Scorpion, deal #8

Rated gentle, deal #8 is one of the easier deals in this series. It is winnable: the solver's line takes 50 moves.

Notes on this deal

• 2 Kings already sit at the head of their columns, so those columns never need emptying.
• One King is face down. A buried King can only leave for an empty column, so expect to make room for it.
• One same-suit pair already lies in order.
• Simply playing the most promising move each time wins this deal, so it makes a good warm-up.
• Only 2 useful moves are open at the start, so the first decision matters.
• At one point the solver moves a run of 11 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	A♠	column 2	2♠, column 4
2	J♠ +3	column 1	Q♠, column 2
3	J♦	column 1	Q♦, column 7
4	2♥	column 1	3♥, column 2
5	A♣ +3	column 6	2♣, column 5
6	Q♥ +4	column 4	K♥, column 6

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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