Scorpion Head Solitaire
How to play Scorpion Head
Scorpion Head is a one-deck solitaire with no stock, in which all 52 cards are dealt into seven piles built down in suit, beside four cells that hold one card each.
One deck in seven piles built down in suit, with four empty cells and no stock.
The goal of Scorpion Head
Build four runs of thirteen cards, one for each suit, from King down to Ace. A finished run leaves the table at once, and the game is won when all four are gone.
How to set up Scorpion Head
Scorpion Head is played with one deck of 52 cards, all dealt into seven piles. The first three piles hold eight face-up cards each, and the other four hold four face-down cards under three face-up ones. Beside them are four empty cells, each holding one card. There is no stock.
Scorpion Head rules
A card can be laid only on the card one rank higher in its own suit, so the Seven of hearts goes on the Eight of hearts.
Any face-up card can move onto a pile whose top card it builds on, and every card lying on it moves with it, whether or not those cards are in order.
Only a King can fill an empty pile, together with any cards lying on it. When a move leaves a face-down card on top of its pile, that card is turned face up.
The top card of a pile may go into an empty cell. A card in a cell can go onto a pile it builds on, and a King into an empty pile.
When thirteen cards of one suit run from King down to Ace on top of a pile, they leave the table at once for a foundation.
Click a face-up card to move it with every card lying on it onto the first pile it builds on, else into the first empty pile that takes it. Drag a card to choose its place yourself.
How to win at Scorpion Head
You win when all four runs are off the table. There is no stock and no redeal, so every move is made with the cards already dealt. There is no auto complete either, since finished runs already leave on their own.
Scorpion Head strategy tips
Keep the cells for when you need them. A card in a cell moves on its own, and with all four full there is nowhere to put the one card you need to shift.
Uncover the face-down cards under the last four piles first. They are the only cards you cannot see, sixteen in all.
A card does not have to be on top of its pile to move. If the card you need is buried, move the card lying directly on it, and everything above goes along.
A card is only ever laid on a pile's top card. When the card you want to build on has one card lying on it, a cell can take that card off, and the cell's card can come back down later onto a pile it builds on.
The first three piles hide nothing: their eight cards each are face up from the deal. Read them before you move, since a King lying on other cards keeps them covered until a pile empties for it.
Scorpion Head questions and answers
How do you play Scorpion Head solitaire?
Deal one deck into seven piles, eight face-up cards in each of the first three and four face-down cards under three face-up ones in each of the others, with four empty cells beside them. Build down in suit, moving any face-up card with every card lying on it, park a pile's top card in a cell when you need room, and fill an empty pile only with a King. You win when four runs of thirteen, one for each suit from King down to Ace, have left the table.
What is the difference between Scorpion Head and Wasp?
Scorpion Head has no stock and deals all 52 cards at the start, with the face-down cards under the last four piles instead of the first four. It adds four cells, each holding one card, and only a King can fill an empty pile, where Wasp takes any card.
Can every Scorpion Head deal be won?
Not necessarily, though nearly every deal tried has been proved. Of 515 shuffled Scorpion Head deals the game's solver searched, at up to a million positions each, it proved 97% can be won, the highest share of the one-deck games here. That counts only what the solver proved, so it is a lower bound. With Winnable on, in the menu beside New deal, every new board is a deal the solver has proved can be won. Hint asks the same solver for a winning line before it suggests a move.
Is there a daily Scorpion Head game?
Yes. Scorpion Head has a daily board, the same deal for everyone that day, dealt the way a Winnable board is. You need to be logged in to play it.