How to win at Spider Solitaire

Spider rewards patience more than speed. Most lost games are lost the same way: the columns fill up with stacks of mixed suits, the empty columns are gone, and each deal from the stock buries what little order was left. The advice below is about avoiding exactly that. It holds for one suit, but it matters most with two and four.

If you have not played before, read the rules first.

Turn the face-down cards over first

At the start, 44 of the 54 cards on the table lie face down, and every one of them is a card you cannot plan with. So of two moves that look alike, choose the one that turns a card over, and of two columns, work on the one with the most cards face down: it is the one that will take longest to clear, and the one hiding the most.

A column you can empty completely is better still, because an empty column is worth more than any card (see below).

Build in suit whenever you can

Any card goes on any card a rank higher, so there is nearly always somewhere to put a card. The question is whether it is a good place. A seven of hearts on an eight of hearts is a step towards a run that will leave the table; a seven of hearts on an eight of spades is a debt: those two cards can no longer move together, and one day you will have to part them again.

So when a card has two homes, pick the one of its own suit. When it only has an off-suit home, make the move only if it gains something: a card turned over, a column emptied, or a run of one suit freed underneath.

With one suit none of this matters, since every build is in suit. That is why one suit is so much easier.

Treat an empty column as your best card

An empty column is worth more than anything else on the table, because it takes any card or run. It is the spare space that lets you pull a stack apart, turn a card over under it, and put the pieces back in a better order.

So do not fill an empty column just because you can. Keep it empty as long as you have other useful moves, and when you do use it, use it for a while and then free it again. Two empty columns are worth far more than twice one: with two you can shuffle whole runs past each other.

Kings: only where they help

A king can go nowhere but an empty column, so a king that moves into one stays there. That spends your best space for good, unless the king's column fills with a run that leaves the table.

Move a king into an empty column when it frees something that matters: the cards face down under it, or a long run of one suit stuck on it. Do not do it just to tidy up. And when you do, choose the king whose column you can best build on: a king of the suit you have the most of in order is the one to start a run with.

Untangle mixed stacks through an empty column

Sooner or later a column holds a stack in order but of two suits, and the card you need is under it. The empty column is how you get it out:

1. Move the top run, the part of one suit, into the empty column.
2. Move the card of the other suit underneath onto a card of its own suit, or anywhere it fits.
3. Bring the first run back onto it if it now continues the suit, and the empty column is free again.

With two empty columns you can take apart stacks of three suits the same way. This is most of the work in a game of four suits.

Tidy up before every deal

A deal puts one card on every column at once, whether it fits there or not. Before you tap the stock:

• Make every move that turns a card over or builds in suit.
• Remember that every column needs a card first. If one is empty, fill it with the card you can best spare: the end of a short run, or a card that will be easy to move again. Do not bury a long run of one suit.
• The new cards land on top of whatever each column ends in, and each has to be moved off again before that column can grow. A run that ends in an ace or a two loses little by being covered; a column about to take the card you have been waiting for loses most. Make that move first if you can.

With two or four suits

With two suits, the advice above starts to matter: build in suit, keep an empty column, and untangle stacks before they grow. Most games can still be won with care.

With four suits, every off-suit build is expensive, and there are far more of them. Expect to use empty columns constantly and to take many moves back and forth. It helps to work on one suit at a time where you can: collect the runs of the suit you already have most of in order, and take them off, since every run that leaves the table frees space for the rest.

Racing a friend

In a race to the last run the one who wins is the one who plays well, not fast: a hurried off-suit build costs more time later than it saves. Keep your own pace and do not look at your opponent's progress too often.

In a race against the clock the count is runs off first, then cards turned over. With little time left, go for the run that is nearly complete, and failing that, turn over as many face-down cards as you can: that is what decides a tie.

Winning more games

• Think before you deal: the stock is your last resort, not your first.
• Build in suit, and treat every off-suit build as something you will pay for.
• Keep an empty column, and use it to pull stacks apart, not to park kings.
• Use undo to see where a line leads, and remember that what you turned over stays face up.

Ready? Play Spider Solitaire, start with one suit, and move on to two when you win most games. For the one-deck game, see how to win at Klondike.