Scorpion Solitaire

Game info

Decks: 1;
Difficulty: Medium/Hard;
Game time: Medium;
Chances of winning: 85% (easy), 65% (medium) and 35% (hard);
Type: Skill;

Objective

Create full piles (King to Ace), arranged in descending order and in the same suit, which are automatically removed to the foundations.

The game

Tableau

They are arranged by equal suits and in descending order. For example, 10♥ can only be played below J♥.
Any open card, regardless of where it is, can be moved. All cards below it are moved together;
Once a valid sequence from King to Ace is arranged, it is automatically removed (same rule as Spider Solitaire);
Variations:
- Easy/Medium: any card or pile can be moved to an empty space;
- Hard: Only Kings or piles with Kings can be placed on empty spaces.

Stock

It has the last three cards of the deck. They are dealt into the first three piles.

Foundations

Full piles (from King to Ace) are moved there automatically.

Difficulties

Easy

Only the first three piles start with hidden cards;
Empty piles accept any card or run of cards.

Medium

Same as easy, but the first four columns start with hidden cards;
A good variation for those who already understand the game and can think of strategic moves.

Difficult

The most challenging variation has a complication: empty piles only accept Kings or piles starting with Kings;
In this version the possibilities of moving the cards are quite reduced, so you'll have to think a lot more to be able to complete the game;
At this difficulty it is possible that the game will be unresolved. See below, in the strategy session, what these situations are.

Strategies

Release hidden cards as soon as possible. Your main focus should be what moves to make to release a hidden card;
Don't use the blanks unless you have a strategy in mind;
Use the last three cards from the stock only when you can't see any more possible moves;
In this game, you usually have many options for different moves to perform. So it's interesting to think about several future moves before choosing one;
As the last three cards are placed in the first three piles, it is interesting to leave them with few cards or, if possible, free, before distributing them;
In hard mode there are two ways in which your game can get stuck. Understand the situations below and avoid losing the game:
- Reverse sequence: two cards in ascending order above another card that is one number higher than the top card. For example: A 4♣ on top of a 3♣, and just below these cards a 5♣, getting [5♣, 3♣, 4♣]. In this situation, it's impossible to move 4 because it needs 5, and 3 needs 4;
- Cross dependency: happens in two stacks, for example, 9♦ on top of 3♠ in one pile, and 4♠ on top of the 10♦ in another.

About Scorpion Solitaire

Scorpion Solitaire is a bit like Spider Solitaire (both animals are arachnids). Scorpion first appeared in the book "The Complete Book of Solitaire & Patience Games", published in 1949.