Scorpion
Seven columns, a reserve of three, and any face-up card moves with everything on it, onto the next card up in its own suit.
Scorpion is a classic one-pack patience from the Spider family that plays like Yukon in suit. Forty-nine cards are dealt into seven columns, twelve of them face down, and three wait in the reserve. Any face-up card moves, together with every card lying on it, onto the card one rank higher of its own suit, and only a king goes into an empty column. Lay a whole suit from king down to ace and it leaves the table. Three levels and, every day, a new deal that is the same for everyone.
- Category
- Cards & Board
- Modes
- Easy · Medium · Hard · Daily
- Controls
- Mouse · Touch
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How to play
Tap a face-up card and it goes, with every card lying on it, onto the card one rank higher of the same suit, when that card is on top of a column. Or drag it. The cards it carries need not be in any order. Only a king, with whatever lies on it, goes into an empty column. A face-down card turns up once it is uncovered. Tap the reserve whenever you like to deal its three cards, one onto each of the first three columns. A suit lying in order from king down to ace leaves the table: take all four off to win. Easy deals every card face up; Medium hides three cards at the foot of each of the first four columns; Hard does the same with no undo. Every suit off the table scores 100 points and a cleared table 200 more; until then every card lying on the next card up in its suit scores 5. An undo costs 5. End the game when you like to bank your points.
What is Scorpion?
Scorpion is a one-pack patience from the Spider family that plays like Yukon in suit. It appears in Morehead and Mott-Smith's Complete Book of Solitaire and Patience Games (1949), and it is known as a patience that rewards planning: everything is decided by which cards you free and in what order.
Forty-nine cards are dealt in seven rows of seven. The first three cards of the first four columns lie face down; every other card on the table is face up. The last three cards wait face down in the reserve.
How to play
Tap a face-up card and it moves, with every card lying on it, to where it belongs. You can also drag it.
- Building. A card goes only on the card one rank higher of its own suit: the 6 of hearts on the 7 of hearts, and on nothing else. That card must be on top of a column.
- Moving groups. Any face-up card can move, however deep it lies, and it carries every card on top of it. Those cards need not be in any order.
- Empty columns. Only a king, with whatever lies on it, goes into an empty column.
- Face-down cards. A face-down card turns up as soon as it is uncovered.
- The reserve. Tap it whenever you like to deal its three cards face up, one onto each of the first three columns. It can be dealt once.
- Finished suits. A whole suit lying in order from king down to ace on top of a column leaves the table. Take all four off and you win.
- Levels. Easy deals every card face up and lets you undo. Medium hides the twelve cards of the book deal and lets you undo; the daily deal plays by these rules. Hard hides the same cards and gives no undo.
- The end. The game ends when the four suits are off, when no move is left and the reserve is dealt, or when you end it yourself.
Strategy tips
- Free the face-down cards first. Twelve cards are hidden at the foot of the first four columns, and any of them may be the card a whole suit is waiting for. Moves that uncover them are worth most.
- Find the kings. A king buried under other cards blocks everything beneath it, and it can only leave for an empty column. Plan an empty column for the king that hides the most.
- Watch what you carry. A move takes every card above the one you move, so a long tail of loose cards can land on top of a card you will need later.
- Think about the reserve. Its three cards land on the first three columns, which are the ones with hidden cards. Dealing it early gives you more cards to work with; dealing it late keeps those columns clear while you dig.
- Count the pairs. Every card that sits on the next card up in its suit is already where it needs to be, and it never has to move apart again.
FAQ
Is Scorpion free to play?
Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account needed.
Can every deal be won?
No. Even with every card face up, a computer search finds a win in only about four deals out of ten, and with twelve cards face down a player wins fewer still. That is why every suit off the table, and every card already in place, scores on its own.
Is this the book version?
Almost. In the book a finished suit stays where it lies, and the reserve is dealt only once no move is left. Here a finished suit leaves the table, as in Spider, which frees whatever lay under its king, and you may deal the reserve whenever you like.
What is the daily deal?
Every day everyone gets the same deal, played by the Medium rules, so scores compare directly on the leaderboard.
How is my score counted?
Every suit off the table is worth 100 points and a cleared table 200 more, 600 in all. If the table is not cleared, every card still lying on the next card up in its suit adds 5 points. Each undo costs 5 points. Higher is better.
