Scorpion is won by suit structure, not just motion.

History and background

Scorpion Solitaire is a one-deck game in the Spider family, likely derived from the older Wasp variant. It uses one standard deck of 52 cards (unlike Spider’s two decks) and combines the movement freedom of Yukon with the suit-completion objective of Spider — a combination that makes it one of the most strategically rich single-deck patience games available.

The game requires completing four same-suit runs (King down to Ace) in the tableau to win. Completed runs are not automatically removed to foundations; they simply remain in the column until the game ends. A game is won when all four runs are formed.

How the game is set up

The 52 cards are dealt into seven columns:

• Columns 1 through 4 — Seven cards each. The top three cards of each column are face-down; the bottom four are face-up.
• Columns 5 through 7 — Seven face-up cards each.
• Reserve — The remaining three cards are held as a reserve. When the player chooses to deal, one card is added to the top of each of the first three columns.

Empty columns accept any card or group of cards. The game is won when all four complete K-to-A same-suit runs are formed in the tableau.

Revealing face-down cards

The first strategic phase of Scorpion is about information: columns 1 through 4 start with three face-down cards each, and you cannot plan around cards you cannot see. Revealing those 12 face-down cards as quickly as possible is the primary goal of your opening moves.

Because Scorpion’s movement rule requires same-suit placement, you cannot always freely shuffle visible cards to reach the face-down ones. The constraint is that to move the card covering a face-down card, you need a valid same-suit destination for it (or an empty column).

Building same-suit runs

Once face-down cards are revealed, the game becomes a pure suit-assembly puzzle. Each of the four suits needs a complete K-to-A run. Your job is to identify which cards are in which columns and plan the sequence of moves that assembles each suit-run without permanently blocking another.

Suit contamination is the main structural danger. If a black 7 is placed on a red 8, that 7 can only continue to a same-suit 6 (of the same black suit) to be useful as part of a run. But the red 8 now has a black card on top — it cannot receive a red 9 to extend its own run, because the black 7 is in the way.

King columns and empty columns

In Scorpion, Kings are both the start of each suit-run (every complete run begins with a King) and the only cards that can start a new column from an empty position. This double role makes King management especially important.

Ideally, each King should be placed in an empty column early so that its suit-run can be built beneath it without interference. A King buried deep in a mixed column is a significant problem: it cannot serve as a run-anchor until all cards above it are removed.

Empty columns are scarce in Scorpion (seven columns for four runs leaves little slack). Prioritize creating empty columns when a King needs a home or when you need temporary staging space to separate two entangled suit sequences.

Reserve timing

The three-card reserve deal adds one card to each of the first three columns. This can be helpful (it might produce a card that extends a nearly-complete run) or harmful (it might bury an important face-up card under a useless addition).

Deal the reserve when:

• You have exhausted all useful same-suit moves on the current tableau.
• You have an empty column or two available to absorb unhelpful reserve cards.
• You know what the reserve contains (from the initial deal) and expect it to help.

Avoid dealing the reserve when your face-down cards are still numerous and the tableau has no empty columns. The added cards will just add noise to a board that already has too many unknowns.

How Scorpion differs from Spider and Yukon

• vs. Spider— Spider uses two decks and removes completed runs automatically to foundations. Scorpion uses one deck and keeps completed runs in the tableau. Spider deals from stock; Scorpion has a small three-card reserve. Spider’s extra deck and larger tableau give more room but also more cards to manage.
• vs. Yukon — Yukon uses alternating-color sequences and moves groups freely regardless of suit. Scorpion requires same-suit group moves. This makes Scorpion harder to plan tactically but means every move toward a same-suit run is unambiguously positive.

Common mistakes

• Moving cards just because a legal same-suit move exists.Scorpion has many legal moves that do not advance any suit run. Resist making a move just because it is legal; ask first whether it helps a specific run.
• Dealing the reserve with a full, tight tableau. Adding three cards to the first three columns when there are no empty columns and many face-down cards remaining usually makes the position worse, not better.
• Leaving Kings buried. A King that is covered by other cards cannot anchor its suit run. Prioritize uncovering Kings early, because every turn a King spends buried is a turn the full run cannot begin.