Scorpion Solitaire
Spider-style suit runs with Yukon-style group moves - And a sting in the tail.How to Play Scorpion Solitaire
In a nutshell: Spider-style suit runs with Yukon-style group moves - And a sting in the tail. You play with 1 deck (52 cards), it's rated tricky, and ~20% without the reserve, more with care.
Scorpion crosses Spider with Yukon: build four King-to-Ace runs in suit, moving any face-up card with everything on top of it onto the next-higher card of the same suit. Three reserve cards wait face down - The scorpion's sting - Dealt out exactly when you choose. What makes Scorpion tricky is not luck but structure: because every card has a single legal landing (the next-higher card of its own suit), deals can settle into genuine deadlocks where two cards block each other in an unbreakable loop. Spotting those cycles before you commit to an obvious move, and timing the three-card reserve to break or avoid them, is the heart of the game. Get it right and the board unravels; get it wrong and the sting is fatal.
Scorpion at a glance
| Goal | Build four complete King-to-Ace runs, each in a single suit, anywhere in the tableau. |
|---|---|
| Decks used | 1 standard 52-card deck - 52 cards in play |
| Difficulty | Tricky |
| Chance of winning | ~20% without the reserve, more with care |
| Family | Spider Family |
Step by step
Goal
Build four complete King-to-Ace runs, each in a single suit, anywhere in the tableau.
Deal
Seven columns of seven cards; the first four columns hide three face-down cards each. Three cards remain as a face-down reserve.
Moves
Move any face-up card with all cards above it onto the next-higher card of the same suit - Order on top doesn't matter.
Empty columns
Kings (with their piles) only.
The sting
Click the reserve at any time to deal its three cards onto the first three columns - Your one wildcard, so time it well.
History of Scorpion
Scorpion is a single-deck patience that sits deliberately at the crossroads of two families. From Spider it takes its goal - Assembling complete King-to-Ace runs in a single suit - And from Yukon it takes its movement rule, letting a player lift any face-up card along with every card stacked on top of it, ordered or not, onto the next-higher card of the same suit.
The game's name comes from its most characteristic feature, the "sting in the tail": three cards are set aside face down at the deal as a small reserve. At any moment the player chooses, those three cards are dealt onto the first three columns, providing a single, carefully timed injection of new material that can either rescue or wreck a position.
Scorpion appears throughout the patience literature and modern software collections as a compact, tricky alternative to Spider for players who prefer a one-deck game. Its difficulty comes not from luck of the draw but from genuine deadlocks: because every card has exactly one legal landing spot, deals can lock into unbreakable cycles, and recognizing those loops before making an obvious move is the heart of skilled play.
How to Win Scorpion: Strategy
💡 Top tip: Map the four suit chains first; like Russian, every card has exactly one landing spot.
Winning tips, in order of importance
- Beware cycles: if the 8♠ sits on the 9♠ which sits on the 8♠'s only access route, the deal can deadlock - Spot these loops early.
- Flip the face-down cards in columns one to four before building long runs elsewhere.
- Hold the reserve until you're truly stuck or can calculate its landing spots - It can both save and ruin a game.
- Runs can be assembled anywhere; you don't need to move completed runs off, just complete them.
- Before making a natural-looking move, check that it does not seal a card onto its own only escape route, which is the classic Scorpion deadlock.
- Save the reserve as an escape hatch for a specific block you have already identified, rather than dealing it the moment you feel stuck.
Advanced tactics for Scorpion
- Trace all four same-suit descending chains at the start; because each card has a single legal landing, knowing the whole map prevents you from walking into a deadlock.
- Actively hunt for cyclic blocks, where two cards each sit on the other's only access route, and avoid the 'obvious' move that would lock such a loop permanently.
- Flip the face-down cards buried in the first four columns before investing effort in long runs elsewhere, since those hidden cards decide most games.
- Treat the three-card reserve as a one-time lever: hold it until you are genuinely stuck or can calculate exactly where its cards will land and what they unblock.
- Because you can build a run anywhere on the board, don't waste moves relocating a nearly complete run - Just finish assembling it in place.
- Prefer moves that consolidate cards of the same suit toward a single growing run rather than scattering same-suit cards across multiple columns.
- Keep a King accessible for each suit you hope to complete, since every full run must be topped by its King and a buried King caps that suit's progress.
Common Scorpion mistakes to avoid
- Ignoring the three-card reserve - deal it out only when you are truly stuck, since it buries the board and cannot be undone.
- Building off-suit to make a quick play - Scorpion needs same-suit King-to-Ace runs, so off-suit moves just create blockers.
- Digging under the wrong face-down card first - target the flips that free a card you actually need, not the easiest one.
- Trapping a needed low card beneath a long pile - plan which stack you break so buried cards can still come out in suit.
Scorpion Variations
Reserve timing rules
Versions differ on when the three reserve cards may be dealt; some allow it only once the board is otherwise stuck, others (like ours) let you trigger it whenever you choose.
Wasp
A close relative of Scorpion that removes the reserve restriction and allows any card to fill an empty column, making it noticeably easier.
Three-column vs. four-column face-down deals
Rule sets vary in how many columns hide face-down cards at the deal, which shifts how much hidden information you must overcome.
Auto-removal vs. keep-on-board
Some versions whisk a completed King-to-Ace run off to a foundation to declutter the board, while others leave finished runs in place; the win condition is the same either way.
Spider (goal cousin)
Shares Scorpion's objective of in-suit runs but uses two decks, row deals from a stock, and same-suit-only group moves, giving a very different rhythm.
Scorpion FAQ
What is the reserve in Scorpion?
Three face-down cards set aside at the deal. Clicking them deals one onto each of the first three columns - The game's only stock action, usable once, whenever you choose.
Does Scorpion remove completed runs?
In our version a completed King-to-Ace suit run flies to a foundation, keeping the board readable. The win condition is identical either way: four full runs.
Why do my games deadlock?
Scorpion allows genuine unsolvable cycles where two cards block each other. Checking for loops before making 'obvious' moves is the core skill.
Is Scorpion a Spider game?
It borrows Spider's goal (in-suit K-to-A runs) but plays like Yukon - Single deck, group moves, no row deals - So it sits in both families.
How many decks does Scorpion use?
Just one standard fifty-two-card deck. Unlike Spider, which needs two decks and builds eight runs, Scorpion builds four King-to-Ace runs from a single deck, with three cards held back as a face-down reserve.
How does Scorpion differ from Spider?
Both aim to build complete King-to-Ace runs in a single suit, but Scorpion uses one deck instead of two, builds four runs instead of eight, and moves cards like Yukon - Any face-up card with everything on top of it, ordered or not. There are no row deals from a stock; instead you get a single three-card reserve.
When should I use the reserve cards in Scorpion?
Hold the three reserve cards until you are genuinely stuck, or until you can calculate exactly where they will land and what they will unblock. Because dealing them onto the first three columns is irreversible and can just as easily create a deadlock as break one, timing is the game's most important decision.
Can Scorpion deals be unwinnable?
Yes. Scorpion permits true deadlocks, where two cards each sit on the other's only legal landing spot and neither can ever move. Recognizing these loops before making a natural-looking move is the core skill, since once such a cycle is locked in the deal cannot be solved.
Do I have to remove completed runs in Scorpion?
You do not have to move them yourself. In our version a full King-to-Ace suit run is automatically lifted to a foundation to keep the board readable, but the win condition is simply to assemble all four runs, whether they leave the tableau or stay in place.
How is the Scorpion tableau dealt?
Seven columns of seven cards are dealt, and in the first four columns the top three cards are face down while everything else is face up. Three additional cards are set aside face down as the reserve, giving the standard forty-nine-plus-three layout.
What is the goal of Scorpion Solitaire?
The objective is to build four complete King-to-Ace sequences, each in a single suit, anywhere on the tableau. Because you can pick up any face-up card with the entire pile on top of it, most of the work is untangling those piles into suit order.
Are all Scorpion deals solvable?
No. Scorpion permits genuine deadlocks where two cards block each other's only landing spot, so some deals cannot be won no matter how you play. Spotting and avoiding those loops early is the main way to improve your success rate.
Scorpion guides & strategy
- Spider-family strategy guide
- The complete solitaire glossary
- More solitaire strategy guides on the blog
Still have a question about Scorpion Solitaire? Browse the full solitaire FAQ, look up a term like spider family or tricky in the solitaire glossary, or compare Scorpion with the other games in the rules for every solitaire.
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