How to Play Scorpion Solitaire

Scorpion is a one-deck solitaire with very few rules and a real sting in its tail. Nearly all the cards are face up from the start, you can pick up a card from anywhere in a column, and there are no foundation piles to worry about. All the work happens in the columns. It sounds easy. It isn't, and that is exactly why people keep coming back to it.

If you know Spider Solitaire, the goal will feel familiar: build runs from King down to Ace in one suit. The way you move cards is closer to Yukon. Below are the standard rules, which are the ones our free Scorpion Solitaire game uses, with examples for each.

What You Need

One standard deck of 52 cards, with the jokers taken out. Cards rank from King (high) down through Queen, Jack, 10, 9 and so on to Ace (low).

The Goal

Arrange the cards into four runs, one for each suit. Each run starts with a King and goes down in order to the Ace: King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace, all of the same suit. When all four runs are complete, you have won.

In our game a finished run is lifted off the table and set aside at the top, so you can see your progress and have more room to work.

The Layout

Shuffle the deck and deal the cards in rows from left to right, like this:

• Deal seven columns of seven cards each. That uses 49 cards.
• In the first four columns, the first three cards dealt (the ones underneath, shown at the top of the column on screen) are face down. The four cards on top of them are face up.
• In the last three columns, all seven cards are face up.
• The cards overlap so you can read every face-up card.
• The three cards left over are placed face down to one side. They are the stock (some books call them the reserve, or the tail of the scorpion).

So at the start you can see 37 of the 52 cards. Twelve are hidden under the first four columns, and three are waiting in the stock.

Building: Down, in the Same Suit

There is only one kind of building in Scorpion. A card may be placed on the card that is one rank higher and of the same suit. Color doesn't come into it, and neither does any other suit.

Example: the 6 of hearts can go onto the 7 of hearts, and nowhere else. It can't go on the 7 of diamonds, even though both are red. It can't go on the 8 of hearts either.

This means every card has exactly one card it belongs on. The 6 of hearts belongs on the 7 of hearts, the 7 of hearts on the 8 of hearts, and so on up to the King. Once two cards are joined this way they never need to be separated again, and they travel together for the rest of the game.

There is one more condition. The card you are moving onto must be the last card of its column, the one with nothing on top of it. If the 7 of hearts has other cards lying on it, the 6 of hearts can't join it yet.

Nothing can be placed on an Ace, since no card is lower.

Moving Cards: Any Face-Up Card, With Everything on It

Here is the rule that gives Scorpion its character. You may move any face-up card, no matter how deep it lies in its column. When you do, every card on top of it moves with it, as one group. Those cards don't have to be in order, and they don't have to match in suit. Only the card at the base of the group has to fit the card it lands on.

Example 1: a column reads, from the bottom up: 9 of clubs, 6 of hearts, King of spades, 2 of diamonds. Another column ends with the 7 of hearts. You can pick up the 6 of hearts, and the King of spades and 2 of diamonds come along. All three cards go onto the 7 of hearts. The 9 of clubs is left as the end card of its column.

Example 2: the same column, but now the 7 of hearts has the 3 of clubs lying on top of it. The 6 of hearts can't move. First the 3 of clubs has to go somewhere, which means the 4 of clubs must be at the end of a column to receive it.

Example 3: the 5 of spades lies in the middle of a column, and the 6 of spades lies higher up in the very same column. Moving the 5 would carry the 6 along with it, so these two can't be joined until something else moves one of them out of the column. Tangles like this are the heart of the game, and spotting them early is most of the skill.

In our game: tap any face-up card. If it has a place to go, it moves there with the cards on top of it. If it doesn't, the message box tells you which card it is waiting for and where that card is. You can also drag a card to its new column.

Face-Down Cards

The twelve face-down cards can't be moved or looked at. When you move away all the cards lying on top of a face-down card, it is turned face up and joins the game like any other card. In our game this happens automatically.

You can't win without turning over all twelve, so freeing them is the first job in every game.

Empty Columns: Kings Only

When all the cards have been moved out of a column, the space may be filled only by a King. As always, any cards lying on top of the King come with it.

Example: the King of clubs is buried in the middle of a column with four cards on top of it and two cards beneath it. A column becomes empty. You move the King of clubs there with its four passengers. The two cards that were under the King are now free to be worked on, and the King sits at the base of a column, which is just where a King-to-Ace run has to start.

A King that already starts a column has no reason to move, and in our game it stays put.

House rule: many people play that any card may fill an empty column. That makes the game much easier. Our game follows the Kings-only rule, but you can turn on Any card can fill an empty column in Settings. See rule variations.

The Stock: Three Cards, Dealt Once

The three cards set aside at the start are dealt once in the game, whenever you choose. They go face up, one onto each of the first three columns (the three on the left). In our game, tap the stock in the top left corner.

The new cards land on top of whatever is there, whether they fit or not. If one of the first three columns is empty, its card simply starts the column again. After that the stock is gone, and you play on with what is on the table.

Most players wait until they have run out of useful moves. That is usually wise, because the three cards cover up the end cards of three columns. But you are free to deal earlier, and now and then it is the right thing to do, since one of those three cards may be exactly the one you are waiting for.

Finishing a Run

When the last thirteen cards of a column are a full run of one suit from King down to Ace, that run is complete. In our game it is set aside straight away, and if a face-down card was underneath, it turns over.

Example: one column holds the King of diamonds down to the 5 of diamonds, in order. Another column ends with the 4, 3, 2 and Ace of diamonds, in order. You pick up the 4 with the three cards on it and place the group on the 5. The diamond run is complete.

Winning and Losing

You win when all four runs are complete. You are stuck when the stock has been dealt and no card can move.

Be ready to lose a good many games. Scorpion is a hard solitaire, and under the standard rules most shuffles can't be won at all, however well they are played. To keep the game enjoyable, our New Game button normally picks a shuffle that we have checked can be won. You can turn that off in Settings if you would rather take your chances. Either way, the Hint button will tell you when a deal can no longer be won from where you are, and Undo lets you go back and try a different path.

Scoring

Scorpion has no traditional point score. You either finish the four runs or you don't. Our game counts your moves, and it keeps statistics of games played, games won, your winning streak and your best time. A timer is available in Settings if you would like one; it is hidden by default.

Rules at a Glance

• One deck. Seven columns of seven cards; three cards in the stock.
• The first three cards of the first four columns are face down.
• Build down by one rank in the same suit only.
• The card you build on must be the last card of its column.
• Any face-up card can move, and all the cards on top of it go along.
• An uncovered face-down card is turned face up.
• Only a King (with the cards on it) can fill an empty column.
• Deal the three stock cards onto the first three columns, once, when you choose.
• Four King-to-Ace runs, one of each suit, win the game.

Ready for more? Read our Scorpion Solitaire strategy guide, or try FreeCell, where every card is face up and nearly every deal can be won.