Scorpion Solitaire is one of the hardest single-deck solitaire games you can play with a standard pack of cards. It looks a lot like a patience game at first glance, but the face-down cards, the fixed seven-column layout, and the rule that cards must be built down in the same suit make it closer to a single-deck version of Spider. If you like solitaires that feel like a puzzle rather than a shuffle-and-hope, Scorpion is worth learning.
This guide walks through the full rules, the deal, the moves you are allowed to make, the three-card reserve, and the strategy tips that make the difference between a stuck board and a finished game.
What Is Scorpion Solitaire?
Scorpion is a single-deck solitaire in which all 52 cards are dealt to the table at the start. There is no stock pile to flip through as in Klondike, and there are no foundation piles to move cards to. Everything happens inside the tableau, which is why a weak opening move can sting you later — hence the name.
The goal is to rearrange the tableau into four complete suit sequences, each running from King down to Ace. When you have done that, you have won. Most hands will not get there, and that is part of the appeal.
How Scorpion Compares to Spider and Klondike
Scorpion sits between Klondike and Spider in feel. Klondike uses a stock and foundations; Scorpion uses neither. Spider uses two decks and needs full King-to-Ace runs to clear columns off the table, but you can move any face-up card in Spider regardless of whether the cards above it are in order. Scorpion gives you that same lift-anything-face-up freedom, but with only one deck, fewer suits to juggle, and tighter room for error.
The Deal and Layout
Shuffle a standard 52-card deck. Deal seven columns of seven cards each across the table, for a total of 49 cards. The last three cards go aside as a face-down reserve.
The face-up and face-down pattern matters:
- In the first four columns, the first three cards you deal go face down. The next four cards you deal on top go face up.
- In the last three columns, every card is dealt face up.
- The three reserve cards stay face down off to the side until the endgame.
When the deal is finished, you should see seven fans of seven cards each. Only the face-up cards are in play at the start; the face-down cards turn up one at a time as the cards above them are moved.
Why the Layout Matters
Twelve face-down cards are hidden at the start, three in each of the first four columns. Those twelve cards are the puzzle. Until they are exposed they are dead weight, and the cards sitting on top of them often have to move before they can turn up. Good Scorpion play is mostly about freeing those hidden cards in the right order.
Rules of Play
Once the deal is done, the rules are short, but a few small details decide most games.
Building Down by Suit
Cards in the tableau are built downward in the same suit. A 9 of hearts goes on a 10 of hearts. A Jack of spades goes on a Queen of spades. Colour alternation, which Klondike players are used to, does not matter here — only suit.
Moving Cards
Any face-up card is available to move, no matter where it sits in its column. When you move a card, every card sitting on top of it moves with it as a single block, even if that block is not in order. This is the rule that gives Scorpion its character: you can dig a buried card out by picking it up along with whatever mess is piled on top.
Turning Face-Down Cards
When the last card on top of a face-down card is moved away, the face-down card flips face up automatically and joins the playable cards.
Empty Columns
If you clear an entire column, only a King — or a sequence headed by a King — can be moved into the empty space. Empty columns are one of the most powerful tools in the game, so do not waste them.
Aces
Aces are the lowest card and nothing can be placed on them. An Ace stuck at the bottom of a column, with other cards still underneath it, will block the entire column until you can unload everything above it.
The Three-Card Reserve
When you run out of legal moves, deal the three reserve cards face up, one each onto columns one, two, and three. These three cards can now be played like any other face-up card. After that, there is no more help coming from outside the tableau.
How to Win
You win when all 52 cards are arranged as four separate King-to-Ace columns, each in a single suit. There are no foundations to build to; the columns themselves are the finished stacks. Once a column is complete, leave it alone — unless moving it briefly will free a face-down card somewhere else.
Strategy Tips That Actually Help
Scorpion looks chaotic, but there are a handful of habits that lift your win rate considerably.
Uncover Hidden Cards First
The twelve face-down cards decide the game. Every other goal — clearing columns, lining up suits, building sequences — is secondary to flipping those twelve cards. If a move does not bring you closer to exposing a hidden card or freeing a King, think twice before making it.
Free the Kings Early
Kings are the only cards that can fill empty columns, so a King trapped under other cards is a problem. Prioritise digging Kings out of the tableau, especially ones sitting near the bottom of columns that you will want to clear.
Look Before You Lift
Because every face-up card is movable, it is tempting to swing cards around the board as soon as a match appears. Resist. Scan the whole tableau first. A move that looks helpful can bury a card you needed, or strand an Ace at the bottom of a column you cannot empty.
Watch the Aces
An Ace exposed at the bottom of a column freezes that column until you can move every card off it. If you have a choice, keep Aces buried under playable cards until late in the game, when you are building King-to-Ace runs intentionally.
Spend Empty Columns Wisely
An empty column is a free workspace for a King or a King-led sequence, and it is often the only way to untangle a stuck board. Do not fill it at the first opportunity — wait until the King you move in is one you actually want there.
Save the Reserve for a Real Jam
The three reserve cards are a one-shot. Once they are dealt, they are dealt. Make every legal move you can before turning to the reserve, because once it is out you cannot undo the deal.
Common Mistakes New Players Make
A few patterns show up in almost every beginner game of Scorpion.
Building Just Because You Can
Dropping a 6 of clubs onto a 7 of clubs feels like progress even when it helps nothing. If the move does not expose a face-down card, free a King, or set up an empty column, it is usually not worth making.
Filling Empty Columns Too Early
An empty column is worth more than most moves. Parking any random King there just to use it often costs you the flexibility you needed later.
Ignoring the Last Three Columns
The last three columns are fully face up from the start, which makes them the easiest place to build long sequences. Players fixated on the hidden cards in columns one to four sometimes forget to use columns five, six, and seven as staging areas.
Where to Play Scorpion Solitaire Online
Scorpion is included in most serious solitaire collections. Web versions at sites like 247 Solitaire, Solitaire Bliss, and Politaire let you play in a browser without installing anything, and most apps in the Microsoft and Apple solitaire packs include it as well. If you are learning, pick a version that lets you undo moves — Scorpion rewards experimentation, and you will learn faster if you can back up and try a different line when a board locks up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Scorpion Solitaire winnable?
Yes, but not every deal. Scorpion has a lower win rate than Klondike because the rigid suit-building rule and the twelve hidden cards mean that some shuffles are simply dead. With careful play, experienced players win a meaningful share of games, but expect to lose many more than you win at first.
How is Scorpion different from Spider Solitaire?
Scorpion uses one deck and 52 cards; Spider uses two decks and 104. Both build down in suit and let you move any face-up card, but Spider has a stock pile that deals fresh cards onto the tableau, while Scorpion only gives you the three-card reserve. Spider clears full King-to-Ace sequences off the table; in Scorpion the sequences stay in place as your finished columns.
Can you move cards that are not in order?
Yes. When you pick up a face-up card, everything sitting on top of it moves with it, in or out of sequence. That is the single most important rule to internalise — it is what makes digging out buried cards possible.
What happens if I get stuck before using the reserve?
If you run out of legal moves, deal the three reserve cards face up onto the first three columns, one per column, and keep playing. If you are still stuck after that, the game is lost.
Is Scorpion a game of skill or luck?
Both, but more skill than Klondike. The deal decides whether a game is winnable in principle, but within the set of winnable deals, move order matters enormously. Careful players win far more Scorpion games than careless ones on the same shuffle.
Conclusion
Scorpion Solitaire is a short game with a long learning curve. The rules fit on a napkin, but the decisions inside them — which hidden card to chase first, when to empty a column, when to spend the reserve — are what separate a quick loss from a satisfying win. Play a few hands, make your share of bad moves, and pay attention to which ones cost you the game. You will start to see the board the way Scorpion players do: not as seven columns of cards, but as twelve hidden cards you are trying to tease out one at a time.