How to play Scorpion Solitaire
Scorpion is a game of skill and a close relative of Spider. Your goal is to arrange each suit in a single run, from King
down to Ace, by moving cards onto the next card up of their own suit. There are no foundations: the suits are built right
in the columns.
The layout
- Seven columns of seven cards. In the first four columns, the bottom three cards are face down. Every other card is face up.
- The reserve: the last three cards, face down, waiting to be dealt.
The rules
- Move a card onto the next card up of its own suit. The 6 of hearts goes on the 7 of hearts, and on nothing else.
-
You can pick up any face-up card, wherever it is in its column, and every card on top of it comes
along, in whatever order. Only the card you picked up has to fit.
- When you uncover a face-down card, it turns over.
- Only a King, or a group headed by a King, can go into an empty column.
- Tap the reserve to deal its three cards onto the first three columns, one each. You can do this once, whenever you choose.
- You win when every suit lies in one run from King down to Ace.
Classic or Wasp
Classic Scorpion lets only a King fill an empty column. Wasp lets any card, with the
cards on top of it, fill one, which makes the game a lot easier. To switch, tap New and pick a mode.
Scoring
Your score never goes below zero. Undo takes back a move, points included.
Controls
- Drag any face-up card onto a column. The cards on top of it come along, and the places it can go light up while you drag.
- Tap or click a card to move it onto the next card up of its suit, or a King into an empty column.
- Tap the reserve to deal it.
- Hint shows a useful move, turning over face-down cards first. Press it again to see another one.
- Undo takes back as many moves as you like.
-
On a keyboard, Space deals the reserve, H shows a hint, Ctrl + Z undoes a
move and N starts a new game.
Tips for winning more games
- Turn over the face-down cards first. All twelve are in the first four columns. Until they're free, so are the cards you need.
- Free the Kings. A King buried in a column holds up its whole suit. When a column empties, move a King there with its cards.
- Think before you deal the reserve. Its cards land on the first three columns and can bury cards you need. Most players keep it until they're out of moves.
- Reach deep. You can move a card from the middle of a column, with everything on top of it, to get at the card underneath.
- Every link lasts. Once a card sits on the next card up of its suit, it never needs to move again on its own.
- Use Undo to explore. Try a line of play, and if it goes nowhere, take it back. It costs nothing.
Questions
How is Scorpion different from Spider?
Both build down in suit. Spider uses two decks and ten columns, lets you move only cards that are already in order, and
deals a new row from its stock. Scorpion uses one deck, lets you move any face-up card with whatever is on top of it,
and keeps just three cards in reserve.
Can every game be won?
No. Face-down cards and the reserve can block a game however well you play. Pretty Good Solitaire, a long-running
solitaire collection, rates Scorpion's odds of winning at about 35% and calls it mostly a game of skill. Wasp is a lot
easier.
Where does Scorpion come from?
It's a relative of Spider. The earliest known description is in The Complete Book of Solitaire and Patience
Games by Albert Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith, published in 1949.
Is it free? Do I need an account?
Yes, it's free, and there's nothing to download or sign up for. Your current game and your statistics are saved in this browser on this device.
What happens if I close the page?
Your game is saved after every move. Open the page again in the same browser and you'll pick up where you left off.
Can I play offline?
Yes. After your first visit the game works without an internet connection. On a phone, add it to your home screen to open it like an app.