Scorpion lets you move an unordered group, but it does not let you put that group anywhere. The leading card must land on the next higher rank of its own suit. Empty columns accept Kings only. Cards4 uses the version that automatically removes complete suit runs; some classic versions leave those runs on the tableau.
The deal and objective
One 52-card deck forms seven columns of seven cards. Columns 1–4 each start with three hidden cards and four visible cards; columns 5–7 are all face up. Three cards remain in the stock.
The exact Cards4 rules
Build down by the same suit: 9♦ fits on 10♦, but not on 10♥ or J♦. Aces are low, and King–Ace wrapping is forbidden.
Move any face-up card with every card below it. Those passengers need not match in suit or rank. For example, 9♦ carrying K♥ and 4♣ can move onto 10♦; the whole group keeps its order.
An empty column accepts only a King or a group led by a King. A Queen-led group is illegal, even if a King is among its passengers. The move must leave at least one card in the source column. Moving an entire King-led column to a space is not allowed on Cards4.
An exposed hidden card flips automatically. A full exposed King-to-Ace run of one suit is collected into its foundation automatically; individual foundation moves are not allowed. Collect all four runs to win.
Deal the three stock cards once, one each to columns 1–3, whenever you choose. Empty columns do not prevent this deal. There is no redeal. Consider useful tableau moves before covering them with stock cards.
Read the group from its leading card
Read a displayed column from top to bottom. Suppose its visible end is 9♦, K♥, 4♣, with the 4♣ at the bottom of the display. Selecting 9♦ takes all three cards. They may land on an exposed 10♦ in a different column. Afterward that column ends 10♦, 9♦, K♥, 4♣. The passengers do not need to fit each other; you must take them all and keep their order.
Selecting 4♣ instead moves only that card. It would need an exposed 5♣. Selecting K♥ takes K♥ and 4♣, and requires an empty column. No King can land on an Ace. You cannot move a hidden card, move only part of a selected card's passengers, or land on a covered destination card.
This is the main difference from Spider's group rule. A visually untidy group can be a legal and useful Scorpion move. Conversely, a neatly arranged group headed by 9♦ still cannot land on 10♥: sharing the red color is insufficient.
Empty spaces and the reserve
An empty space is a destination for a King, rather than general storage. A Queen carrying a King cannot fill it, because the Queen is the leading card. The King itself may be selected, carrying everything below it. If the King-led group occupies its whole column, Cards4 refuses the transfer to another empty column.
The stock is a separate exception to the usual placement rule. Its three cards are dealt onto columns 1, 2 and 3 without checking suit or rank. An empty one of those columns receives its stock card even if that card is not a King. Ordinary moves into an empty column still require a King. A stock deal cannot be directed to different columns and cannot be split into individual draws.
Clearing and the end of play
A full exposed same-suit sequence from King to Ace is automatically collected as one unit. A missing rank, a wrong suit, a hidden card, or an extra passenger below the Ace prevents clearing. If clearing exposes a hidden card, that card flips. Four completed suit runs win. The foundation slots are indicators, not places where you build upward one card at a time.
An empty stock does not itself end the deal. Keep making legal tableau moves. The interface declares a blocked deal only when no legal action remains. Whole-column King transfers are excluded from legal moves. If those are the only possible transfers and the stock is used, the deal is blocked; the game does not use a solver to assess other positions. Undo can revisit a choice after a blocked result.
Scorpion, Scorpion II, Wasp and Spider
Cards4 starts with twelve hidden tableau cards. Scorpion II commonly starts with nine instead. Wasp relaxes the empty-space restriction to allow other cards. Neither is a setting on this page. Spider uses two decks and requires an ordered same-suit group when moving several cards together; its ordinary placement rule is different too. Cards4 Yukon moves unordered groups but builds in alternating colors and has no stock.
Do not import a strategy rule from a different variant without checking these details. In particular, “use any card as temporary storage in an empty column” describes a relaxation, not Cards4 Scorpion.
Controls and practice
Drag a group to a highlighted destination, or tap its leading card and then a destination column. The numbered column button also targets an empty column. With a keyboard, select a card and destination in the two menus, then activate Move. Escape cancels selection and hints.
Undo reverses a whole move, including flips and run clearing. Reset replays the same deal; New game starts another. Progress saves automatically. Random deals are not guaranteed solvable, and hints suggest legal moves rather than a winning solution.
Continue playing
Play Scorpion Solitaire · Scorpion strategy: reveal cards and time the stock
Sources and scope
Rules cross-checked on 12 October 2026 against the publishers below. Examples describe Cards4’s declared rules, with no claim of empirical win rates or proven optimal strategy.