Setup & the deal
49 cards are dealt into seven columns of seven. In the first four columns the bottom three cards are face down — twelve hidden cards in total; the last three columns are fully face up. The remaining three cards are set aside face down as the reserve, traditionally called the tail.
Before the deal you pick the mode: Clear runs (the default) or classic. The choice changes what happens to finished runs and when the tail may be dealt — see the modes section. Restart replays the identical deal in the same mode.
Unlike Klondike or Spider there is no waste pile and no repeated dealing: all 52 cards are committed from the start — 49 on the table, 3 in the tail. Apart from the twelve face-down cards and the tail, everything is visible, which makes Scorpion far more a planning game than a luck game.
How to move cards
- Group moves with riders — any face-up card may be picked up together with everything stacked on top of it, in any order. The cards riding along do not need to form a sequence; only the bottom card of the group is checked.
- Same suit, one rank up — the group’s bottom card must land on the card of the same suit exactly one rank higher: the J♣ (and whatever rides on it) moves only onto the Q♣.
- Empty columns take Kings only — a King, or a group whose bottom card is a King, may move to an empty column. Nothing else may.
- Nothing plays on an Ace — runs build down to the Ace, so an Ace is always the end of the line. An Ace on top of a pile blocks it until the Ace moves to its suit’s 2.
- Flipping — uncovering a face-down card flips it automatically.
A worked example: the Q♣ lies in column two with the 4♦ and 10♥ sitting on top of her. The K♣ is face up in column five. You may grab the Q♣ — the 4♦ and 10♥ ride along — and drop the whole group on the K♣. The Queen now sits on her King; the riders land on top of her, exactly as they were, waiting to be moved on somewhere useful. Moves work by dragging the group or by tapping it.
The tail (reserve)
The three reserve cards may be dealt exactly once per game, landing face up one each on the first three columns. There is no other stock — those three cards are your only outside help.
When you may deal depends on the mode. In Clear runs mode the tail is available at any time. In classic mode the deal button unlocks only when no other legal move exists — the traditional rule, enforced strictly: as long as any tableau move remains, the tail stays locked.
Dealing the tail counts as a move, and the three cards land on top of whatever columns one to three currently hold — ordered runs included. There is no way to aim them, split them or save some for later: the deal is all three cards, once.
The two modes: Clear runs vs classic
Clear runs (the default, matching cardgames.io): the instant a column’s top thirteen cards form a face-up King-to-Ace run in one suit, the run is swept off the table to the foundations, freeing the column and flipping any card exposed beneath. You win when four runs have been swept.
Classic plays the traditional way: a completed run stays on the table, shown dimmed. Nothing can be played onto it (its Ace top blocks everything), it never leaves its column, and you must work around it for the rest of the game. You win when all four complete runs sit on the table at the same time. Classic is the noticeably harder game — every finished run permanently freezes a column.
The mode is chosen per deal and cannot be switched mid-game — Restart keeps both the cards and the mode. If you are learning Scorpion, play Clear runs first: the swept columns give you room to breathe, and the anytime-tail lets you experiment with its timing before classic mode starts dictating it.
Winning & losing
Four complete same-suit King-to-Ace runs win the game — swept away in Clear runs mode, assembled simultaneously on the table in classic. There is no auto-finish in Scorpion: the last moves are yours to make.
The game is stuck when no legal group move exists and the tail has already been dealt (or cannot help). Scorpion’s loss rate is high by design — unlike Klondike, a single bad burial early on can make the deal mathematically dead long before it looks that way.
Edge cases & fine print
- In Clear runs mode the sweep checks both piles after every move — the destination, and the source in case removing riders exposed a completed run that was hiding underneath.
- The tail deal itself can complete a run: in Clear runs mode a run finished by a landing tail card is swept immediately.
- In classic mode, moves that would only break up a finished run do not count as “available moves” — the tail unlocks even though those technically-legal moves exist, and the hint will never suggest dismantling a finished run.
- The tail always lands on columns one, two and three — including on top of whatever is there, ordered or not.
- A group move is legal even if it buries the destination column in chaos; only the bottom card of the group is validated.
- Face-down cards can never be moved or landed on — they flip automatically the moment everything above them leaves.
- The game announces a loss the moment no legal action remains: no group move anywhere and no tail left to deal.
- Undo is unlimited; Restart re-deals the same 52-card order in the same mode.
Variants
We implement both published Scorpion rule sets behind one toggle, matching cardgames.io’s “Clear completed runs” option: Clear runs (sweep finished runs, deal the tail anytime) and classic (runs stay on the table, tail only when stuck).
Close relatives we do not play here: Wasp, which is Scorpion with empty columns accepting any card (much easier), and Three Blind Mice, a two-deck cousin. Scorpion’s parents are worth knowing too — Yukon for the move-anything-with-riders mechanic, and Spider for the same-suit King-to-Ace goal.
Frequently asked questions
Can you move cards that are not in order in Scorpion?
Yes — that is the defining rule. Any face-up card moves together with everything on top of it, in whatever order those riders happen to be. Only the bottom card of the moving group must match the destination: same suit, one rank lower.
What can you put on an empty column in Scorpion?
Only a King, or a group whose bottom card is a King. The riders above the King can be anything, but the column itself opens exclusively for Kings — the same restriction as Klondike, unlike Spider or Wasp.
Why is the deal button greyed out in Scorpion?
You are playing classic mode, where the three tail cards may only be dealt once no other legal move remains. The game checks every possible group move; while even one exists, the tail stays locked. In Clear runs mode the button is always available until used.
Which columns do the reserve cards land on?
The three tail cards are dealt face up onto the first three columns, one each, on top of whatever those columns hold. You cannot choose their destination — only their timing.
How many cards are face down in Scorpion?
Fifteen at the start: three at the bottom of each of the first four columns (twelve), plus the three-card tail. The last three columns are dealt fully face up.
Does Scorpion use one deck or two?
One standard 52-card deck: 49 cards across seven columns and 3 in the tail. It often gets mistaken for a two-deck game because its goal — four King-to-Ace suit runs — mirrors Spider, which uses two decks for eight runs.
What happens when you finish a run in classic Scorpion?
It stays exactly where it is, shown dimmed, for the rest of the game. Nothing can land on it (an Ace tops it), and its column is effectively frozen. You win when all four completed runs are on the table at once — so plan which columns you can afford to lose.
Can a move in Scorpion complete two runs at once?
In Clear runs mode a single move can trigger two sweeps: the run completed where your cards landed, and a run that was sitting complete underneath the riders you moved away. The game checks both piles after every move.
Related rulebooks
- Spider rules — two decks, eight runs — 1, 2 or 4 suits
- Yukon rules — no stock, move any group — dig them out
- Solitaire rules — the classic klondike patience game
- TriPeaks rules — chain up-or-down streaks over three peaks
Last reviewed 2026-08-05 · play Scorpion online free