How to play Scorpion Solitaire: rules, reserve and strategy
Scorpion Solitaire looks flexible because any face-up card can carry the cards below it. The destination rule is stricter: a packet must land on the next higher card of the same suit, and only a King-led packet can fill an empty column.
Build four complete suit runs
Win by building four complete King-to-Ace runs, one in each suit. Building happens in the tableau: an 8 of hearts takes only the 7 of hearts. This is different from Klondike, where alternating colours can share a column.
When a full thirteen-card suit run is complete, the published version clears it from the tableau. You are not feeding individual cards to foundations; you are uncovering cards and making room for each complete run.
Move packets to reveal information
Choose any face-up card and move it with every card beneath it. The packet itself does not have to be in order before you lift it. What matters is the card you place it on: it must be one rank higher and the same suit.
Look beyond the bottom card of a column. A legal move is most valuable when it reveals a face-down card, opens a new same-suit destination, or prepares a King that can use an empty column. Two legal moves can have very different consequences.
Treat the reserve and empty columns carefully
The reserve is three cards, dealt once onto the first three columns. Use it after considering moves that expose cards or when its cards can join positions you have prepared. There is no second deal to undo an early decision.
An empty column is not a FreeCell. Only a King, or a packet led by a King, can occupy it. Emptying a column without a King ready can make the board less flexible. Keep space for moving a blocking King packet and reaching a covered card.
Plan without falling into familiar-solitaire habits
Do not move a high card only because the move is legal; it may be the only future destination for a lower packet. Check which ranks of that suit still need a landing place before you break a useful chain.
Likewise, do not wait for every visible packet to be tidy. An unordered packet can be moved to reveal a hidden card. Follow the same-suit destination rule, preserve a route to needed cards, and use undo to test a genuine fork rather than guess repeatedly.
Play this published Scorpion version
This browser edition includes undo, hints, local statistics and a reproducible daily challenge. The playable game page keeps the current controls together with the live build, so this guide can stay focused on the rules and decisions.
Use a hint to check a difficult position rather than replacing your board reading. Yukon is a useful related comparison because it also moves packets, while its layout and the role of empty columns are different. Open each game page before assuming that a rule transfers between variants.
Keep playing
Every game page lists its current version and controls and offers a fullscreen play view.
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