Pyramid solitaire rules
Pyramid is solitaire as simple arithmetic: find two cards that add up to 13 and take them away. The hard part is that each card is pinned under two others, and the deck only offers four partners for each card. Below are the rules, the pair chart, how the different pass limits change your chances, and a few deals you can spot as lost before you start.
Pyramid in 30 seconds
- Deal 28 cards face up in a pyramid of seven rows, each row overlapping the one above. The other 24 cards are the stock.
- Remove any two available cards that add up to 13. Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13, Ace = 1. A King is removed by itself.
- A pyramid card is available once no card overlaps it. The top card of the waste pile is also available.
- Turn stock cards one at a time onto the waste. Clear the whole pyramid to win.
The pairs that make 13
| This card | pairs with |
|---|---|
| Ace (1) | Queen (12) |
| 2 | Jack (11) |
| 3 | 10 |
| 4 | 9 |
| 5 | 8 |
| 6 | 7 |
| King (13) | nothing: remove it alone |
Suits never matter. Every rank except the King has exactly one partner rank, so each card in the pyramid has four possible partners in the deck, fewer once some are used.
How play works
Shuffle and deal the pyramid: one card on top, two below it slightly overlapping, then three, and so on to a bottom row of seven. Each card in rows one to six is half covered by the two cards below it. A card becomes available only when both of those are gone.
At the start, the seven bottom cards are available. Remove any pair of available cards that totals 13, and remove any available King on its own. Turn the top stock card face up onto the waste pile. It can pair with an available pyramid card, or with the next stock card you turn. If it does not pair, it stays on the waste and the next card covers it.
How many passes?
This is where rule books differ, and it changes the game a lot:
- One pass through the stock, no redeal: the traditional strict game in the Wikipedia article.
- Two redeals (three passes), turning the waste back into a stock: the rule in BVS Solitaire.
- Stock face up so you can see what is coming: a Microsoft computer variant Wikipedia mentions.
Some versions count a win as clearing just the pyramid; stricter ones ask you to clear the stock and waste as well. Pick one before you deal.
How often can you win?
Under the strictest rules (one pass, everything must go), the Wikipedia article puts the odds at about 1 in 50. Extra passes improve that a lot, because every card in the stock gets more than one chance to meet its partner, but we found no reliable figure for the easier versions.
Deals you can call lost at the start
Because every card except a King needs a partner of one specific rank, some deals are dead from the deal. The clearest case, also noted by Solitaire Central: an Ace on top of the pyramid with all four Queens somewhere below it. The Ace can only leave with a Queen, every Queen must leave first, and each Queen needs an Ace, but only three other Aces exist. One Queen is stranded, so the Ace never comes off. The same trap works for any rank: if all four partners of the top card lie below it in the pyramid, the deal cannot be won.
Strategy
- Clear Kings right away. A King needs no partner, so removing it has no cost and may free the card it covered.
- Choose which copy to use. When two 9s could pair with your 4, take the one that uncovers a pyramid card. A pair from the stock and waste clears nothing in the pyramid.
- Plan for the high cards first. A card is held down by the whole triangle of cards beneath it: the top card by all 27 others, each second-row card by 20. Those cards come free last, so make sure a partner for each will still be around when they do.
- Count partners. If three 8s are already gone and a 5 still sits deep in the pyramid, that last 8 is precious. Do not spend it on a 5 from the stock.
- Use the waste like a short memory. Under one-pass rules, a waste card you could not use is buried by the next one. Before you turn a card, ask whether the current waste card has any partner still to come.
Play Pyramid online or at home
Play at home: one deck and a small table. Overlap each row by about half a card so the covered corners still show their rank; it makes spotting pairs much faster.