Scorpion, deal #19

Rated steady, deal #19 is a middling deal for this series. It is winnable: the solver's line takes 52 moves.

Notes on this deal

• A King already sits at the head of a column, so that column never needs emptying.
• One King is face down. A buried King can only leave for an empty column, so expect to make room for it.
• This deal punishes autopilot. A test play of the obvious moves gets just 0 of 52 cards home before it is stuck.
• 6 useful moves are open from the start. Prefer the ones that turn over a card or free an Ace.
• At one point the solver moves a run of 20 cards in one go.

Stuck? The solver's first moves

These are the first moves of the solver's winning line, with automatic moves to the foundations switched on.

#	Card	From	To
1	4♦ +3	column 2	5♦, column 6
2	Q♦ +3	column 4	K♦, column 3
3	6♥	column 5	7♥, column 4
4	7♥ +1	column 4	8♥, column 5
5	2♦ +5	column 5	3♦, column 7
6	4♣ +8	column 6	5♣, column 2

Scorpion in a nutshell

Build down in suit; any face-up card moves with everything on it, and only Kings go into empty columns. Finished King-to-Ace runs leave the table. The three stock cards are dealt once.

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