Scorpion Solitaire is a venomous variant of the classic Solitaire family — named for the way a misplaced card can sting you several moves later. Unlike Klondike, you build foundations not by moving cards one at a time but by assembling complete King-to-Ace runs of the same suit directly on the tableau. When a run is complete, it vanishes automatically. Only about 15% of deals are winnable even with perfect play, making Scorpion one of the most demanding solitaire games in common circulation.
What is Scorpion Solitaire?
Scorpion Solitaire is a single-player card game played with a standard 52-card deck across seven tableau columns. Unlike Klondike Solitaire, there is no stock-and-waste system — every card is dealt to the tableau from the start, with just three held in a small reserve. Your goal is to assemble four complete same-suit runs from King down to Ace on the tableau. Each time a run is complete, it is automatically cleared to the foundation. Win all four and the game is over.
The defining rule that makes Scorpion feel so different from Klondike is the move rule: you may move any face-up card together with all the cards sitting on top of it, regardless of what order or suits those cards are in. The only restriction is that the card you are placing must be the same suit and one rank below the card it lands on. This means you can carry entire disordered piles across the board if the base card fits — and that, paradoxically, is both the source of Scorpion's power and the source of its danger.
The game is widely attributed to the same tradition as Spider Solitaire), though its precise origin is unclear. What is certain is that Scorpion occupies a difficulty tier that most casual solitaire players underestimate. Looking at the board, all those face-up cards seem to promise lots of moves. The reality is that a bad early sequence can bury important cards so deeply that no recovery is possible. Win rates in computer simulations hover around 15%, though skilled human players who plan ahead can push this somewhat higher.
How to play Scorpion Solitaire
Step 1 — Understand the deal
Seven columns each receive seven cards. Columns 0–3 have three face-down cards at the bottom and four face-up cards on top. Columns 4–6 have all seven face-up. Three cards sit in the reserve pile, face-down, ready to be dealt later with the Deal button.
Step 2 — Build same-suit downward sequences
Move face-up cards (and everything on top of them) to another column when the card you are placing is the same suit and one rank lower than the card it will land on. A 7 of Clubs goes onto an 8 of Clubs. A Queen of Hearts goes onto a King of Hearts. Suit is everything — color doesn't matter.
Step 3 — Use empty columns for Kings only
When a column becomes empty, only a King — or a group of cards led by a King — can be moved there. Empty columns are precious breathing room; don't fill them carelessly.
Step 4 — Flip face-down cards
As you move face-up cards off the top of a column, the face-down cards below them are automatically revealed. Each flip is new information and new options. Planning your moves to flip face-down cards is the central skill of Scorpion Solitaire.
Step 5 — Use the Deal button for the reserve
At any point during the game you may click Deal to distribute the three reserve cards to the tops of the first three columns. Use this when you are stuck, but beware — once dealt, you cannot undo the deal order.
Step 6 — Complete a K→A run to clear it
When a King-through-Ace sequence of the same suit appears contiguously on one column (King at the bottom of the sequence, Ace on top), it is automatically cleared to the foundation. Win by clearing all four suits.
The Scorpion play area
The Scorpion board has seven tableau columns that occupy most of the screen. The top row shows the reserve pile (which doubles as the Deal button) on the left and four foundation slots on the right — these fill automatically as runs complete and need no direct interaction from you.
The tableau columns grow downward as you stack cards. Face-down cards show a compact back; face-up cards are fully readable. Because Scorpion groups can be very long, the columns can extend significantly below the initial deal height. Scrolling vertically or using a compact card view on smaller screens is normal.
Available moves in Scorpion Solitaire
Scorpion has a simpler move vocabulary than Klondike but stricter suit rules.
Move a group to a tableau column. Pick up any face-up card plus all cards above it in the same column. Place this group onto another column if the card at the bottom of your group is the same suit and one rank lower than the top card of the destination. No alternating colors — same suit only.
Move a King (or King-led group) to an empty column. Only Kings can start a new column. An empty column filled by a non-King is a wasted opportunity.
Deal from the reserve. Click the Deal button to place the three face-down reserve cards onto the tops of columns 0, 1, and 2. You can only do this once and cannot undo it selectively — plan accordingly.
Auto-clear completed runs. When a K→A same-suit sequence appears on any column, it is automatically removed. You do not need to manually move it to the foundation.
Scorpion Solitaire strategy
Always prioritize flipping face-down cards
Every face-down card in Scorpion is a potential game-changer. The face-down cards in columns 0–3 hide information you need. Before you make any other move, ask: does this move flip a face-down card? If yes, it is almost always the better choice. If no, look harder for a move that does.
Think in suits, not colors
Scorpion players coming from Klondike instinctively think in alternating colors. Scorpion demands you think in suits. Every move should be filtered by: is this helping build a run of Clubs? Hearts? Spades? Diamonds? Mixing suits in a column is fine — you just can't add to a mixed column unless the top card matches your target suit.
Protect your empty columns
Empty columns are your most valuable resource. Don't fill one just because you can. An empty column you control is three or four future moves — you can park a King there to free up a crucial card below it, then reclaim the space. Filling an empty column with a non-essential group for a small tactical gain is a common losing move.
Deal the reserve late, not early
The reserve deal is a one-shot power-up. Beginners deal it the moment they get stuck, but this often wastes it on a temporary blockage that would resolve naturally. Hold the reserve until you have fully exhausted all visible moves and understand exactly which cards you need. The reserve cards land on columns 0–2 — factor that placement into your timing.
Look three to four moves ahead
In Scorpion Solitaire, the current position looks better or worse than it actually is depending on what's face-down. Rather than reacting to what you see, project forward: if you move this group here, what face-down card flips? If that card is useful, can you use it? If not, does it block anything important? Scorpion rewards players who can hold three or four steps in their head simultaneously.
Abandon unwinnable games early
Scorpion has a roughly 15% win rate, which means about 85% of games end in defeat regardless of skill. Learning to recognize an unwinnable position after 10–15 moves — rather than fighting through 50 moves to the inevitable end — is a real skill. Signs of a losing game: two or three suits have zero exposed high-rank cards, multiple columns are blocked by buried face-down cards, and the reserve has already been dealt. Start a fresh game, not a futile battle.
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Odds of winning Scorpion Solitaire
Scorpion Solitaire has a theoretical win rate of approximately 15% when played with perfect strategy and full knowledge of face-down cards. In practice, with most cards hidden, human players tend to win somewhere between 5% and 15% of games, depending on skill and patience. This puts Scorpion firmly in the "hard" tier alongside Pyramid Solitaire and well above the playable win rates for most versions of Forty Thieves.
The difficulty comes from a combination of factors: the same-suit build rule is less forgiving than alternating-color builds (Klondike or FreeCell); face-down cards in the early columns create significant uncertainty; and the single-use reserve gives no fallback if the deal is fundamentally broken. Unlike FreeCell, where nearly every deal is theoretically solvable, a substantial fraction of Scorpion deals are losing positions from the moment the cards are shuffled.
Experienced players can improve their odds meaningfully by using the flip-first principle consistently and by learning to read the early tableau for signs of a losing deal before committing to a long game. But even expert players lose most Scorpion games — the randomness is a structural feature, not a solvable problem.
History of Scorpion Solitaire
Scorpion Solitaire's origins are obscure. It appears in card game collections from the mid-twentieth century and is likely related to an older family of tableau-based patience games popular in Britain and continental Europe. The name is evocative rather than historical — the game stings players who are not careful, and a misdeal can hide a venomous card beneath an innocuous-looking pile just long enough to ruin the game.
The game gained wider digital distribution when Microsoft and other software publishers began including curated solitaire collections in the 1990s and 2000s. World of Solitaire, one of the earliest major online solitaire platforms, helped standardize the rules that most digital versions follow today. The variant stands out in that catalog because its auto-removal mechanic — unusual for tableau-based games — makes it feel satisfyingly different from Klondike or Spider while using the same 52-card deck.
Today Scorpion Solitaire is played by a dedicated community of advanced solitaire players who appreciate its puzzle-like depth. Its low win rate and suit-based logic make it a natural next step for players who have mastered Klondike and want a sharper challenge.
Frequently asked questions
What is Scorpion Solitaire?
- Scorpion Solitaire is a single-player card game where you build four complete King-to-Ace runs of the same suit on the tableau. When a run is complete it clears automatically. You can move any face-up card and all cards on top of it — the only placement rule is that the card you are placing must be the same suit and one rank lower than the card it lands on.
How is Scorpion different from Klondike?
- In Klondike, you build foundations by moving single Aces through Kings one at a time, and tableau builds require alternating colors in descending order. In Scorpion, you assemble entire K→A same-suit runs on the tableau itself — there is no stock or waste. Groups of any size and order can move together as long as the bottom card is the same suit and one rank lower than its target. Win rate is also much lower: ~15% for Scorpion versus ~40–50% for Klondike.
What is the reserve in Scorpion Solitaire?
- The reserve is three face-down cards set aside at the start. You can deal them at any time by clicking the Deal button — they are placed face-up onto the tops of the first three columns (columns 0, 1, and 2). You can only deal the reserve once, so timing matters. Save it for when you are genuinely stuck, not just inconvenienced.
Can I move face-down cards in Scorpion?
- No. Face-down cards cannot be moved directly. They are exposed when you move the face-up cards stacked on top of them. Once a face-down card is uncovered it flips face-up automatically, making it available to move on your next turn.
What goes in an empty column in Scorpion?
- Only a King, or a group of cards led by a King at the bottom, can be moved to an empty column. Non-King cards cannot start a new column. This makes empty columns extremely valuable — essentially the only place a King and its following suit-run can be assembled from scratch.
How does the auto-clear work in Scorpion?
- Whenever a King-through-Ace sequence of the same suit appears contiguously on a column — King at the base of the sequence, Ace at the top — the game automatically moves all 13 cards to the foundation. You don't need to take any action. The column then becomes available for reuse.
What is the win rate for Scorpion Solitaire?
- Approximately 15% of Scorpion Solitaire deals are winnable with optimal play and full knowledge. Human players working without foreknowledge typically win between 5% and 15% of games. This is significantly harder than Klondike (40–50% win rate for skilled players) and places Scorpion among the most demanding mainstream solitaire variants.
Is Scorpion Solitaire related to Spider Solitaire?
- They share the same DNA — both involve building tableau sequences to clear cards to foundations — but the rules differ significantly. Spider uses multiple decks (one in 1-suit mode, two in 4-suit mode) and moves whole ordered sequences. Scorpion uses a single deck, allows moving any face-up group regardless of order, and requires same-suit placement rather than just same-suit completion. Scorpion is generally considered harder than 1-suit Spider but more approachable than 4-suit Spider.
Any tips for beginners at Scorpion Solitaire?
- Three principles get new players the furthest: flip face-down cards whenever possible (they are your biggest source of new moves), think in suits not colors (same suit on placement, not alternating color like Klondike), and hold the reserve deal until you have exhausted all visible options. Resist the urge to 'clean up' the board cosmetically — every move should either flip a face-down card or set up a sequence toward a completed suit run.
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Similar Solitaire games
Spider Solitaire
Build same-suit runs across ten columns with one or two decks. More forgiving build rules than Scorpion but 1-suit Spider is a good step up before tackling Scorpion.
Yukon Solitaire
Like Scorpion in that any face-up card with everything on top of it can move — but Yukon uses alternating colors and a standard seven-column Klondike layout.
Klondike Solitaire
The classic. Alternating colors, stock and waste pile, foundation builds A→K by suit. Easier than Scorpion with a ~40% win rate for skilled players.
FreeCell Solitaire
All 52 cards face-up from move one, four free cells to park singles. Over 99.999% of deals are winnable — the strategic antidote to Scorpion's randomness.