Scorpion Solitaire

Scorpion looks like Spider but plays very differently: you can grab any face-up card, even one buried in the middle of a column, and carry the whole pile above it along. The catch is that you may only build in the same suit, and only a King can start a new column.

How to play Scorpion Solitaire

• One deck is dealt into seven columns of seven cards. In the four left-hand columns the first three cards are face down; every other card is face up. The last three cards wait in the stock at the top left.
• Goal: build all four suits into complete runs from King down to Ace. A finished run is lifted off the table into the pile at the top right.
• You may place a card only on the next higher card of the same suit sitting at the end of a column — the 6♥ goes on the 7♥ and nowhere else.
• Any face-up card can be moved, no matter what is on top of it: every card above it travels with it, in whatever order those cards happen to be.
• Only a King (with anything on top of it) may be moved into an empty column.
• A face-down card turns face up when the last card covering it is moved away.
• Once per game, tap the stock (or Deal 3) to deal its three cards face up onto the first three columns. You can do this at any time, but you cannot take it back except with Undo.
• The game ends when all 52 cards are in four finished runs (a win) or when no card can move and the stock is gone.

Controls

• Drag a face-up card (and everything on it) onto the matching card, or tap it to send it to the only spot it fits.
• Tap the stock or press Deal 3 to deal the last three cards.
• Use the Rules menu to switch between Scorpion (12 cards face down) and Wasp (all cards face up). Restart replays the same deal.
• Keyboard: arrow keys move between cards, Enter moves the focused card, D or Space deals the stock, U or Ctrl+Z undoes, H shows a hint, N starts a new game.

Tips

• Work on the four left-hand columns first: the twelve face-down cards hide the cards you will need later, and every hidden King or low card can wreck a plan.
• Each card fits in exactly one place (the next higher card of its suit), so before a move ask what will be left showing behind it.
• Free a column early and save it for the King whose suit you can finish soonest. A King buried on top of low cards of its own suit is the classic way to lose.
• Hold the stock back until you are short of moves: three new cards can open a column that looked dead, but they can also bury a card you needed.
• Undo is unlimited, so test a line and back out if it buries something important.

Scorpion vs Wasp and Spider

Wasp is the open-information version of Scorpion: the same seven-by-seven deal and three-card stock, but every card starts face up, so you can plan the whole game from the first move. It is noticeably easier, and a good way to learn how stacks move before trying standard Scorpion. Scorpion is often compared with Spider Solitaire because both build King-to-Ace suit runs, but Spider only lets you move ordered same-suit runs, while Scorpion lets you pull out any face-up card with the jumble above it. In traditional rules a finished run simply stays in its column; here it is lifted off the table to make the goal easy to see, which also frees whatever card was underneath it.

FAQ

What are the rules of Scorpion Solitaire?

Deal one deck into seven columns of seven, with three cards face down at the start of each of the first four columns and three cards kept as a stock. Build down in the same suit only, move any face-up card together with every card on top of it, fill empty columns only with Kings, and deal the stock onto the first three columns once. You win by forming four King-to-Ace runs.

How do you play Scorpion Solitaire with the stock?

The three stock cards are dealt once, one onto each of the first three columns, whenever you choose. Most players keep them until they run out of other moves, because the new cards land on top of whatever is at the end of those columns.

Can you move a card that has other cards on top of it?

Yes, that is the special rule of Scorpion. Any face-up card can be moved onto the next higher card of its suit, and all the cards stacked above it move with it, even if they are not in order.

What can go in an empty column in Scorpion?

Only a King, together with any cards sitting on top of it. A Queen or lower card can never start a column.

How often can Scorpion Solitaire be won?

Not every deal can be won, and standard Scorpion with twelve hidden cards is hard. In our own test, a computer search that could peek at the hidden cards solved 10 of 60 random deals within its time limit; some of the others may be winnable with deeper search, but many are not. Wasp, with every card face up, is easier because nothing is hidden.

What is Wasp Solitaire?

Wasp is Scorpion with every card dealt face up. All other rules are the same. Pick it from the Rules menu above the game.