How to Play Easy Scorpion Solitaire

Easy Scorpion Solitaire combines mechanics from Yukon and Spider Solitaire. Like Yukon, you can move a card and all the cards beneath it onto a higher-ranked card of the opposite suit. Similar to Spider, completed sequences are built directly in the tableau.

Easy Scorpion is an easier variation of Scorpion where 3 more cards are revealed in the tableau, making the game easier to solve.

How to Play

Objective

The goal is to create sequences of cards from Ace to King by suit in the tableau, which will then be moved to the foundation once complete.

The Setup and Play Area

There are three main areas in the game:

Tableau: This is the area where there are 7 columns of cards with 7 cards each. The first 3 columns have the last 4 cards turned face-up, and the last 4 columns have all cards turned face-up.

Stockpile: The remaining 3 cards are placed in the stockpile, and are dealt to the first 3 columns of the tableau.

Foundation piles: These are the 4 piles at the top of the game. When cards are organized by suit in descending order from King to Ace in the tableau, they are automatically placed in the foundation.

Easy Scorpion Solitaire setup

Available moves

  • Similar to Yukon, a card and all the cards beneath it can be moved on top of the bottom card of a tableau column if it is one rank lower and of the same suit. For example, if you have a 6 of Diamond and a 9 of Clubs underneath it, both cards can be moved together on top of a 7 of Diamond that sits at the bottom of the tableau.
  • Similar to Spider, move cards to build sequences from King to Ace by suit in the tableau. When that’s complete, those cards will move from the tableau and into the foundation.
  • Face-down cards are turned face-up when there are no cards below them.
  • If a tableau column is empty, a King can be placed there.
  • The 3 stockpile cards can be placed at any time and will be placed on top of the cards at the bottom of the first 3 tableau columns.
  • You win when all cards are moved to the foundation.

Strategy

  • Prioritize moving cards to reveal the face-down cards and make them playable.
  • Only deal cards from the stockpile when you have no other moves.
  • Avoid having lower-ranking cards above higher-ranking cards in the same column. This will make sequencing these cards challenging.
  • Free up columns. This way you can move a King, start building new sequences, and free up cards in the process.
  • Look out for deadlocks. If the 9 of Hearts, 7 of Hearts, and 8 of Hearts are in order, the game is lost, as you will never be able to sequence those cards. Similarly, if there is a 6 of Diamonds followed by a Jack of Spades in one column and a Queen of Spades followed by a 5 of Hearts in another column, the game is lost as you won’t be able to sequence those costs. Restart the game if you see this.

What are similar Solitaire games to try?

If you like Easy Scorpion, you'll like variations of Yukon Solitaire, including Alaska and Russian Solitaire, as well as variations of Spider Solitaire, and Easthaven.