Scorpion Solitaire FAQ

Scorpion Solitaire is a single-player tableau card game played with one standard 52-card deck. Seven columns are dealt almost entirely face up, and the goal is to arrange all 52 cards into four King-to-Ace runs of a single suit, built directly in the tableau. There are no foundations to manually play to — a completed run collects itself.

Yes. scorpionsolitaire.app is completely free and runs entirely in your browser. There is nothing to buy, download, or install, and there are no interruptive video ads, premium tiers, or paywalls. Open the page and a game is already dealt.

No. The game is the website — a 100% browser-based build with no app store download and no sign-up. Your stats are saved locally in your browser, so there is no login to manage.

Scorpion does not have the well-documented lineage of older patience games like Klondike. It spread through digital solitaire collections and shareware card-game packs from the 1990s and 2000s onward, and the origin of its name is not reliably recorded — most likely a nod to the sting of grabbing a "wrong-order" run and making it work anyway.

It follows the same widely used ruleset: same-suit sequencing to place a card, Kings-only empty columns, a one-time three-card reserve dealt to the first three columns, and completed runs that clear automatically. This build adds unlimited undo, hints, a quick-move double-click, synthesized sound, and a layout that works on phones.

Deal seven columns of seven cards, with the top three cards of the first four columns face down. Pick up any face-up card — even from the middle of a column — and move it, along with everything stacked on it, onto a card of the same suit one rank higher. Only a King can start an empty column. Once, deal the three reserve cards onto the first three columns when you need more options. Complete all four suits from King to Ace to win.

Yes — this is the rule that sets Scorpion apart from Klondike or Spider. You may grab any face-up card no matter how deep in a column, and every card stacked on top of it moves with it as one group, even if that group is not itself a valid same-suit run. The only requirement is that the card you actually clicked fits the destination: the same suit, one rank higher.

The reserve is three cards set aside at the deal. Once, whenever you choose, you can deal them face up onto the bottoms of the first three tableau columns — there is no second reserve. Because it permanently adds cards to those three columns, most players save it for when no other tableau move is available.

The moment a tableau column holds a complete run of thirteen cards, King down to Ace, all in one suit and all face up, it locks in automatically and clears out of the tableau. You do not drag it anywhere — the column simply empties and that suit is done.

Score is our own simple tally, since Scorpion has no traditional points table: five points per card you move, a fifteen-point bonus for revealing a face-down card, and two hundred points for each suit you complete. Time and move count are tracked separately so you can chase a fast win or a low-move win.

Drag a card and its passengers to a destination, or tap once to pick them up and tap the target column to drop them. Double-click (or double-tap) sends a card and its group to the first legal column automatically. On the keyboard, Space deals the reserve, U undoes, H shows a hint, N deals a new game, and M toggles sound.

Scorpion is strict about suit even though it is loose about sequence. The card you grab must land on a pile whose top card is the same suit and exactly one rank higher — rank alone is never enough, and suit alone is never enough. Only an empty column relaxes this to "any King."

No. The reserve is a single, one-time deal of three cards, dealt face up onto the first three tableau columns. Once it is used it is gone for the rest of that game — undo can put it back if you deal it too early by mistake, but there is no second reserve to earn.

No. Some shuffles cannot be solved regardless of how well you play, and there is no reliable way to tell in advance. The deep-grab rule and the reserve make many more deals solvable than a stricter tableau game would allow, but a genuine dead end is still possible. If you get stuck, deal a new game.

Dig into the four columns with hidden cards early, and get comfortable grabbing from the middle of a column on purpose rather than only ever taking the top card. Track where each King is before you bury one, and hold the reserve back until you have genuinely run out of tableau moves. Undo is unlimited, so use it to test a risky grab before committing.

Scan the four columns with hidden cards before touching anything else, and look for a legal move — even a deep grab — that flips one of them face up. Only reach for the reserve once the visible board offers nothing.

The current streak counts consecutive wins. Dealing a new game before winning the current one, or getting stuck with no moves left, resets the current streak to zero. Your longest streak is kept as a separate best.

Your best score, best time, fewest moves, games played, and win streak are saved locally in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server and there is no account. Because the save lives on the device, a different phone, a new browser profile, or cleared site data looks like a fresh start. A game in progress is not saved if you close the tab.

Yes. The layout is built for touch: tap a card to pick it up and tap a column to drop it, or drag directly. The seven tableau columns and the reserve fit on one portrait screen, and dealing a new game is instant with no page reload.

The game needs a connection to load the page the first time. After that, some browsers may keep the tab playable without a network, but there is no dedicated offline app or installer.

Open Stats from the game menu and use Reset progress, then confirm with the second tap. That clears best score, best time, fewest moves, games played, and streaks on this browser. It cannot be undone.

Any current browser with JavaScript: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari on desktop, plus their mobile versions. If cards do not respond, update the browser, allow scripts for this site, and reload.