Scorpion Mahjong Solitaire
About the Scorpion Layout
The Scorpion is a coiled threat rendered in 66 tiles: a segmented body runs along the board, a pair of grasping pincers reach forward at the front, and the tail curls up and over the back, poised to strike. It is the most compact and most aggressive layout in this animal group, and the design uses heavy stacking in the arched tail and the claws to create genuine pinch points. Fewer tiles does not mean easier here, because nearly every piece is doing structural work in a tightly interlocked shape.
This is a 4 out of 5 board and it plays like one. The raised tail in particular stacks tiles steeply, so the order in which you dismantle it matters enormously, and the pincers create two separate clusters that each demand attention. Expect to plan carefully and to feel real tension as the free tiles thin out. The reward for that pressure is that the board is dense and decisive: every match counts. And despite the bite, the Scorpion is always solvable, since it is generated in reverse from a completed solution.
Difficulty: Expert (4/5) | Tiles: 66
How to Clear the Scorpion Layout
Disarm the pincers first. The two front claws are the most exposed clusters and, once cleared, they open access to the head and the front segments of the body. Leaving the pincers for late is a common trap because their tiles can end up blocking the body's matches.
The arched tail is the crux of the entire board. It is steeply stacked, so its tiles free from the tip downward; take the very end of the stinger first and work back toward the body, never trying to pull from the middle of the arch where pieces are locked above and below.
Keep the body as your working corridor. The segmented torso holds the most flexible supply of pairs, so use it to stay mobile while you carefully unwind the tail. If you commit too many early moves to the body and exhaust it, you can be left with a half-dismantled tail and no safe moves elsewhere.
In the endgame, the danger is two unmatched tiles stranded at the stinger tip or inside a claw. Track those specific tiles' partners from the start. Because this is a tight 4 out of 5 board, do not hesitate to use Shuffle the moment you run out of legal moves; it re-deals the remaining tiles into a solvable arrangement and is far better than forcing a dead line.
The Story Behind the Scorpion Layout
The scorpion is an ancient emblem of danger and protection at once, an arachnid old enough to predate the dinosaurs and prominent enough to become a constellation and a zodiac sign. Its menace is concentrated in two features that this layout exaggerates: the pincers held out front like a warning, and the tail arched over the back with the venomous stinger ready. Building those two threats into the tile stacks is what gives the board its coiled, about-to-strike posture.
There is a deliberate match between form and challenge here. A scorpion is small but you treat it with great care, and this 66-tile board asks for exactly that respect: it is the most compact animal in the batch yet the hardest, precisely because its few tiles are packed into a tense, interlocking shape. The design wants you to feel that a small thing can still be formidable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Scorpion 4 out of 5 with only 66 tiles?
Difficulty here is about density, not quantity. The arched tail and the pincers stack tiles steeply and lock them together, so the order of removal is unforgiving. A small number of heavily interdependent tiles is harder than a larger but flatter board, which is why it earns a 4.
What is the single most important section to get right?
The tail. It is steeply arched and stacked, so you must clear it from the stinger tip downward toward the body. Trying to remove tiles from the middle of the arch is the fastest way to lock yourself out, since those pieces are blocked above and below.
Should I clear the claws early or late?
Early. The pincers are exposed clusters that, left alone, can block matches in the head and front body. Disarming them first opens up the front of the scorpion and keeps your options wider for the harder tail work.
I am out of moves with tiles still on the board. Is the deal broken?
No, every deal is solvable because it is built backwards from a finished board. Running dry just means the removal order went wrong. Press Shuffle to re-deal the remaining tiles into a new solvable arrangement and continue.
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