How to Play Double Scorpion
What Is Double Scorpion?
Double Scorpion is a big, bold two-deck version of Scorpion solitaire. It is played with 104 cards, and every single one of them is dealt to the table at the start. There is no stock pile and no waste pile: what you see in the ten columns is the whole game. Your goal is to sort all of those cards into eight perfect runs, one for each suit in each deck, going from King at the top down to Ace at the bottom. Build a complete same-suit run from King to Ace and it flies off to the foundation on its own. Do that eight times and you win.
The Layout
Double Scorpion deals two full decks (104 cards) into ten tableau columns:
- Columns 1 to 4 each receive 11 cards: the first 4 are face down and the 7 on top of them are face up.
- Column 5 receives 10 cards: 4 face down and 6 face up.
- Columns 6 to 10 each receive 10 cards, and every one of them is face up.
That adds up to all 104 cards on the table from the very first moment. Only 20 cards start hidden, and they are all tucked under the first five columns. There is no stock to deal from later, so the game never adds new cards. Everything you need is already in front of you; your job is to untangle it.
Building Down by Suit
In the tableau you build downward by suit, and suit matters completely. A card may be placed only on the card that is one rank higher in the same suit. For example, the 9 of spades can go only on the 10 of spades. It cannot go on the 10 of hearts, the 10 of diamonds, or the 10 of clubs. Colors do not matter here the way they do in Klondike; in the Scorpion family, suit is everything. Because you are playing with two decks, there are two 10 of spades on the table, and your 9 of spades is welcome on either one of them.
Moving Groups: The Scorpion Rule
Here is the rule that makes Double Scorpion special. Any face-up card can be picked up and moved, and when you move it, every card sitting on top of it comes along for the ride, no matter what order those cards are in. The group does not need to be a tidy sequence. If the 8 of clubs is buried under a Jack of hearts, a 3 of diamonds, and a Queen of spades, you can still grab that 8 of clubs and move all four cards together onto the 9 of clubs. The only rule checked is the landing spot: the card you grab must go onto the next-higher card of its own suit (or a King group onto an empty column). This Yukon-style freedom means almost any card can be reached, but every rescue piles a mess onto some other column, so choose your landing spots with care.
Turning Over the Face-Down Cards
When you move away all the face-up cards covering a face-down card, that hidden card flips over and joins the game. Uncovering all 20 hidden cards is a major milestone: once they are up, the entire layout is visible and the rest of the game is pure planning.
Empty Columns
When a column loses its last card, the empty space accepts Kings only. You may move a single King there, or a King together with the whole stack of cards sitting on top of it. No other rank may start a new column. With eight Kings in the game, you will have plenty of candidates, but empty columns themselves are hard to create, so spend each one wisely.
How to Win
You win by completing all eight runs: King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace, each run in a single suit. The moment a full King-to-Ace run of one suit is assembled in a column, the game sweeps it away to the foundation automatically; you do not need to move it yourself. Clear all eight runs and the table is empty. Double Scorpion is friendlier than single-deck Scorpion because two decks give you two copies of every card, and many deals can be won with patient play.
Playing on This Site
Drag and drop any face-up card to move it along with everything on top of it, or double-click a card (double-tap on a touch screen) to send it to the best available spot automatically. The buttons above the table give you a New deal, Undo, Redo, a Hint when you are stuck, and Auto-finish to wrap things up once the win is certain. Undo is unlimited, so you can rewind as far as you like and test a different plan. Every deal has a seed number, so you can replay the exact same shuffle later or share it with a friend and see who untangles it first.
Double Scorpion Strategy & Tips
Remember: There Are Two of Everything
The biggest strategic gift of Double Scorpion is that every card exists twice. Before you dig for a card you need, check both copies. If one 10 of spades is buried under nine cards in column two and the other sits near the top of column eight, the choice is easy. Make it a habit: whenever a move looks expensive, ask whether the twin card is cheaper to reach. This one question will save you more games than any other trick.
Read the Five Open Columns First
Columns six through ten are dealt completely face up, so half the table can be planned in full detail before you touch a card. Trace the runs you could build there without disturbing the hidden side of the board. Because everything in those columns is visible, mistakes there are mistakes of planning, not of luck, and Undo lets you correct them freely. Plan two, three, even five moves deep in the open columns while you decide how to attack the hidden ones.
Flip the 20 Hidden Cards Early
All of the face-down cards live under the first five columns, and each one is a small mystery that can wreck a long plan. Give early priority to moves that peel face-up cards off those five columns. Every flip adds information, and information is the whole game once no stock exists to bail you out. A move that uncovers a hidden card is usually worth more than a move that merely tidies a suit.
Treasure Every Empty Column
Empty columns are rarer in Double Scorpion than in most solitaire games. Columns start ten or eleven cards deep, and only a King may move into the space once you clear one. So treat an empty column like treasure. Do not toss the first King you see into it. Ask which King is doing the most damage where it sits, or which King already has useful same-suit cards gathered on top of it, and give the space to that one. A well-spent empty column can untangle two or three problem stacks; a wasted one is gone for a long time.
Do Not Bury What You Will Need
Every Scorpion-style move dumps a group of cards onto a new column, and whatever was on the landing column is now deeper. Before you drop a heavy group, look at what you are covering. Burying a low card you will need soon, or worse, covering the last reachable copy of a card, can lock the game. When two landing spots are legal (and with twin cards, they often are), pick the one that covers the less important pile.
Build Runs from the King Down
Completed runs must start with a King, so runs that begin from a Queen or Jack, however pretty, cannot leave the table until their King is on top of the pile order. Work toward getting Kings onto empty columns or onto the top of tidy stacks, then grow the run downward. And keep the eight runs roughly in mind as you play: sending one suit racing ahead while its twin suit lies scrambled usually costs you in the endgame. Steady, even progress across the suits wins Double Scorpion.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many decks does Double Scorpion use?
Two standard decks, 104 cards in total. All of them are dealt into ten tableau columns at the start of the game, so there are two copies of every card in play.
Do runs have to be in the same suit?
Yes. In Double Scorpion you build down by suit only. The 7 of hearts can go on the 8 of hearts but not on the 8 of spades. Completed runs must also be a single suit from King down to Ace.
Can I move cards that are not in order?
Yes, and this is the heart of the game. Any face-up card can be moved, and every card on top of it moves along too, even if the group is completely scrambled. Only the card at the bottom of the group must land legally, on the next-higher card of its suit.
What can I put in an empty column?
Kings only. A lone King or a King with any pile of cards on top of it may move into an empty column. No other rank can start a new column, so empty spaces are precious.
Is there a stock pile in Double Scorpion?
No. Unlike single-deck Scorpion, which holds back three cards to deal later, Double Scorpion deals all 104 cards to the tableau at the start. No new cards ever arrive, so everything you need is on the table from move one.
Is Double Scorpion free to play?
Yes, completely free. There is no download, no account, and no payment. Just open the page in your browser and the cards are dealt.
Can I play Double Scorpion on my phone or tablet?
Yes. The game runs in the browser on phones, tablets, and desktop computers. On a touch screen, drag groups with your finger or double-tap a card to move it automatically.
What is a seed number?
A seed identifies one exact shuffle of the two decks. Every deal on this site shows its seed, so you can replay the same layout later to try a better plan, or share the number with a friend so you both play the identical deal.