How to Play Scorpion Solitaire (Rules and Strategy)

Scorpion Solitaire is the Spider-family variant that strips out everything except the most essential play — build down in suit on the tableau, finish with four King-to-Ace runs, win. There are no foundation piles, no waste, and just three cards held back at deal. The game is older than most solitaire variants you’ve heard of and harder than it looks. Here’s how to play.

What you need

One standard 52-card deck. No jokers. A surface for the tableau or a browser tab — Scorpion is well-supported in most solitaire suites.

The setup

Deal seven tableau columns, left to right, each containing seven cards. The first three columns have their first four cards (the ones at the bottom, dealt first) face-down and the top three face-up. The remaining four columns are all face-up.

That uses 49 cards. The last three cards stay aside, face-down, as a reserve to be played later.

Specifically:

• Columns 1–3: 7 cards each — 4 face-down on the bottom, 3 face-up on top.
• Columns 4–7: 7 cards each — all face-up.
• Reserve: 3 face-down cards aside.

There are no foundation piles. There is no stock or waste pile in the traditional sense. The reserve is dealt at one specific moment during play (described below).

The goal

Build four complete suit runs on the tableau, each going from King (top) to Ace (bottom) in the same suit. When you finish, you’ll have four tableau columns each containing one full suit in order, and three empty columns. That’s a win.

How to play

Moves on the tableau

The signature Scorpion rule: tableau columns are built down in the same suit, not alternating colors. A 6 of Spades goes on a 7 of Spades. A 6 of Hearts goes on a 7 of Hearts. The strict same-suit requirement is what makes Scorpion harder than the alternating-color games.

The other Scorpion-specific rule: you can move any face-up card along with all the cards on top of it, regardless of whether those cards are in a valid descending-same-suit sequence. This is the Yukon-style freedom — grab any face-up card mid-column, and the whole pile on top moves with it. The cards you bring along don’t need to be sorted.

This freedom is critical. It lets you bury problem cards under cards you don’t need yet, freeing the space below to flip face-down cards or organize a developing run.

The reserve of three cards

The three face-down reserve cards come into play exactly when you choose to bring them in — but only after you’ve exhausted other moves (in the strictest rules) or at any time you choose (in more permissive rules). When played, the three reserve cards are placed one each into the three leftmost columns (Columns 1, 2, and 3) on top of whatever’s there, face-up. Each card is now available for play.

This adds three more cards to the playable face-up surface, often opening moves that weren’t possible before. In some rulesets, the reserve is dealt automatically after a fixed point; in most modern computer versions, the player triggers it manually with a button.

Empty columns

When a column becomes empty, any face-up card — along with the cards on top of it — can move into the empty space. In standard Scorpion, only a King (with its cards on top) can move into an empty column. Some variants allow any card; check your version’s rules.

Face-down cards

The face-down cards in Columns 1–3 flip face-up when the cards above them are moved away. There’s no separate flip action.

Scoring

Scorpion isn’t traditionally scored — it’s win/loss. Computer versions often track time, moves, and win streaks. Some assign bonus points for fast completion.

The headline statistic for Scorpion play is win rate, which depends heavily on player skill. Estimates put Scorpion’s solvability rate at around 50% for skilled players, lower for casual play. Tougher than Yukon’s 80% but more forgiving than Spider 4-suit’s 10-20%.

Common variants

• Wasp Solitaire: Identical to Scorpion but the three reserve cards are dealt face-up and placed in three new columns (8, 9, 10) rather than added to existing columns. Easier than standard Scorpion.
• Three Blind Mice: Similar tableau structure to Scorpion but with different sequencing rules.
• Eastcliff: A Scorpion-like variant where the tableau builds down in alternating colors rather than same-suit. Easier than Scorpion.
• Easier Scorpion: Permissive variants that allow any-suit descending sequences in addition to same-suit. Significantly easier.

Strategy basics

Same-suit is the constraint

The whole game pivots on building down in the same suit. Two 8s of different suits can’t be combined. Your job is to plan move sequences that bring same-suit cards together over time. This is fundamentally different from Klondike’s alternating-color flexibility.

Flip face-down cards first

The face-down cards in Columns 1–3 are unknowns until they flip. Until they’re visible, you can’t plan around them. Prioritize move sequences that expose face-down cards early, even if those moves don’t immediately create useful tableau progress.

The reserve is a one-shot tool

The three reserve cards are your one major intervention from outside the tableau. Don’t trigger the reserve too early — wait until you’ve genuinely exhausted the available moves. Triggering early wastes the option of having an extra-card injection right when you need it. But don’t sit on the reserve forever either; if play is genuinely stuck, the reserve might unstick it.

Use the move-anything flexibility

The ability to move any face-up card with the pile on top is your most powerful tool. Use it to park problematic cards on top of cards you don’t need yet, then come back to those cards later when their position is more useful.

Don’t lock the King under junk

A King is the foundation of any suit run in Scorpion (you build down from King). If you bury a King under other cards, you can’t start that suit’s run until you unbury it. Try to keep Kings accessible.

Plan suit groupings

Toward the middle of the game, you’ll start to see which suits are coming together cleanly and which are scattered. Devote moves to consolidating the easier-to-finish suits first, then circle back to the harder ones. Sometimes finishing one suit run frees up moves for another.

Scorpion vs Spider

Both are Spider-family games — both build down in suit on the tableau, both use one deck or two depending on the variant. Three real differences:

Spider’s tableau has ten columns; Scorpion’s has seven. Spider has a stock that deals one card to each column when triggered; Scorpion has a three-card reserve dealt to three columns. Spider’s wins require completed runs to be “removed” to the side; Scorpion’s wins stay in the tableau.

The two games feel different in practice. Spider is broader and slower; Scorpion is denser and more compressed. Scorpion’s seven-column structure makes for tighter play.

For more comparisons across solitaire variants, see our games like Solitaire roundup.

Where Scorpion comes from

Scorpion is a relatively old solitaire variant, documented at least as far back as the early 20th century. The name’s origin is unclear — possibly referring to the way the tableau “stings” when poorly played. Like most solitaire games, it’s a folk game without a single inventor; it spread through hand-copied card-game collections and entered popular consciousness through inclusion in solitaire books and, later, software collections. The Microsoft Solitaire Collection and most modern solitaire suites include Scorpion as a standard variant.

Frequently asked questions

Can every Scorpion Solitaire game be won?

No. Some deals are mathematically unsolvable. Estimates put Scorpion’s win rate around 50% for skilled players, lower for casual play. The same-suit sequencing requirement makes some deals genuinely impossible regardless of player skill.

What’s the difference between Scorpion and Yukon?

Yukon builds down in alternating colors; Scorpion builds down in the same suit. Yukon deals all 52 cards into the tableau; Scorpion holds back 3 as a reserve. Yukon’s win rate is much higher (around 80% vs Scorpion’s 50%) because alternating colors gives more sequencing options.

When should I deal the three reserve cards in Scorpion?

The strict rules say only after you’ve exhausted moves; modern computer versions usually let you trigger the reserve whenever you choose. Best practice: wait until play is genuinely stuck before triggering. Triggering too early wastes the option of a future unstuck moment.

Do I need to build foundation piles in Scorpion?

No. Scorpion has no foundation piles. The win condition is to end with four complete King-to-Ace suit runs in four tableau columns. The other three columns will be empty.

Is Scorpion easier or harder than Spider Solitaire?

Scorpion is significantly easier than Spider 4-suit. Comparable to or slightly easier than Spider 2-suit. Easier than Spider because Scorpion uses one deck (52 cards) rather than two (104), so there’s less to organize.

The bottom line

Scorpion Solitaire is a same-suit Spider-family game that rewards careful planning and judicious use of the three-card reserve. The move-anything flexibility gives you tools the alternating-color games don’t have, but the same-suit constraint makes the strategy harder. Open a free browser Scorpion game, work through the setup, and try a few hands. When you want a non-card-game tab, the Chrome Dino game is one click away.