Scorpion Solitaire

Scorpion rules and strategy

A seven-column solitaire game where any face-up card can be moved along with all the cards on top of it. The goal: build four sequences from King to Ace, each in a single suit. This site explains the exact rules, strategy and a winning game verified card by card. To play: Scorpion Solitaire, on iPhone, iPad and Android.

Read the rulesDownload the app

Available on the App Store and on Google Play.

Scorpion Solitaire on a phone held in landscape orientation, at the start of a game on green felt: seven columns of seven cards, the first four each with three blue-backed cards beneath four face-up cards; on the left, four empty spaces for sequences; on the right, the face-down stock; at the bottom, the timer, score and move count all at zero.

Scorpion at a glance

Scorpion is played alone with a deck of 52 cards. 49 cards form 7 columns of 7 cards. In the first 4 columns, the bottom 3 cards are face down: 12 face-down cards in total, with 37 face up. The last 3 cards are set aside in the stock.

A card is placed on a card of the same suit (spades, hearts, diamonds or clubs) and one rank higher: the 7 of hearts on the 8 of hearts. The game’s distinctive feature: you can take a card from the middle of a column, and all the cards on top of it move with it, even if they are out of order. A complete sequence from King to Ace is removed from play; once all 4 sequences are complete, the game is won. The rules explain each move in detail, and the strategy explains how to approach the game.

A deal from the app

Here is deal SC1-C-AAAAAAB exactly as the app deals it. Paste this code into the New Game window to play it; a game won in 52 moves is detailed on the Examples page.

stock: 3 face-down cards; no sequences removed. column 1: 3 face down, then 3 of diamonds, jack of hearts, 10 of hearts, 3 of spades; column 2: 3 face down, then queen of hearts, 3 of clubs, 4 of hearts, 7 of spades; column 3: 3 face down, then ace of spades, 7 of diamonds, 7 of hearts, 3 of hearts; column 4: 3 face down, then king of diamonds, 8 of hearts, 7 of clubs, 9 of spades; column 5: 6 of hearts, 8 of clubs, jack of spades, 4 of clubs, 9 of clubs, 8 of diamonds, 5 of clubs; column 6: 6 of diamonds, queen of clubs, king of hearts, 4 of diamonds, king of spades, 9 of hearts, jack of clubs; column 7: ace of diamonds, queen of diamonds, 9 of diamonds, 6 of spades, 2 of hearts, 10 of diamonds, 5 of hearts.

Deal SC1-C-AAAAAAB at the start: 7 columns of 7 cards, 12 face-down cards in columns 1 to 4, 3 cards in the stock.

Where to start?

On phone and tablet

The app is played in landscape orientation. It offers Classic or Relaxed rules, a code for each game to replay or share a deal, undo for the last 100 actions, statistics and 36 languages.

Scorpion Solitaire on a phone in landscape orientation, with a game in progress: 7 moves played, 40 points, timer 3:41; a sequence of 4♥ 3♥ 2♥ A♥ is forming in one column, while the stock still waits face down on the right.
Phone, in landscape orientation.
Scorpion Solitaire on a tablet in landscape orientation: the same game (7 moves, 40 points), with plenty of empty felt below the columns.
Tablet, in landscape orientation.