MOVE THE MESS. BUILD THE SUITS.
Scorpion Solitaire
Scorpion deals the whole deck into seven columns and asks you to assemble four complete King-to-Ace suit sequences in place — no foundations, no cells, nowhere to hide. Any face-up card can be picked up with everything stacked on top of it, in any order, but it may only land on the next-higher card of the same suit. It is one of the hardest solitaires we host: our search solver wins about 13% of random deals, and that is a floor, not a ceiling. No ads, no sign-up, unlimited undo, and honest hints.
same-suit home Learn Scorpion Solitaire in 90 seconds: rules and strategy
The deal, the radical any-card moving rule, why kings own empty columns, and five habits for the brave. Full written rules follow below.
In this video
01 · THE WHOLE DECK IS ALREADY IN PLAY
How to play Scorpion solitaire
Forty-nine cards are dealt into seven columns of seven; in the first four columns the bottom three cards are face down. The last three cards wait in a reserve — one tap deals them onto the first three columns, once per game, whenever you choose. Moves are radical compared to most solitaires: take any face-up card together with every card above it — the pile does not need to be in order — and drop the group on a card exactly one rank higher in the same suit. Lifting a group off a face-down card flips that card up. Only a King may move to an empty column. You win when all four suits stand as complete King-to-Ace columns, built where they lie.
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7 02 · TWO RESOURCES. NEITHER COMES BACK.
The reserve and empty columns
Scorpion gives you exactly two scarce resources. The reserve is three face-down cards dealt onto columns one to three at the moment you choose — hold it while you still have moves, because those three cards can unblock a dead board, and once dealt there is nothing left in hand. Empty columns are rarer still: only a King (with whatever sits on it) may occupy one, so an empty column is effectively a King relocation service — use it to dig a King off the cards it is smothering, not as a parking space you cannot refill. Emptying a column that you cannot legally refill is one of the game’s classic self-inflicted wounds.
03 · A FLOOR, NOT A PROMISE
How hard is Scorpion, really?
Hard — and we would rather show you the measurement than a slogan. We pointed our bounded search solver at 1,000 random deals: it proved wins on 12.8% within its budget, with another 22% unresolved when the search ran out — 12.8% is the proven floor, the unresolved share is genuinely unknown, and a patient human with undo outperforms the bound. Deals here are dealt at random; there is no curated pool, because the face-down cards mean an honest game cannot promise you a winnable one. When no legal move remains the deadlock notice says so plainly — in Scorpion that is a common ending, not a rare one, and losing to the deal is part of the game’s reputation.
The solver found a winning line within its search budget.
04 · SIMILAR TABLE. OPPOSITE INSTINCTS.
Scorpion vs Spider solitaire
The two games share a skin — columns, same-suit sequences, face-down cards — and almost nothing else. Spider moves only ordered runs, completed sequences leave the board, and two full decks give every rank eight homes. Scorpion moves unordered groups, nothing ever leaves the board, and a single deck means each card has exactly one legal destination — the one card a rank above it in its suit. That single-destination rule is the whole character of the game: every buried card is a specific, findable problem, and Spider instincts about “any run will do” simply do not transfer.
05 · TWO FIXED LESSONS
Learn the move, then expose the board
Both lessons restart to the exact seed-one deal shown above. First use Scorpion’s unusual group rule. Then turn that freedom into new information by revealing three buried cards.
01Move an unordered groupStart with Scorpion’s signature move: lift the 6♠ together with the 5♠, 4♣ and A♦ sitting above it, then land the whole unordered group on the 7♠. The bottom card decides where all four may go.+
02Reveal three hidden cardsTry it on the exact deal from the diagram above: the 6♠ slides onto the 7♠ and the 5♠, 4♣ and A♦ ride along — and the card it uncovers turns face-up. Dig out three of the twelve buried cards.+
06 · THE SURVIVAL ORDER
Scorpion strategy tips
The habits that convert unwinnable-looking boards:
- 01Reveal before arranging
Flip face-down cards before anything else — the twelve hidden cards in columns one to four decide the game, and every flip is pure information.
- 02Find the one destination
Before moving a group, find the card one rank above its bottom card in the same suit; if that card is buried under the group itself, the move manufactures a block.
- 03Save the reserve
Keep the reserve until your legal moves genuinely run dry — dealt too early it buries three live columns; dealt at the right moment it restarts a dead board.
- 04Name the King first
Treat an empty column as a King-sized door: know which King goes through it before you open it.
- 05Build tails that stay built
Build long same-suit tails even when they cannot complete yet — a K-to-5 tail is eight cards that never need to move again.
07 · QUICK ANSWERS
Scorpion solitaire FAQ
01How is Scorpion solitaire set up?+
Seven columns of seven cards each — the first four columns hide their bottom three cards face down — plus a three-card reserve dealt face down to the side. The reserve is added onto the first three columns, one card each, at a moment of your choosing, once per game.
02How do moves work in Scorpion?+
Pick up any face-up card together with all cards above it, regardless of their order, and place the group on the card exactly one rank higher in the same suit — a J♠ group moves onto the Q♠ and nowhere else. Moving off a face-down card flips it face up. Only Kings may move to empty columns.
03When should I deal the reserve?+
As late as possible while you still have useful moves. The three reserve cards land on top of columns one to three, burying whatever is there — dealt early, they cost you access; dealt when the board is stuck, they are three fresh chances to restart it.
04What percentage of Scorpion games can be won?+
Our bounded search solver proved wins on 12.8% of 1,000 random deals, with a further 22% undecided when its search budget ran out — so at least one deal in eight is winnable and the true rate is higher. Scorpion is genuinely one of the hardest solitaires; losing to the deal is normal.
05How do I win — where are the foundations?+
There are none. The four King-to-Ace suit sequences are built in place, inside the columns. The moment all four suits stand complete, wherever they lie, the game is won.
06What is Wasp solitaire?+
Wasp is Scorpion with one rule relaxed: any card or group — not just a King — may move to an empty column. That single change makes it dramatically easier: our solver wins roughly four in five Wasp deals versus about one in eight for Scorpion.