Scorpion Solitaire
In Scorpion Solitaire, you can move a face-up card together with the cards overlapping it, even when they are out of order. Use that freedom to uncover hidden cards and build four runs of one suit, from King down to Ace. Play free above, or follow the examples below before your first move.
How to play Scorpion Solitaire
The game uses one deck of 52 cards. There are seven columns of seven cards, with three face-down cards at the back of each of the first four columns. That makes 12 hidden cards. The remaining three cards form a reserve that you can deal later.
- Find a face-up card that can land on the next higher card of the same suit: for example, the 6 of spades on the 7 of spades.
- Move your chosen card with all the cards overlapping it toward the end of its column. Those extra cards do not need to be in order.
- Keep uncovering cards and arranging each suit from King down to Ace. A hidden card turns face up when you remove the cards covering it.
- Finish all four suit runs to win. They stay in the columns; there are no separate foundation piles.
Which cards can move together?
The card you select decides where the group can land. Its destination must be the exposed end card of another column, one rank higher and in the same suit. Every card after your selected card comes along, even if the colors, suits or ranks are mixed.
A 7 of clubs would not accept that group: matching the color is not enough. An 8 of spades would not accept it either, because the ranks must be consecutive.
What happens at the Ace and King?
Ranks do not wrap around. Nothing can be placed on an Ace, and a King cannot be placed on another card. A King can move to an empty column, together with any cards attached to it.
The reserve and empty columns
You have one reserve deal: three cards added face up, one each to the first, second and third columns. You can use it while moves are available or after you get stuck. Check those three columns first, because the new cards will cover their exposed ends. An empty column accepts only a King, either alone or with the cards attached to it.
Deal the three reserve cards
Select the small reserve card symbol below the board. It shows 3 while the reserve is available and is labelled Deal on wider screens. Dealing uses all three cards at once; there is no second reserve and no redeal.
The reserve can open a new move, but it can also cover a card you wanted to use. Undo restores all three reserve cards if you want to compare the position before and after dealing.
Make room for a King
If you cannot use an empty column straight away, it stays available for a later King move. You do not have to fill it before dealing the reserve.
Scorpion Solitaire strategy
These checks can help you choose a move. They do not make every deal winnable.
- Look for a move that reveals a face-down card. Check the landing column too, so you understand what the group will cover.
- Follow the selected card, not just the last card in a group. Its suit and rank determine where the whole group can land.
- Before joining two groups, check whether a card you need is already trapped between them. A longer column is not always an improvement.
- Before clearing a column, find an accessible King that could use it. Other cards cannot occupy that space in Scorpion.
- Compare useful column moves before dealing the reserve. If a choice makes the position worse, Undo also lets you take back the reserve deal.
Help with your game
- Move a card or group
- Drag the face-up card you want to move to its destination. The attached cards travel with it. With 1-Tap Move enabled in Settings, a tap chooses a legal destination for you.
- Choose where a tap moves the cards
- Turn off 1-Tap Move in Settings. Select a face-up card, then select its destination column.
- Hint
- Get a suggested move or reserve deal. The search has limits, so a hint is help with a choice, not a guarantee that the deal can be won.
- Undo
- Reverse the last move, including any card it turned face up. You can use Undo repeatedly to return to an earlier position.
- Restart or New Game
- Choose Restart from the game menu to retry this deal from the beginning. New Game gives you a different deal.
- Settings
- Choose the available card, display and sound options that are comfortable for you.
Can I leave and finish later?
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Watch how to play Scorpion Solitaire
See how groups move, when to deal the three reserve cards, and how to build complete suit runs.
Duration: 1 minute 29 seconds.
In this video
Scorpion, Spider and Wasp
Scorpion and Spider Solitaire both build suit runs from King to Ace, but their moves differ. Scorpion allows an unordered group to travel with its selected card. Spider requires a same-suit descending run to move together. Scorpion uses one deck and leaves completed runs in the columns; Spider uses two decks and removes completed runs.
Wasp Solitaire changes one Scorpion rule: any card or group may enter an empty column. Try Wasp if you would like more freedom to move a blocked group aside.
In classic Solitaire, the columns use alternating colors and cards finish on separate foundations. In Scorpion, suit matters on every landing, and completed runs remain where you build them.
How difficult is Scorpion Solitaire?
A legal move can expose a useful card or leave another card harder to reach. Take your time and use Undo to compare choices. Our solver found wins in 128 of 1,000 random deals (12.8%) within its search limits. That is a minimum confirmed share of that sample, not a player win rate or a promise about your next deal.
See the 1,000-deal search results
- 128 deals (12.8%): a complete winning line was found.
- 224 deals (22.4%): the search stopped without resolving the deal.
- 648 deals (64.8%): the search classified the deal as a dead end.
These are outcomes from a bounded computer search. An unresolved result does not mean a deal is impossible. The game deals random cards; it does not select only layouts with a verified solution.
Our Solitaire win rates page explains the method and compares the games. The same sample size produced 779 confirmed wins (77.9%) for Wasp, whose empty-column rule allows more moves.
Scorpion Solitaire questions
How is Scorpion Solitaire set up?
Seven columns hold 49 cards. Three cards in each of the first four columns start face down, for 12 hidden cards altogether. A separate three-card reserve can be dealt once, adding one card to each of the first three columns.
Can I move cards that are out of order?
Yes. Select any face-up card and move it together with every card overlapping it toward the end of the column. Those attached cards can be in any order or suit. The selected card must land on a card one rank higher in the same suit, or be a King moving to an empty column.
When should I deal the three reserve cards?
Check for useful moves first, especially ones that uncover a hidden card. You can deal the reserve at any point while it remains available; you do not have to wait until all moves run out. Each new card covers the exposed end of one of the first three columns. Undo can reverse the deal.
What percentage of Scorpion deals can be won?
In our 1,000-deal sample, the solver found 128 wins (12.8%). It left 224 deals unresolved within its search limits. The confirmed wins give a lower bound for that sample; unresolved deals may still have solutions. These are computer-search results, not a measured human win rate.
How do I win without foundation piles?
Build a complete King-to-Ace run in each of the four suits, inside the columns. Completed runs stay on the board. The game is won when all four runs are complete.
What is the difference between Scorpion and Wasp?
Wasp uses the same deal, group-movement rules and goal. Its empty columns accept any card or group, while Scorpion permits only Kings. That gives you more places to move cards when a column is blocked.
Try one move, then look again
Find a face-up card that fits an exposed card in another column. Before moving it, notice which cards will travel with it and what it will uncover. Try the move, then use Undo if you want to compare another choice.
