Pyramid Solitaire

How to Play Pyramid Solitaire

What Is Pyramid Solitaire?

Pyramid Solitaire is a relaxing card game played with one standard deck of 52 cards. Instead of building long columns of cards, you clear cards away in pairs. Any two cards whose values add up to 13 can be removed together, and your goal is to take the whole pyramid apart, card by card, until nothing is left of it. A little simple arithmetic and a little patience are all you need, which is why Pyramid has been a favorite for generations. Every card in the pyramid is dealt face up, so you can see exactly what you are working with from the very first move.

The Layout

At the start of each game, 28 cards are dealt face up in the shape of a pyramid with seven rows. The top row has a single card, the second row has two cards, the third has three, and so on down to the base row of seven cards. Each row is dealt so that it slightly overlaps the row above it. That overlap is the heart of the game: a card higher up in the pyramid is pinned in place until the cards resting on it have been cleared away.

The table has two more areas besides the pyramid itself:

• The stock. The 24 cards left over after the pyramid is dealt sit face down in a single pile. Clicking or tapping the stock turns over one card at a time.
• The waste. Cards turned from the stock land face up on the waste pile. Only the top card of the waste is in play, but it is a full partner: you can pair it with any exposed pyramid card, or remove it on its own if it is a King.

Which Cards Are Available?

A pyramid card is available only when no cards from the row below cover it. At the start of a game, that means just the seven cards along the bottom row are free to use. Remove two neighboring cards from the base and the card sitting above and between them becomes exposed. In this way you work upward, peeling the pyramid apart layer by layer until the lone card at the very top is finally uncovered. If you tap a card and nothing happens, look below it; one or both of the cards overlapping it are still in the way.

Pairs That Add Up to 13

Cards are removed in pairs whose values total exactly 13. Numbered cards count at their face value, and the picture cards have fixed values: a Jack counts as 11, a Queen counts as 12, and a King counts as 13 all by itself. An Ace always counts as 1. That gives you a short list of partnerships worth memorizing:

• Ace + Queen (1 + 12 = 13)
• 2 + Jack (2 + 11 = 13)
• 3 + 10, 4 + 9, 5 + 8, and 6 + 7
• King alone. A King already equals 13, so it needs no partner and is removed by itself.

Suits never matter in Pyramid; only the numbers do. A pair can be made from two exposed pyramid cards, or from one exposed pyramid card and the top card of the waste. For example, if a 9 is free at the bottom of the pyramid and a 4 is showing on the waste, you can remove them together. If a 6 and a 7 sit side by side on the base row, they can leave as a pair straight away.

The Stock, the Waste, and Redeals

Whenever you run out of useful pairs, click the stock to turn the next card onto the waste. Each new waste card is a fresh chance to match something in the pyramid. When the stock runs empty, the waste is gathered up and turned face down to form a new stock, and you may go through it again. You are allowed three passes through the stock in total, which means two redeals after the first run-through. Once the third pass ends, no more cards can be turned, so it pays to make each trip through the stock count.

How to Win

You win the moment the last pyramid card is removed. All 28 pyramid cards must go, but the stock and the waste do not need to be empty; leftover cards in those piles do not count against you. Not every deal can be cleared, because sometimes the cards a pair needs are trapped beneath each other, but a careful player wins far more often than a hasty one, and the fun is in solving each layout like a small puzzle.

Playing on This Site

Playing is simple: tap or click a card to select it, then tap its partner to remove the pair. Kings vanish with a single tap, since they need no partner. If you prefer, you can also drag one card onto another to pair them. The buttons above the table give you a New deal, Undo, Redo, and a Hint when you cannot spot the next pair. Undo is unlimited, so you can rewind as far as you like and try a different line. Every deal has its own seed number, so you can replay the exact same layout later or share it with a friend to see who can clear it.

Pyramid Solitaire Strategy & Tips

Scan the Whole Pyramid Before Touching the Stock

Because every pyramid card is face up, the deal can be read like a puzzle before you make a single move. Take a moment at the start to find every pair already showing on the bottom row, and note where the partners of the deeper cards are hiding.

• Clear the pairs available in the pyramid first. The stock is a limited resource with only three passes, so do not spend it while free matches are sitting in front of you.
• Before removing a pair, ask what it uncovers. Two moves that both work are rarely equal.
• Undo is unlimited, so if a line goes nowhere, back up and try another. That is not cheating; it is how Pyramid is meant to be studied.

Remove Kings the Moment You See Them

A King needs no partner, so taking one off the table costs you nothing: no waste card is used up and no other pyramid card is spent. Clear every exposed King immediately, whether it appears in the pyramid or on the waste. In the pyramid it uncovers new cards for free, and on the waste it clears the way for the card underneath.

Favor Cards That Unlock Both Branches

Every pyramid card except those on the edges pins down two cards in the row above it, and every covered card is held by two cards below. When you have a choice of pairs, prefer the removal that frees a card completely, exposing it on both sides, over one that only half-uncovers two different cards. Working toward the middle of the base row early tends to open the center of the pyramid, where the most cards are trapped.

Watch for Blocked Pairs

There are only four cards of each rank, so each card has exactly four possible partners. Trouble comes when the partners block each other: if all four 9s sit directly on top of the 4s they would need to pair with, those cards can never be separated and the deal cannot be finished. Glance at the pyramid for stacks where a card covers its own partner. Spotting a hopeless tangle early saves time, and spotting a near-tangle tells you which pairs must be saved for exactly the right moment. If three of a rank are gone and the last one is buried under its only remaining partner, the game is over, so count the ranks that matter.

Spend Your Three Passes Wisely

You get three trips through the stock and no more, so treat the waste pile with respect.

• Keep loose track of which useful cards have gone by. If both remaining 5s have already passed into the waste, plan to catch one of them on the next pass instead of hoping.
• Sometimes it is better to skip a match. If the waste shows a 6 and the pyramid offers two exposed 7s, take the 7 that uncovers more; and if a waste card will be needed later as the only partner for a buried card, consider leaving it and pairing from the pyramid instead.
• On the final pass, the calculation changes: match everything you can, because any card you let slip by is gone for good.

Play the pyramid first, keep the Kings moving, and save the stock for the cards you truly need, and you will clear far more pyramids than luck alone would allow.

Frequently Asked Questions

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