If you’ve got the hang of playing Classic Solitaire, you may be ready for a new challenge that’s just as much fun. Many people consider Scorpion Solitaire to be the most challenging variant of the card game. 

It has a gaming style similar to Yukon Solitaire and is a little more complicated than Spider Solitaire. We’ve got you covered if you’re interested in finding out how to play Scorpion Solitaire.

The Play:

To win in Scorpion Solitaire, you need to stack four foundation heaps of cards from the same suit in descending order (K, Q, J, 10, 9, etc.). To do this, we will shift cards from the tableau to four piles on the right side of the table.

Once you’ve completed all four suits, the game is ended (Spades, Clubs, Hearts, and Diamonds). In Scorpion, Aces are considered rather low. In other words, they are the final card in a set. One must constantly give priority to the King.

Scorpion Solitaire is one of the most difficult one-player card games ever since it is almost impossible to win. Scorpion Solitaire is a great alternative if you’re bored with easily winning Solitaire games.

How Do I Play?

Typically, a conventional 52-card deck is used for a game of Scorpion Solitaire (no Jokers). The tableau consists of 49 cards (seven columns, each with seven slightly overlapped cards). The last three cards are placed face down to form the reserve (or “the head”) pile, which may be used to break blocks.

The First Step: 

The “tail,” “body,” and “foundation” (or “head”) piles are the three different types of solitaire stacks in Scorpion Solitaire. 

The three reserve cards are located in the top left corner of the table; the seven columns of the tableau; and the foundation, sometimes known as the scorpion’s head, are where you put full sequences of the same suit.

The Second Step:

The rules for playing Scorpion Solitaire are unlike those of any other Solitaire game. The first four body heaps each have seven cards in them. The top four cards in each of those columns are now hidden from view. There are three exposed cards at the end of the deck.

The last three heaps of bodies each contain seven cards, but they are all face up and slightly atop one another in decreasing sequence.

Finally, be sure to allow four cavities for the structure’s upper and lower levels. 

The Third Step:

You’re all ready to go now that you’ve gotten everything together. Although Scorpion’s rules are straightforward, the game itself is far from easy.

Strategy:

Accepting a game of Scorpion means you should expect to lose most of the time. This, however, should not discourage you from aiming for the stars. Here are a few strategies for beating the Scorpion Solitaire games:

First, quickly turn over any face-down cards in the first four columns. That broadens your options and gives you more leeway to play. However, if you run across a roadblock, you may not be able to get to the cards that are face down.

Second, unless it’s absolutely necessary, leave blanks unfilled.

Third, make sure your sequence is correct. When two cards in ascending order are put atop a card that is one higher in rank than the card on top of the two-card sequence, the sequence is said to be reversed. Let’s say you’ve stacked a 3 of Hearts above a 2 of Hearts atop a 4 of Hearts. If the 3 and 2 are stuck, there is no way to arrange the 4 without breaking the impasse (i.e., game over).

Conclusion:

Most novice players of Scorpion Solitaire have a long losing streak before they finally break through and score a victory. That said, the challenge is what makes Scorpion such a fun card game. 

It’s a never-ending test of skill, but the satisfaction of victory is well worth the effort.