Scorpion Solitaire

What Is Scorpion Solitaire?

Scorpion Solitaire is one of the variants of Spider Solitaire, however, it has more things in common with Yukon Solitaire. As you may guess, the game of Scorpion Solitaire is played by one player with the usage of a traditional 52-card deck to build columns consisting of similar card suits. The game requires some luck on your side, and it can be a bit challenging. However, you can try playing the Easy Scorpion Solitaire that is less complicated than other versions. As with most Solitaire games, this one has very simple rules, but it might take you a bit of time to start playing easily as it tends to be a bit confusing when you try to take into account all the nuances of the game.

Rules of Scorpion Solitaire

Solitaire games naturally have very easy-to-understand rules which turn playing the game into a genuine pleasure. Here are the rules for Scorpion solitaire that you should remember before diving into the game:

• To begin with, a pile of 7 cards is dealt in each of the 7 columns. However, 12 cards must remain hidden, 3 in each of the first 4 columns. The rest of the cards are face-up and visible. The 3 cards that remain in the deck are set face-down and squared in the stock pile. For the Easy Scorpion Solitaire variation, there are 9 hidden cards, 3 in the first 3 columns. 
• To succeed in the game, the player must build all 4 suits within the columns starting with the king and ending with the ace. When playing with an actual deck of cards you will have to move the finished column to the foundation. But if you choose to play an online Scorpion Solitaire, all that will be done for you automatically.
• In Scorpion Solitaire, you can move only one card at a time. Although, if there are other cards on top of the card you are moving, they will come along with it. If the card you are moving is not a king, you must move to the card that is bottom-most in a pile as well as next in rank to the source card and of the same suit. The game tends to have very long columns.
• The column only becomes empty when all of the cards have been moved from it and as the king has no next-in-rank card it, therefore, needs to be moved to an empty column. It is of very big importance to remember that the king is the only card that can be put in an empty column. In addition, as the ace is the lowest in rank, no other card can be put onto it.
• When all possible moves have been made on the board, the player must then use the stock pile to create more possible moves. The game lasts until the player has won or until there are no more moves available.

How to Set Up Scorpion Solitaire?

The set-up of Scorpion Solitaire is quite straightforward. The 52-card deck is used to deal out 7 columns with each column containing 7 cards. The cards are dealt face-up apart from the first 3 cards in the first 4 columns which are dealt face-down and are revealed at a later point in the game. The remaining 3 cards form the player’s stock pile. The foundations are placed at the top right of the playing board. The stock pile is placed on the upper left and keeps the reserve cards until they are used at a later point in the game.

Strategy to Win Scorpion Solitaire

Percentages suggest that only 1 in 8 games can be won. The chances that a player will get stuck are around 22-24 moves in or maybe even earlier in the game. That is why you should go ahead and play the game, but you should plan beforehand to improve your chances to succeed. Consider the following tips:

• Flip face-down cards in the first 4 columns as early as possible.
• Try not to fill empty spaces until you have no other choice.
• Avoid reverse sequencing. It happens when you have 2 cards in ascending order and placed on top of a card that ranks one higher than the card on top of the 2-card sequence.
• You should try to avoid ‘criss-cross’ deadlocks which occur simultaneously in 2 columns.
• Play a lot as that is the only way to get better.

The Objective of the Game Scorpion Solitaire

The aim of Scorpion Solitaire is super simple and easy to achieve. The player’s goal is to build all 4 of the organized suits on the playboard descending from the king down to the ace and then put them in the foundations at the top right of the playing board. Or if you are playing online the game automatically does that for you. When all 4 of the foundations are complete, you win the game.

Conclusion

The article covered everything you need to keep in mind about Scorpion Solitaire. As you can see the game is very simple to play, but not too simple to win. Undoubtedly, Scorpion Solitaire can make even the veterans of games of patience sweat, but with persistence and dedication, anyone can become the master of Scorpion Solitaire.