The Best Spider Solitaire Strategy Guide

Spider solitaire is one of the most popular card games in the world. Introduced sometime in the mid-20th century, it grew in popularity and exploded when Microsoft decided to include it in their Windows software in the late ’90s and early 2000s. 

Even though it’s been around for a while, spider solitaire is still extremely popular, and most importantly, very very fun! If you haven’t played it before, our spider solitaire strategy tips will give you a head start.

What Is Spider Solitaire

First, let’s talk about what spider solitaire is. It’s a variant of the popular solitaire card game. Think of spider solitaire as a spinoff of regular solitaire.

The goal is to build a suite of cards in ascending order, from King to Ace. So a column should have the following order of cards: King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. Like a spider has 8 legs, you need to build 8 columns of cards. 

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In spider solitaire, cards of the same suit must be placed in sequential order, unlike traditional (or Klondike solitaire) alternating red and black patterns.

Tips to Improve Your Spider Solitaire Strategy

The first thing to remember about spider solitaire is that it’s not always winnable. Some games are just impossible to win, so don’t get discouraged if you feel like you can’t make progress. Of course, if you’re playing it digitally, many versions will have an undo button, so don’t be afraid to use it and undo a mistake.

Build on your higher valued cards first. Since an Ace is the final card in a sequence, no other cards can be placed on top. Starting with higher cards will allow you to build a bigger stack below them.

Another spider solitaire strategy is to reveal hidden cards underneath other cards when possible since you never know what cards may be underneath. By revealing what’s underneath a sequence you’re building, you can reveal potential new moves. It’s a great way of creating an empty pile, which you can then move new cards to. 

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If you have an empty column, you will need to place at least one card there in order to deal new cards. Carefully consider which cards should be moved there. Try to free up whichever column has the least number of cards, since these are the easiest to empty.

Hold off on dealing new cards for as long as possible. While it’s necessary to deal new cards to win the game, each column will have a new card added to it each time new cards are dealt. So you will always have at least one card in each column blocking a potential move.

Remember, the more moves you make to create sequences, the lower your final score. So try to move as much as you can of entire columns, so you can reduce your overall move count. Over the course of a game, this can add up.

Test Your Spider Solitaire Strategy 

Ready to try out your spider solitaire strategy yourself? You can play Spider Solitaire for free. Start with our one suit mode to make things easier for yourself. 

After some practice, you will be ready to take on two and even four-suit game modes. Pretty soon your spider solitaire strategy will be pro-level!