King down to Ace, each in a single suit. You can put any card on a card one rank higher, but a group of cards only moves together when it is a descending run of one suit. Almost every strategy tip follows from those two rules.

Same-suit moves are rarer than you think

We dealt 200,000 opening positions for each mode, with the same dealing rules as the game, and counted how many of the 10 face-up cards could move onto another face-up card right away, and how many of those moves keep the suit.

The number of moves never changes, but the number of good moves drops fast. In 4-suit Spider, about one deal in six has no same-suit move at all at the start. That is why the harder modes reward patience: when a same-suit move exists, take it before any mixed one.

Worked example: the 2-suit deal from the video

The video uses a 2-suit deal (spades and hearts). Counting columns from the left: column 1 shows the 8 of spades, column 2 the 6 of spades, column 3 the 6 of hearts, column 4 the 5 of hearts, column 5 the 7 of hearts, column 6 holds only the 3 of spades, column 7 the 4 of spades, column 8 a hearts run from King down to 2, and column 9 the Ace of hearts.

1. Build in suit. The 5 of hearts could go on either 6. It goes on the 6 of hearts, not the 6 of spades, and column 4 turns over a card.
2. Move the run as one. Because 6 and 5 of hearts share a suit, they move together onto the 7 of hearts. Column 3 turns over a card too.
3. Empty the shortest column. Column 6 holds a single card, so the 3 of spades goes on the 4 of spades and the column is empty.
4. Use the empty column. The 8 of spades moves into it, and column 1 turns over the 9 of hearts it was hiding.
5. Finish the run. The Ace of hearts goes on the 2 of hearts. King to Ace in one suit clears at once, for 100 points.

The video sets up the hearts run in advance to show the clear; in a real game that run takes most of the deal to build.

How to use empty columns

An empty column is the strongest tool in Spider. It takes any card or same-suit run, so you can park a card, reach the hidden card under it, and sort a mixed build back into suits.

• Start with the shortest column. The six right-hand columns start with only 4 face-down cards each.
• Do not fill it with a lone low card unless that opens something. A low card blocks the column for a long time.
• Before a deal, refill it smartly. You cannot deal while a column is empty, so park a high card there that is easy to move off again.

When to deal from the stock

A deal drops one face-up card on all ten columns, which can split a good run and cover cards you were about to use. Make every useful move first: turn over what you can, finish same-suit builds, and leave your best runs on top. With only 5 deals in the whole game, keep the last one or two for when you are really stuck.

Scoring and the Hint button

Every game starts at 500 points. Each move between columns costs 1 point, each completed run earns 100 and each card you turn over earns 5. Fewer, better moves score more, so a clean win beats a long one.

The Hint button in solo games follows the same strategy as this guide: it prefers moves onto a card of the same suit and moves that turn over a hidden card, and points to the stock only when no useful move is left. Undo works in every mode, so you can test a line and take it back.

Which mode should you play?

Start with 1 suit. Every downward build is a movable run there, so you learn how deals, runs and empty columns work. Move to 2 suits once you win most 1-suit deals; it is where same-suit choices start to matter. 4 suits is the expert game, where empty columns and careful dealing decide almost everything. You can switch any time in free Spider Solitaire, and the game remembers your choice.