Spider Solitaire strategy

Turn over hidden cards first

Every face-down card is a card you cannot plan with. When you have a choice, prefer the move that turns a card over, and look first at the columns with the fewest cards still hidden. Emptying a short column early gives you room for everything else.

Build in suit when you can

A card can go on any card one rank higher, but only a run of one suit moves as a group. When two places would take the same card, choose the one of the same suit. Mixed stacks are fine for a while, but they are harder to move later.

Keep empty columns free

An empty column is your most useful space. It lets you take a stack apart, move it in pieces and put it back in suit. Try not to fill it with a single low card unless that turns over another card.

Kings can only move into an empty column, so save one for a King that is blocking hidden cards.

Deal only when you have to

A deal covers every column with a new card, which can bury runs you were building. Before you deal, make the moves that tidy columns and join runs. Every column needs a card before a deal, so you may have to fill an empty column first: use the card you need least.

Use Undo and Hint without guilt

Undo counts as a move and costs one point, nothing more. Trying a line of play and taking it back is a good way to see what a move uncovers. When you cannot see a move at all, Hint shows one, or tells you it is time to deal.

Choose the mode that suits the evening

1 Suit is relaxed and forgiving. 2 Suits asks for more planning. 4 Suits is a long, slow puzzle where empty columns and careful ordering matter most. With Winnable deals only switched on, each new deal is checked by a solver before you play it.

• Play 1 Suit
• Play 2 Suits
• Play 4 Suits