Play Wasp Solitaire — Scorpion Layout, Stripe of Hidden Cards

Wasp is a Scorpion variant played with a single 52-card deck. Seven tableau columns of seven cards each (49 cards), with the first three rows of each column face-down at start and the last four face-up. The remaining three cards form a small reserve. Build the tableau down by same suit and use the lift-anything Yukon move to re-arrange chains. Like Scorpion, completed King-to-Ace same-suit sequences fly to the foundations automatically. Free in your browser, no sign-up. Works offline once the page has loaded.

How Do You Play Wasp?

Goal: build four complete King-to-Ace same-suit sequences. Each completed sequence flies to a foundation automatically.

Setup

• Tableau: seven columns of seven cards each (49 cards). Top three rows face-down; bottom four face-up.
• Reserve: three cards held back. Click to deal one to each of the leftmost three columns. Once per game.
• Foundations: four spaces, top right. Filled automatically by completed King-to-Ace same-suit sequences.

Rules

• Build tableau columns down by same suit. A 9 of hearts goes on a 10 of hearts only.
• Move any face-up card with everything beneath it as a single group, regardless of order. The Scorpion-Yukon lift-anything rule.
• A face-down card flips face-up automatically when the card on top of it moves away.
• Any card (or group) can fill an empty tableau column. (This is the headline difference from Scorpion, which restricts empty-column fills to Kings.)
• Same-suit King-to-Ace sequences fly to the foundations automatically.
• Click the reserve once per game to deal three more cards onto the leftmost three columns.

Wasp vs Scorpion

Same family, almost the same layout. One rule different.

The any-card empty-column rule is the difference, and it matters a lot. Empty columns become tools you can actually use, instead of waiting for a King to free one. Wasp's win rate is meaningfully higher than Scorpion's as a result.

What's the Best Wasp Strategy?

• Empty a column early. The any-card rule makes empty columns the best tool in the game. Aim to clear at least one in the opening moves.
• Expose face-down cards first. The bottom four rows are face-up; the top three are hidden. Every face-down card flipped is information you didn't have. Trade short-term progress for visibility.
• Build same-suit chains aggressively. A clean K-Q-J-10 of hearts is gold — same-suit groups move as one unit.
• Hold the reserve. The three reserve cards are your only second chance. Save them for a moment when you've truly exhausted the position.
• Watch for the auto-complete moment. When a same-suit K-to-A path forms across the board, work the moves needed to bring it together — it removes 13 cards in one stroke.
• Use the lift-anything rule freely. Long messy stacks on top of a target card move as one unit if the top card is a legal placement. This is your main tool against the strict same-suit rule.

A Short History

Wasp appears in mid-20th-century patience anthologies as a Scorpion variant — same lift-anything mechanic and same-suit building, but with the looser any-card empty-column rule. The name reflects the Scorpion family lineage; "wasp" and "scorpion" are both stinging-tail creatures. The variant has remained niche in print but is included in many modern multi-game digital collections.

About This Version

This Wasp runs in your browser — free, no download, no sign-up. Install as an app on your phone or computer; once installed it works offline. Unlimited undo, statistics, and a daily challenge that gives every player the same deal that day so you can compare times.

Other Solitaire Games to Try

• Scorpion — same layout, King-only empty columns, harder
• Spider — two decks, ten columns, with a stock
• Spiderette — single-deck Spider on seven columns
• Yukon — same lift-anything rule, all face-up, alternating colors