Guide
How to Play Scorpion Solitaire
Scorpion Solitaire rewards a bold grab: reach into the middle of a column, not just the top, and build all four suits from King down to Ace straight in the tableau.
Play Scorpion SolitaireThe objective
Arrange all 52 cards into four suit runs
Scorpion Solitaire is played with one standard 52-card deck across seven tableau columns. There are no separate foundation piles to drag to — you win when every column holds nothing but a complete King-to-Ace run of a single suit, or has emptied out because that run already collected itself.
Between the deal and the win, the work is picking the right card to grab — often from deep inside a column, not just its top — and knowing when the one-time reserve is worth spending. There is no timer forcing your hand; the challenge is entirely in the order you choose to do things.
The game is free, runs in the browser, and needs no account. Open the board when you want to play; use this guide for the rules and the habits that win more games.
The deal
Seven columns, twelve hidden cards, a three-card reserve
Every tableau column gets seven cards — 49 in all. In the first four columns, the top three cards are dealt face down; every other card on the board, in every column, starts face up. The three cards left over after the deal sit to the side as the reserve, ready to be spent once.
Every deal here is a fresh shuffle. Some are comfortably winnable and some are not, and you cannot always tell which is which — that uncertainty is part of the game.
Controls
Drag, tap, or use the keyboard
Every method moves the same cards. Pick whichever fits the device in your hand.
Everywhere
Drag or tap-to-move
Drag a card and its passengers onto a destination, or tap once to pick the group up and tap the target column to drop it. Legal columns light up the moment you lift a card, so a move is never a guess.
Quick move
Double-click / double-tap
Double-click any face-up card to send it — and whatever is stacked on it — to the first legal column automatically. It favours building onto another pile over parking in an empty one.
Desktop
Keyboard
Space deals the reserve, U undoes, H asks for a hint, N deals a new game, and M mutes the sound. Every on-screen button also has a visible focus ring for keyboard navigation.
The loop
Four moves you repeat all game
Reading the board, then choosing between these four is the whole game.
- 1
Read the deal
All 52 cards go into seven tableau columns, seven cards apiece. In the first four columns, the top three cards are dealt face down; every other card on the board starts face up. Three leftover cards sit to the side as the reserve.
- 2
Grab a card — and everything riding on it
Click any face-up card, no matter how deep in its column, and every card stacked above it comes along as one unit. Only the card you actually grabbed has to fit the pile you drop it on — its passengers just ride along, in order, even if they were not a matching sequence to begin with.
- 3
Build in suit, a King opens a column
A card can land only on a pile whose top card is exactly one rank higher and the same suit — a 9♦ on a 10♦, nothing else. An empty column will only accept a King, or a group led by one, so clearing a column is only useful once you have a King ready to move.
- 4
Spend the reserve, then watch runs clear
Once, whenever you choose, deal the three reserve cards face up onto the bottoms of the first three columns. The moment a column holds a complete King-to-Ace run of one suit, it locks in and clears itself — get all four suits home to win.
Rules
Every rule that decides a move
The objective
Arrange all 52 cards into four complete King-to-Ace runs, each a single suit, built inside the tableau. There is no separate foundation to drag to — a finished run collects itself the instant it forms.
The signature grab rule
Unlike most tableau games, you can pick up a face-up card from the middle of a column, not just the top. Everything above it in the column travels with it as a single group, whether or not that group is itself in proper order — only the card you clicked has to legally fit the destination.
Where a card can land
A card (and its group) can only be placed on a card of the same suit exactly one rank higher — a 5♣ can land only on a 6♣. An empty column is the exception to the suit rule but not the rank rule: only a King, or a group topped by one, can start a new column.
The reserve
Three cards sit face down beside the board at the start. They can be dealt exactly once, whenever you like, turning face up onto the bottoms of the first three tableau columns. There is no second reserve and no redeal.
Winning and getting stuck
Not every shuffle can be solved, and the deep-grab rule does not guarantee an out. If no tableau move is legal and the reserve is already spent, the deal is stuck — undo a few moves to try another line, or start a new game.
The reserve
One deal, three cards, no way back
Three cards start the game face down beside the board. Whenever you choose — but only once — you can deal them face up onto the bottoms of the first three tableau columns. Each reserve card previews exactly where it will land: the board shows it sitting above the column it is bound for.
There is no second reserve and no way to recycle it. Most players hold it back until no legal tableau move remains, since spending it early can just as easily block a column as unblock one. Undo can still take a reserve deal back if you change your mind immediately after.
Common mistakes
Why winnable games get lost
Only ever grabbing the top card
Playing Scorpion like a normal tableau game and never picking up mid-column wastes its best feature. If the card you need is buried three deep under unrelated cards, grab it anyway — the group above rides along regardless of order.
Burying the King you need
Stacking cards onto a column that is hiding the exact King you want for an empty space makes the eventual dig longer. Track where your Kings are before you build.
Spending the reserve on reflex
The reserve looks tempting the moment it is available, but it commits three cards to fixed columns with no way back except undo. Use it once you have actually run out of tableau moves, not just because it is sitting there.
Chasing one suit to the exclusion of the board
Focusing every move on completing a single run can clog the other six columns until nothing else can move. Keep at least one eye on the whole board, not just the run closest to finishing.
- Dig into the first four columns first — they hide three face-down cards each, and every one you flip is new information.
- You are not limited to a column's top card. Grabbing deeper on purpose, riders and all, is often the move that unburies a card you actually need.
- Save the reserve. It permanently adds a card to three columns with no way to take it back except undo, so spend it only once you have genuinely run out of better moves.
- Plan one column toward empty deliberately, and only when you already know which King will fill it — an empty column with no King queued up is wasted space.
- Do not be precious about a tidy same-suit run. Scorpion does not penalise moving cards out of order, so break a run apart to reach a buried card whenever it helps.
- Chase reveals before runs. A move that flips a hidden card is almost always worth more than one that only tidies an already-visible column.
- Undo is free and unlimited — use it to test a risky grab before you commit to it.
Where you can play
Same game on phone and desktop
scorpionsolitaire.app runs in any modern browser with no app to install. Progress stays on the device you played on.
Desktop browsers
Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari all run the game with no plugin. Drag cards with the mouse, double-click for a quick move, or use the keyboard shortcuts for the reserve, undo, and hints.
Phones and tablets
The layout is touch-first. Tap a card to pick it up and its group, then tap a column to drop it, or drag directly. All seven columns and the reserve stay on one screen, and restart is instant.
Progress on this device
Best score, best time, fewest moves, games played, and win streak live in local browser storage. They stay until you reset them or clear site data, and they do not sync between devices.
Still stuck on a rule? Read the Scorpion Solitaire FAQ or jump in and play.
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