Scorpion Solitaire rules: the complete guide

Scorpion Solitaire at a glance

If you only remember one thing, remember this: a card may only go on the next higher card of its own suit, but it can drag any number of strangers along with it. Scorpion is all about the cards that come along for the ride.

Setting up the deal

Shuffle one ordinary deck. Deal seven cards in a row from left to right, then a second row on top of the first, and so on, until every column has seven cards — 49 in all. Overlap the cards down the table so every face-up card shows its rank and suit.

In the first four columns, the three cards you dealt first (the bottom three) are face down; the four on top are face up. In the last three columns, all seven cards are face up. That makes 12 hidden cards and 37 you can see from the start.

Put the remaining three cards aside, face down. They are the reserve, sometimes called the stock. If you like to set finished runs aside, leave a little room above the columns.

How to play, step by step

There are no turns and no time limit. You make one legal move at a time until you win or can’t get any further.

The legal moves

• Build down in suit. A face-up card can be placed on the last card of another column if that card is the same suit and one rank higher. The 6♥ goes on the 7♥ — not on the 7♠, and not on a 7♥ that has other cards on top of it.
• Move any face-up card. Pick any face-up card and every card on top of it moves too, in whatever order those cards happen to be. Unlike Klondike or Spider, the cards you carry don’t have to form a tidy run.
• Aces end a run. Nothing can be placed on an Ace.
• Kings go to empty columns only. Nothing ranks above a King, so a King can never be placed on another card.
• Turn over hidden cards. When the last face-up card leaves one of the first four columns, flip the face-down card beneath it.

Empty columns

When a column is cleared, only a King may move into it, together with whatever is on top of the King. That rule is what separates Scorpion from Wasp, where any card can move into an empty column.

The three reserve cards

At any point — usually when you have run out of useful moves — you may deal the reserve: one card face up onto the end of each of the first three columns. You do this only once. Where the cards land is not up to you, and they cover whatever was at the end of those columns.

Finished runs and winning

You win when all 52 cards form four runs of thirteen, each from King down to Ace in one suit. With real cards, a finished run usually stays where it is. On BieGames a finished run lifts off the columns into a space of its own as soon as it’s complete, like a run in Spider, and any card it was covering is uncovered.

A worked example: the opening

Here is the start of a real deal. The face-up cards are listed from the bottom of each column to the top, and ▒ marks a face-down card.

1. J♠ onto Q♠. The J♠ sits in column 1 with the 5♥ on top. Both move to column 2, which now ends Q♠ J♠ 5♥.
2. 4♥ onto 5♥. The K♥ on top of the 4♥ rides along. Column 6 now ends with the K♦.
3. Q♦ onto K♦. The 8♥ comes too. Column 7 now ends with the 3♥.
4. 2♥ onto 3♥. The 10♦ rides along. Column 3 ends with the 4♦.
5. 3♦ onto 4♦. This picks up five cards — 3♦ 4♠ 3♥ 2♥ 10♦ — and carries them to column 3. Column 7 ends with the 2♦.
6. A♦ onto 2♦. The A♠ comes along. Column 1 has no face-up cards left, so its top face-down card turns over: the Q♥.
7. Q♥ onto K♥. Column 1 turns over its next card: the K♠.
8. Q♠ onto K♠. The Q♠ carries five cards with it (J♠ 5♥ 4♥ K♥ Q♥). Column 1 now has K♠ Q♠ J♠ in order on top of its last face-down card: the start of a run, with a King at its head.

Eight moves, two hidden cards turned over, and the reserve is still waiting.

Notice how often the cards on top come along for free. Step 5 looks messy, but it’s what uncovers the 2♦, and that’s what lets the Aces in column 1 move away in step 6.

Tricky situations

A card buried above its own home. Suppose a column holds 8♠, 3♦, 7♠ from the bottom up. The 7♠ belongs on the 8♠ but can’t get there, because the 8♠ isn’t at the end of a column. Move the 3♦ onto the 4♦ (the 7♠ rides along with it), and the 8♠ is free. Then move the 7♠ back onto it.

A crossed pair. Suppose the 10♠ lies directly on the J♣ in one column, and the 10♣ lies directly on the J♠ in another. The 10♠ can’t reach the J♠ until the 10♣ moves off it, and the 10♣ can’t reach the J♣ until the 10♠ moves off that. Neither can go first, and under the Kings-only rule no empty column can help. A game with a crossed pair like this can’t be won. In Wasp, one of the tens can step aside into an empty column, which breaks the knot.

A King with cards under it. A King sitting on top of other cards can only leave by moving into an empty column. Until a column is cleared, the cards under it stay stuck. A King at the very bottom of a column, with nothing beneath it, never needs to move at all.

A run finished under other cards. When an Ace moves onto its Two, the cards on top of the Ace come along. The run may then be complete but covered. Once those cards move away, the run is finished and lifts off.

The reserve and an empty column. If one of the first three columns is empty when you deal, the reserve card for that column lands in the space — even if it isn’t a King.

Scorpion, Wasp and other variations

• Wasp keeps every rule of Scorpion except one: any card, with whatever is on top of it, may move into an empty column. Empty columns become a place to park a card while you untangle a column, so far more deals can be won.
• Scorpion II starts with face-down cards in only the first three columns. Fewer hidden cards means fewer surprises.
• Three Blind Mice uses ten columns of five cards. The three columns on the right start with their three bottom cards face down, the rest are face up, and the two cards left over are set aside face up to use when needed. The building rules are Scorpion’s.
• Dealing the reserve when stuck. Some players allow the deal only when no other move is possible. On BieGames you choose the moment.

Scorpion is grouped with the Spider games, since you build complete runs in suit, but it moves cards the way Yukon does: any face-up card can go, along with everything on top of it.

Scoring

Scorpion has no traditional score. BieGames uses the scoring many people know from Windows Spider, so you have a number to beat:

A won game always includes 4 × 100 = 400 points for its runs, so your final score is 900 minus your moves, counting the deal and any undos.

Scoring a game. You win after 63 card moves, the deal and 4 undos. That’s 63 + 1 + 4 = 68 moves, so your score is 900 − 68 = 832.

Rule questions people ask

Do the cards on top have to be in order? No. Only the card you pick up has to fit where it goes. Everything above it travels along as it is.

Can I move part of a column to an empty column? Only if the card you pick up is a King (or you’re playing Wasp).

Can I move a card that already sits on its next-higher card? It’s legal, but there’s rarely a reason to. Its only other destination is an empty column, and only a King — or any card in Wasp — may go there.

Do I have to deal the reserve? To win, yes. Every card has to end up in a run, including the three in the reserve.

What if the reserve completes a run? It counts. If a dealt card is the Ace that finishes a run, the run lifts off at once.

Can every deal be won? No. Some deals are lost from the start, for example when the deal contains a crossed pair. On BieGames, the Winnable deals only setting (on by default) uses a solver that checks every card, hidden ones included, before you play, so you know a win is possible. Finding it is still up to you.

Playing Scorpion on BieGames

You can change these options in Settings on the Scorpion Solitaire page:

• Empty columns: Kings only (Scorpion, the default) or Any card (Wasp).
• Deals: Winnable deals only (the default) or Any deal.
• Tapping a card: moves it to where it goes, or just selects it so you choose the destination.

Undo and hints are unlimited, though each undo costs a point. The hint engine never peeks at face-down cards or the reserve. There’s a daily deal too — one winnable shuffle a day, the same for everyone playing the same rule — and your best score, fastest time and fewest moves are kept separately for Scorpion and Wasp.

Scorpion Solitaire terms

• Tableau — the seven columns where all the play happens.
• Column — one vertical pile of overlapping cards. Only the card at its end can receive another card.
• Reserve or stock — the three cards held back at the start and dealt once onto the first three columns.
• Building in suit — placing a card on the next higher card of the same suit, like the 5♣ on the 6♣.
• Run or sequence — cards of one suit in descending order. A complete run goes from King to Ace.
• Empty column (or space) — a column with no cards at all. It takes only a King in Scorpion and any card in Wasp.
• Foundation — where a finished run goes. You never build on it card by card.
• Patience — the British name for solitaire games, so “Scorpion patience” is this same game.

Quick questions about the rules

How many cards are face down at the start? Twelve: the bottom three cards of each of the first four columns.

How many times can you deal in Scorpion? Once. The three reserve cards go onto the first three columns.

What goes in an empty column in Scorpion? Only a King, along with any cards on top of it. In Wasp, any card can.

Is Scorpion the same as Spider Solitaire? No. Spider uses 104 cards, builds in any suit and moves only same-suit runs. Scorpion uses one deck, builds in suit only and lets you move any face-up card with what’s on top. Our Spider Solitaire rules cover that game in full.

Where can I play? Right here: play Scorpion Solitaire free in your browser, with hints, unlimited undo and a daily deal.