Spider strategy
In brief
Reveal face-down cards as early as possible, build in the same suit whenever you can, keep an empty column as a working space and make every useful move before dealing. These are tips, not rules: the examples come from a real game in the app, replayed by a program.
Reveal face-down cards
At the start, 44 of the 54 cards are face down. Each card revealed opens up new moves: first look for moves that uncover a face-down card. In game SP1-S1C-AAAAAAD, the first move places 10♠ from column 2 on V♠ in column 4: the card underneath turns over, leaving only 43 face-down cards. By move 64, only 12 remain.
Build in the same suit
Placing a card on a card of a different suit is allowed, but the resulting group can no longer be moved as a unit under Classic rules, and it will never be removed as it stands: a removed run must be all of one suit. With 2 and 4 suits, prefer the card of the same suit when you have a choice, and save mixed-suit placements for revealing face-down cards. The Examples page shows a blocked two-suit group.
Keep an empty column as a tool
An empty column accepts any card: it is the best place to set a card aside while you reveal another. In the same game, column 1 becomes empty on move 20. Dealing is then refused: it requires a card in every column.
Stock: 50 cards, 5 deals remaining; no sequences removed. Column 1: empty; column 2: 2 face down, then 2 of spades, ace of spades; column 3: 3 face down, then 3 of spades, 2 of spades, ace of spades; column 4: 5 face down, then jack of spades, 10 of spades, 9 of spades, 8 of spades, 7 of spades, 6 of spades, 5 of spades, 4 of spades, 3 of spades, 2 of spades, ace of spades; column 5: 1 face down, then 2 of spades, ace of spades; column 6: 2 face down, then 2 of spades, ace of spades; column 7: 2 face down, then 8 of spades; column 8: 4 face down, then king of spades, queen of spades, jack of spades, 10 of spades, 9 of spades, 8 of spades; column 9: 3 face down, then jack of spades; column 10: 3 face down, then 8 of spades.
Move 21 moves the group 2♠ A♠ from column 2 into it, revealing one more card; move 22 deals. It is therefore best to fill an empty column with a move that uncovers a face-down card.
Prepare for each deal
A deal places a card on every column and covers the runs in progress. Before tapping the stock, make every useful move, especially those that reveal a card or arrange a group in the same suit. There are only 5 deals: each one counts.
Think about complete runs
A complete run from king to ace is removed automatically and earns 100 points. In game SP1-S1C-AAAAAAD, the first run is removed on move 64, from column 1: the score goes from 437 to 536 (-1 for the move, +100 for the run). A column emptied by the removal of a run becomes an empty column again, ready to use.