Play Scorpion Solitaire — Build King-to-Ace by Suit, No Stock Pile

Scorpion is Spider's harder cousin played on a single 52-card deck. Seven tableau columns, four foundations that fill automatically when you complete a King-to-Ace same-suit sequence, and a three-card reserve that replaces the traditional stock. The defining rule: you can move any face-up card together with all the cards beneath it, regardless of order. That sounds permissive but the same-suit building rule turns it into a deep planning puzzle. Free in your browser, no sign-up. Works offline once the page has loaded.

How Do You Play Scorpion?

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

Setup

• Tableau: seven columns of 7 cards each (49 cards). The first three rows are face-down; the bottom four are face-up.
• Reserve: three cards held back. Click the reserve to deal one card to each of the leftmost three columns. You can do this 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.
• Move any face-up card with everything beneath it as a single group, regardless of order. This is the Scorpion-Yukon move rule.
• A face-down card flips face-up automatically when the card on top of it moves away.
• Only Kings (or any group with a King at the bottom) can fill an empty tableau column.
• Same-suit King-to-Ace sequences fly to the foundations automatically.
• Click the reserve once per game to deal three more cards. Use it strategically.

Scorpion vs Spider

Same family, different scale.

What's the Best Scorpion Strategy?

• 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.
• Hold the reserve. The three reserve cards are your only second chance. Save them for a moment when you've truly exhausted the position, not when you're impatient.
• Build same-suit, even if it's slow. Mixed-suit chains can't move as groups. A clean four-card same-suit run is more useful than a six-card mixed run.
• Empty columns are the lever. Only Kings fill them, but once empty they let you re-arrange long stacks. Aim to clear at least one column.
• Don't dump the reserve early. Dealing the reserve adds three cards on top of the leftmost columns. If those columns are mid-build, you'll cover useful cards. Plan around the deal before triggering it.
• Watch for the auto-complete moment. When you see a same-suit K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-A path forming across the board, work the moves needed to bring it together — even if other moves look more immediate.

A Short History

Scorpion entered the published patience canon in the mid-20th century. The name reflects the scorpion-like shape of the deal — seven columns of seven cards, with the three-card "sting" of the reserve. The game appears in standard patience anthologies and is included in many modern solitaire collections, though Microsoft has never bundled it with Windows.

About This Version

This Scorpion 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

• Spider — two decks, ten columns, suit-based sequences with a stock
• Yukon — same lift-anything rule, all face-up, alternating-color building
• Spiderette — single-deck Spider on seven columns
• Klondike — the easier seven-column classic with a stock