How to Play

A single-deck Spider-family solitaire where groups move regardless of sequence, and the goal is four King-to-Ace suit runs across seven columns.

Scorpion is a single-deck solitaire in the Spider family with one unusual twist: a face-up card may be moved together with every card stacked on top of it, even if those cards are in no particular order. The tableau is dealt into seven columns of seven, with hidden cards in the first four columns, and three cards are held in reserve. The solver builds King-to-Ace runs of one suit by dragging cards (and their piles) onto cards of the matching suit one rank higher. Only Kings may move to an empty column, so creating usable vacancies is a major part of the game. When no further move helps, the three reserve cards are dealt onto the first three columns for one last push.

Players

Solitaire for one player. No competitive multiplayer form is standard.

Card Deck

• One standard 52-card deck, no jokers.
• Ranks high to low for building: K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A.K♠Q♠J♠10♠9♠8♠7♠6♠5♠4♠3♠2♠A♠
• The four same-suit King-to-Ace sequences are the goal of play.A♠K♠

Objective

Arrange all 52 cards into four complete same-suit descending sequences, each running from King down to Ace, inside the tableau columns. The game is won when every column contains either a complete K-to-A suit sequence or is empty.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle a 52-card deck.
2. Deal 49 cards into seven columns of seven cards, one row at a time.
3. In columns 1 through 4, the first three cards dealt (the bottom three of each column) are placed face down; the remaining four cards of those columns are placed face up on top.
4. Columns 5, 6, and 7 are dealt entirely face up.
5. Set the last 3 cards aside face down as the reserve.

Gameplay

1. Moving cards: Pick any face-up card in any column and move it onto a face-up card in another column that is one rank higher and the same suit. Every card stacked on top of the moved card travels with it as a unit, regardless of sequence or suit.
2. Revealing hidden cards: When removing cards exposes a previously face-down card, turn it face up immediately. It is now playable.
3. Empty columns: A column becomes empty only when every card in it has been moved away. Only a King, or a group headed by a King, may be placed into an empty column. (Unheaded groups cannot fill vacancies.)
4. Built sequences: A King-to-Ace run of one suit is complete when all 13 cards of that suit sit together in descending order in one column. Leave the sequence in place (or move it aside on the table if the interface supports it); it no longer needs to be touched.
5. The reserve: When no useful move remains, deal the three reserve cards face up, one each, onto the first three columns (column 1 gets the first reserve card, column 2 the second, column 3 the third). Resume play; this reserve is dealt only once per game.
6. End of game: Play ends when either all four suits are fully built (a win) or no legal move changes the tableau in a useful way after the reserve has been dealt (a loss).

Solving Techniques

• Unblocking: Moving a card with a disordered pile on top is safe only if the destination gives you access to a hidden card or frees a future move; otherwise the messy pile will haunt later turns.
• King extraction: Free a King as early as possible so one of the columns becomes a legal vacancy target for a future King-group.
• Deferred moves: Scorpion rewards patience. If a tempting move shuffles a buried Ace on top of a useful card, consider whether there is a different move that uncovers a face-down card instead.

Winning and Losing

• Win: All four K-to-A suit sequences are complete in four columns, with the remaining three columns empty.
• Loss: The reserve has been dealt, and every possible card move either repeats a prior position or fails to uncover a new face-down card or complete a sequence.
• Stalemate: Some deals are unwinnable; most rulesets do not attempt to detect this automatically. You may declare a loss whenever you are satisfied that no progress is possible.
• Win rate: With perfect play and unlimited undo, Scorpion is estimated to be solvable about 45-50 percent of the time; strict one-try play solves around 15-25 percent of deals.

Common Variations

• Wasp: Identical layout, but any card (not only a King) may fill an empty column, raising the solve rate substantially.
• Scorpion II: All 49 tableau cards are dealt face up, removing the hidden-card mechanic and turning the game into a pure logic puzzle.
• Three Blind Mice: Ten columns of five cards each with three face-down rows; the reserve is dealt onto three columns in the same style as Scorpion.
• Open Scorpion: A version that allows unlimited undo (common in solitaire apps); makes the game significantly easier while keeping the same rules.
• Double Scorpion: Uses two decks and 14 columns; much longer and harder but uses identical movement rules.

Tips and Strategy

• Uncovering face-down cards is almost always more valuable than extending a suit sequence. Favour moves that expose hidden cards over moves that simply lengthen a pile.
• Free a King early so you have a legal home for another King-led group later. Without at least one King-ready vacancy, large groups become stuck.
• Hold the reserve until you are genuinely stuck. Dealing the three reserve cards often makes three more face-down cards accessible, so use it as a late-game rescue.
• Build suits by working on all four at once rather than finishing one completely. Completing one suit too early can lock cards of the other suits under long sequences.
• Watch for the Ace trap: an Ace blocking a face-down card can only be moved if another card of its suit is already exposed, so plan suit-twos and threes carefully to create a home for stranded Aces.

Glossary

• Tableau: The seven dealt columns where all play occurs.
• Reserve: The three face-down cards set aside at deal, released onto the first three columns once no useful move remains.
• Group: A face-up card plus every card stacked on top of it, moved as a single unit.
• King-headed group: A group whose bottom face-up card is a King; the only kind of group that can fill an empty column.
• Build: The act of placing a group onto a face-up card one rank higher of the same suit.
• Suit sequence: A complete King-to-Ace run of a single suit; the winning goal four times over.A♠K♠