Scorpion Solitaire: Why It Stings—and How to Tame It

A good Scorpion board feels like a brainteaser in motion: one smart slide exposes another card, a King slot opens, and suddenly a whole suit collapses from K to A. Then one rushed placement jams the entire layout. If you’ve felt that swing, this guide is for you: a crisp rules refresher, the core habits that actually move your win rate, a 5‑minute drill, and a simple scorecard to prove you’re improving. Keep a tab open to Scorpion practice on free Solitaire puzzle while you read.

Quick Rules Refresher (classic Scorpion)

• Deck & layout: 52 cards. Deal 7 columns of 7 (49 total). Columns 1–4: top 4 face‑up with 3 face‑down underneath. Columns 5–7: all face‑up. 3 cards remain in a stock.

• Build: Down in suit (e.g., 9♣ on 10♣).

• Moving groups: You may drag any face‑up card together with all face‑up cards on top of it as one unit—even if those carried cards are not perfectly sequenced. The destination must accept the lead card (one rank lower, same suit).

• Goal: Make four K→A suit runs. When a run completes, you may move it out to a foundation (or leave it in place if your ruleset allows).

• Empty columns: Kings (or King‑led stacks) only.

• Redeal: Once per game, deal the 3 stock cards—one onto each of the first three columns.

Why it feels hard: Scorpion mixes Spider‑style suit discipline with Yukon‑style freedom to move messy packets. That freedom is a trap if you don’t plan exits.

What Actually Wins in Scorpion (the core habits)

1. Expose “tails” early.
   Face‑down tails hide your real options. Prefer moves that flip a card or uncover a buried chain, even if a cosmetic restack looks tempting.

2. Reserve a King slot on purpose.
   Your first empty column is precious—hold it for a King‑led pivot that can absorb a long in‑suit run. Don’t plug it with a dead card just to tidy the board.

3. Build by suit, not by vibes.
   Cross‑suit parking is allowed (because you can carry messy packets), but every off‑suit mix you introduce must have a near‑term exit plan.

4. Stage, then collapse.
   Because you can move packets starting at any face‑up card, it’s often right to stage a sequence in one column, then collapse it into a suited ladder in the target column.

5. Time the redeal.
   Use the 3‑card stock to break stalls—not to make a good position messy. Redeal when (a) you have at least one safe King slot, or (b) a single new top card will unlock a tail you already set up.

Self‑check mid‑game:

• Did that move increase my options (flip a card, free a tail, set a King slot), or just look tidy?

• Which King am I saving my vacancy for—and what’s the next card I’ll build under it?

• If I redeal now, do I have space to catch whatever lands on columns 1–3?

Common Scorpion Mistakes (and the quick fix)

• Auto‑filling empties with non‑Kings.
  Fix: Kings only; hold the slot for a pivot that leads to a long suit run.

• Breaking a near‑pure suit ladder for a short‑term move.
  Fix: Guard purity; only disturb a good ladder if it flips a face‑down card immediately.

• Redealing into chaos.
  Fix: Redeal when a King slot is open and at least one column is ready to absorb a useful card.

• Dragging packets just because you can.
  Fix: Every packet move should either expose a tail or set up an in‑suit collapse within two moves.

5‑Minute Micro Drill: “Expose, Reserve, Collapse”

Goal: build the three habits that decide most games—early exposure, deliberate King slots, clean collapses.

Setup (60 sec): Open a fresh Scorpion board. Set a 4‑minute timer.

Run (3 min):

• Before each move, say one word out loud: Expose (flip a card), Reserve (protect the King slot), Collapse (complete/extend an in‑suit ladder).

• You cannot take two moves in a row that are neither Expose nor Collapse. If you do, undo and choose differently.

• No redeal during the drill unless opening the stock clearly produces an Expose or Collapse on the next move.

Review (1 min):

• Count Expose/Reserve/Collapse actions (aim for ≥60% Expose/Collapse).

• Note if saving the King slot created a longer suit run later.

• Set one micro‑rule for next time (e.g., “No redeal until I’ve opened one vacancy.”)

Scorpion Sabermetrics (track what you control)

• WR (Win Rate): wins ÷ games.

• TER (Tail Exposure Rate): face‑down flips per minute (or per game).

• KSV (King Slot Value): % of King fills that lead to a ≥3‑card in‑suit extension within two moves.

• SPI (Suit Purity Index): average length of the longest pure in‑suit ladder on the board (higher is better).

• RII (Redeal Impact Index): after the stock drop, did options increase (1) or decrease (0)? Track the average.

Sample (format only—replace with your data):

How to read it: as TER rises and KSV/SPI improve, WR climbs—and your redeals help more than they hurt.

Opening Patterns That Age Well

• The Anchored King: Create a vacancy, drop a King of a suit you can immediately extend by ≥2 ranks, then migrate that whole ladder as a packet when new exposures appear.

• The Sideways Slide: Shift a messy packet sideways to uncover a tail, then rebuild the target column by suit before moving anything else.

• The Pre‑Redeal Setup: Just before the stock drop, shape columns so at least one will accept any of the three incoming cards as part of an Expose or Collapse.

Friendly Practice Pointers (multi‑age groups)

• Use larger text/zoom and full‑screen play; Scorpion benefits from clear visibility.

• Allow a short undo for misclicks—especially helpful for seniors.

• Try one session scored by fewest moves instead of fastest time to encourage careful building.

• For variety, run a small “Mini Cup” with one Scorpion round and relaxed timers.

Where to Practice

• Scorpion practice on Solitairen

• Play a quick Klondike board on Solitairen

• FreeCell warm‑ups on Solitairen

Summary & Call to Action

Scorpion stings when you rush ladders, waste your first vacancy, or redeal into clutter. It rewards early exposure, deliberate King slots, and clean in‑suit collapses. Add a five‑minute drill and a small scorecard, and your “almost” games turn into controlled wins.

Open Solitairen, run the Expose, Reserve, Collapse drill, and log your next 10 boards. Next week, which single habit—tail exposure, King‑slot discipline, or redeal timing—moved your WR the most?