How to Play Easy Scorpion
What Is Easy Scorpion?
Easy Scorpion is a friendlier version of Scorpion Solitaire. The rules of play are exactly the same as in the classic game, but the deal is kinder: fewer cards start face down, so you begin with more information and fewer nasty surprises. If regular Scorpion has been beating you, or if you are learning the game for the first time, this is the right place to start. The goal is unchanged: sort one full deck into four complete runs, one for each suit, each running from King down to Ace.
The Layout: What Is Different
Like classic Scorpion, Easy Scorpion deals 49 cards into seven tableau columns of seven cards each, with the last three cards of the deck set aside as a small face-down stock. The difference is in the hidden cards:
- Columns 1 to 3: the first three cards in each of these columns are face down, with four face-up cards on top of them.
- Columns 4 to 7: all seven cards are face up.
That means only 9 cards are hidden instead of the 12 in classic Scorpion. Three fewer face-down cards may not sound like much, but it makes a real difference: you can see more of the deck from the very first move, one whole extra column is an open book, and far more deals can be untangled all the way to a win. Everything else about the table is the same, and finished King-to-Ace runs are lifted off automatically as soon as you complete them.
Building Down by Suit
Cards are placed on the card one rank higher in the same suit. The 10♥ goes on the J♥, and the 5♣ goes on the 6♣. Color plays no part here, so keep your eyes on suits: a black 5 on a black 6 is only legal if both cards are clubs or both are spades. Aces are the low end of every run, and no card may ever be placed on an Ace.
Move Any Group, Sorted or Not
Easy Scorpion keeps the rule that gives the Scorpion family its bite. Any face-up card may be picked up together with all the cards resting on top of it, even when they are in no order at all. Only the bottom card of the moving group has to fit its destination. For example, if the 6♦ is buried under the Q♠ and the 3♥, you may still grab the 6♦ and move all three cards onto the 7♦; the Queen and the 3 travel along as passengers. This freedom lets you dig anywhere, but remember that every group you move lands on top of something, so it is just as easy to bury a card as to rescue one.
The Stock and Empty Columns
The three stock cards may be dealt whenever you like, but only once: click the stock and one card is dealt face up onto each of the first three columns. There are no redeals after that, so most players keep the stock in reserve until the game stalls. When you empty a column, only a King, alone or at the bottom of a moving group, may be placed in the space. Since every winning run begins with a King, an empty column is where new runs are born.
How to Win
Assemble all four suits into complete King-to-Ace runs and the game is yours. Each run leaves the table automatically the moment its last card slides into place. Thanks to the three extra visible cards, Easy Scorpion is won noticeably more often than the classic game, well above the roughly one-in-five rate that skilled players manage in standard Scorpion. It is a genuine chance to finish what you start, while still giving you the full Scorpion puzzle.
Playing on This Site
Drag and drop any face-up card together with the cards on top of it, or double-click (double-tap on a touch screen) a card to send it to the best legal spot automatically. Above the table you will find buttons for a New deal, Undo, Redo, a Hint when nothing looks possible, and Auto-finish to wrap up a game that is already decided. Undo is unlimited, so trying an idea costs nothing. Every deal has its own seed number, which means you can replay the identical shuffle later or share it with a friend and race to the solution.
Easy Scorpion Strategy & Tips
Flip the Nine Hidden Cards
Only the first three columns hide cards, so your early game has a clear target. Aim your first moves at those three columns and keep peeling cards off them until every face-down card has been turned over. With just nine hidden cards, a few good early moves can often reveal them all before the midgame, and from then on you are playing with the entire deck visible, which is where Easy Scorpion becomes very winnable.
Use the Open Columns as Your Map
Columns 4 through 7 are completely face up from the start. Read them before you touch anything. Find each King and Queen, note which suits are tangled and which are nearly in order, and look for pairs that are reversed, such as a 9♠ sitting on top of the 10♠ in the same column. A reversed pair cannot be fixed in place: the lower card must be carried off to another column and brought back after the higher card is settled. Spotting these knots on move one, while you still have room to maneuver, is the difference between a smooth game and a locked one.
Bury with Care
The move-any-group rule means you can always pick a pile up, but you can never see through it. Before dropping a group on a column, glance at the card you are covering.
- Never cover an Ace casually. Nothing can be placed on an Ace, so a pile parked on one is hard to shift.
- Avoid stacking cards of one suit on top of the low cards of another suit you are about to finish.
- When two destinations are legal, drop your group on the pile you will need last.
Hold the Stock, but Not Forever
The three stock cards go face up onto the first three columns, one each, and only once. In Easy Scorpion those columns are also your hidden-card columns, so an early deal buries exactly the cards you are trying to reach. Keep the stock until you have flipped all nine face-down cards if you can, or at least until no other move helps. Then deal, and treat the three new cards as a fresh puzzle piece rather than a nuisance.
Make Empty Columns Work
With more of the deck visible, you will earn empty columns sooner here than in classic Scorpion, and how you spend them decides the game. Fill a space with a King whose suit you can actually extend, ideally one whose Queen and Jack are already reachable. Better still, keep one column empty as a workbench for untangling reversed sequences: move the tangled group into the space behind a King, fix the order, and rebuild. Because Easy Scorpion gives you information early, patient players can often plan the entire endgame before committing a single King, so slow down, look, and enjoy a version of Scorpion that rewards care with wins.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Easy Scorpion different from regular Scorpion?
Only the deal changes. In Easy Scorpion just the first three columns start with three face-down cards, while the other four columns are fully face up. That is 9 hidden cards instead of 12, so you see more of the deck from the start and many more deals can be won. Every rule of play is identical to classic Scorpion.
Can I move cards that are not in order?
Yes. As in all Scorpion games, any face-up card can be picked up along with every card on top of it, whatever order they are in. Only the bottom card of the group must fit where it lands, on the card one rank higher in the same suit.
Do runs have to be the same suit?
Yes. You build down by suit only, so the 9 of diamonds goes on the 10 of diamonds and nowhere else. Winning means completing four King-to-Ace runs, one in each suit.
What can I place in an empty column?
Only a King, either by itself or as the bottom card of a group. Choose a King whose run you can realistically build, since the space is one of the most valuable resources in the game.
When should I deal the three stock cards?
Ideally after you have uncovered the face-down cards in the first three columns, because that is exactly where the stock cards land. If the game stalls earlier, dealing sooner is fine, but check what you are covering first. The deal happens only once.
How often can Easy Scorpion be won?
Noticeably more often than classic Scorpion, where skilled players win very roughly one deal in five. The three extra face-up cards remove much of the guesswork, so with patient play you can expect wins to come considerably more frequently here.
Is Easy Scorpion free, and does it work on phones?
Yes to both. The game is completely free, with no download or account needed, and it runs in the browser on phones, tablets, and desktop computers. On touch screens, drag with your finger or double-tap a card to move it automatically.
What is a seed?
A seed is the number behind a particular shuffle. Each Easy Scorpion deal has its own seed, so you can replay the very same deal to improve your result or share the seed with a friend and compare games.