Scorpion Solitaire

Introduction to Scorpion Solitaire

Scorpion Solitaire is similar to Spider Solitaire but played more like Yukon Solitaire.

The game has a fair bit of luck in it and is not very easy to beat. However, the Easy Scorpion Solitaire variant is much easier.

Goal

Scorpion Solitaire's goal is to build all 4 ordered suits from king down to ace in the tableau, each of which is automatically sent to a foundation as it's completed.

Rules

Scorpion Solitaire is played with a 52-card deck of standard playing cards.

When the game starts, a pile of 7 cards is dealt into each of the 7 tableau columns. Except for the 12 hidden cards, 3 in each of the first 4 piles (or first 3 piles in Easy Scorpion Solitaire for a total of 9 hidden cards), all cards are face-up and visible. The remaining 3 cards in the deck are set face-down and squared in the stock.

In order to win the game, the player must build all 4 suits within the tableau from the king to the ace. As each is built, the game automatically sends it to a foundation.

In this game, technically, only one card may be moved at a time. However, if there are cards on top of the source card, they all come along for the ride. Piles can sometimes grow very long. If not a king, the source card must be moved onto a target card that is bottom-most in a pile, next in rank to the source card, and of the same suit.

A column is empty when all cards have been moved from it. Since the king has no next-in-rank, it can't be moved to another pile, so it must be moved into a vacant column.

It's important to remember that the king is the only rank that is allowed to be put into a vacant column. It's also worth noting that since the ace is the lowest in rank, no card may be placed atop of it.

When all cards have been moved to the player's liking within the tableau, they must click on the stock.

The player then continues to play until either the game is won or there are no more useful moves that can be performed.

Strategy

Here are 7 tips on how to beat Scorpion Solitaire:

• Once every hidden card has been turned, winning is much easier. Therefore, a high priority should be given to turning all of the hidden cards.
• Normally, it's best to not click the stock until no more moves are possible.
• When a column is empty, unless it's in the endgame or something will be gained, then it's best to delay moving a king into the vacant column. Sometimes, the vacant column can later be put to good use.
• Since no card can be placed onto an ace, many advise that the player should avoid unnecessarily exposing an ace. However, since every non-king has only one specific card that it can be placed onto, most moves can safely be performed. The gist of it is that an ace is a problem, whether it's exposed or not.
• Avoid making unsafe moves. One example of an unsafe move is one that causes lower ranking cards to be higher in the same pile than higher ranking cards of the same suit. For example, it can be a problem if, in a pile, the 6C is higher up than the 7C. The reason it's bad is that, even when the 7C is exposed, it's still not possible to move the 6C onto it without first moving one of the cards that lie between the 6C and 7C to another pile.
• To verify whether a card may be moved or not, the player must first find the card that it must be moved onto (or if it's a king to be moved, an empty column). Then, in order to expose that card, they must find the card onto which the offending card must be moved. The chain continues until either a bottom card is encountered, which means that the original move may be accomplished, or a card is missing in the chain.
• Look out for both types of deadlocks. For example, if from top to bottom, the sequence 8H-6H-7H exists within any pile, the game is lost. (Note: It's not true if the sequence is reversed because then moving the 8H onto the 9H solves the problem.) As another example, if the sequences 6H-JC and QC-5H exist, the game is lost. (Note: if the sequences are reversed, then cards are crossed downward going up in rank, and the game is not necessarily lost.) In both cases, a circular chain of cards that must be moved exists, which is obviously impossible.

Layout

The game screen is made up of 3 different areas:

The tableau consists of 7 columns in the upper center of the screen. Each column either contains a pile of one or more cards or is empty, This is where pretty much of the action takes place during gameplay.

The foundations are located in the top right, above the tableau. It consists of 4 rectangles, Each rectangle is a foundation that is used to hold a completed suit build.

In the upper-left corner is the stock. This is where the 3 reserve cards are held that are put into play at some point during the game. At the desired time, the player clicks on the stock, which causes the reserve cards to be dealt face-up into the tableau, one into each of the first three columns.