Tip 2: Clearing a Column
What solitaire strategy is shared by both Spider and Topsy Turvy Queens? These are seemingly opposite games. Spider solitaire is a suite-building game, whereas Topsy Turvy Queens has foundations. But by exploring just a few basic solitaire tips, you can easily play any game like an expert!
Many of the most popular solitaire games like Spider, Forty Thieves, Free Cell and Alternations all share a top priority. Getting an open tableau column as soon as possible. Why? An empty tableau column is like a free space that any card (or possibly stack – depending on the game) can go into. Take this example from Spider 2 Suits.
The goal of the game is to make suited stacks from King to Ace, so in this situation, we would want to swap the 8-7♠ with the 8-7♥.
The empty column allows us to make that move.
And now we’re really close to making a full spade suite!
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Here’s another example from the same hand of Spider 2 Suit. Since we are only allowed to move suited stacks in Spider, we would be unable to move this Q♥ as long as it is covered by the J-10♠.
However, we can temporarily move the J-10 of Spades to the empty column, move the Q♥ onto the King, and them move the J-10♠ back on to the Queen.
This allows us to move the 2♥ and A♥ over to the 3♥ on the far left, thus revealing a face-down tableau card AND helping to build suites!
Maybe this article got you interested in Spider 2 Suits, and if so, you can play this very same hand. Just click on the button below from an Android device:
I won the hand with a score of 5133 points. See if you can beat it :)
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The same strategies apply to many different solitaire games, and there are so many more things you can do with open columns. If you’d like to read more, check out the Topsy Turvy Queens Strategy article I wrote earlier this month. Topsy Turvy Queens is one of the newest solitaire games just added to our Solitaire Free Pack and Solitaire MegaPack apps for Android, which are available on the Google Play Store or Amazon App Store. Download now and start the fun!
Try some of these customer favorites if you’d like to use the “clearing a column” strategy. *
Alternations
Spider 2 Suits
Topsy Turvy Queens
Forty Thieves
Free Cell
* I’ve been planning this article for the last month, and on each one of these games, I thought “There’s another great example of when the whole game depends on clearing a column.”
Each for a different reason, it seems.
Links:
Topsy Turvy Queens Solitaire Instructions
Forty Thieves Solitaire Instructions
Free Cell Solitaire Instructions
Alternations Solitaire Instructions
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