Pyramid Solitaire
CardsHow to Play
Goal: Clear all 28 pyramid cards by removing pairs that add up to 13.
Values: Ace is 1, number cards face value, Jack 11, Queen 12. Kings are 13 by themselves, tap one to clear it alone.
Rules: Only fully uncovered cards can be paired. Tap the stock to deal a helper card to the waste pile; when the stock empties, tapping it recycles the waste. Clear the pyramid to win.
About Pyramid Solitaire
Pyramid is one of the great members of the solitaire family, a pairing game rather than a sequencing one. Twenty-eight cards deal into a seven-row pyramid, and your job is to dismantle it from the bottom up by removing pairs that total thirteen: queen with ace, jack with two, ten with three, and so on, with kings walking off alone. The remaining twenty-four cards wait in a stock that deals helpers one at a time.
The design's quiet genius is the cover structure: every card blocks two above it, so each pair you remove is also an excavation choice. Pyramid plays faster than Klondike and lighter than Spider, five minutes a deal, but the decisions about which of two equal pairs to take, and when to spend stock cards, give it more skill than its arithmetic surface suggests. Not every deal is winnable, which keeps the wins honest.
Pyramid tactics that win more deals
- Scan the whole pyramid before your first move and note where each rank's partners live, buried partners decide which pairs are precious.
- Prefer pairs that use two pyramid cards over pyramid-plus-waste, the pyramid is the win condition; the waste is just a tool.
- Clear kings on sight, they cost nothing and always uncover something.
- Before pairing, check what each removal exposes: a pair that opens two new cards beats an identical pair that opens none.
- Spend the stock patiently, cycling early to hunt one card wastes helpers the endgame will want.
FAQ
Which pairs add up to 13 in Pyramid Solitaire?
Ace+Queen (1+12), 2+Jack, 3+10, 4+9, 5+8 and 6+7, plus Kings alone, they count 13 by themselves and clear with a single tap.
Is every Pyramid deal winnable?
No, some deals bury partners beyond rescue, and that is part of the classic design. Good excavation choices win far more deals than luck alone, but an unwinnable deal now and then keeps the victories meaningful.
What is the stock for?
The 24 cards outside the pyramid deal one at a time to the waste pile, where the top card can pair with any free pyramid card. When the stock runs out, tapping it recycles the waste, but cycles are not unlimited value: spend helpers where they open covered cards.
Why can't I select some cards?
Only fully uncovered cards are playable: a pyramid card is locked until both cards resting on it from the row below are gone. The grayed cards become available as you dig.
