Pyramid Solitaire, a game of pairs
Pyramid is the solitaire where you add instead of build. Twenty-eight cards are dealt face up in a pyramid of seven rows, and you clear it by taking away two cards at a time whose values add up to 13: a 6 with a 7, a 4 with a 9, an Ace with a Queen. Kings are worth 13 on their own, so they go by themselves. It is quick to learn, a game takes a few minutes, and it is part of Microsoft Solitaire Collection, so it may already be a favourite. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to install, and your game is saved in this browser if you need to stop.
Every deal can be won
With a shuffled pack, about three Pyramid deals in ten cannot be cleared however well you play, even going through the stock as often as you like: a card can end up sitting on the very partners it needs. Here, every deal is played through by the computer before you see it, and only deals it has cleared are dealt. So if you get stuck, the way out is still there: undo a few moves and pair differently, or press Hint, which shows a pair that leads to a win and says why in one plain sentence.
How to play
Clear all 28 cards from the pyramid. The full rules, with pictures and tips.
- Card values. An Ace counts 1, number cards count their number, a Jack 11, a Queen 12 and a King 13.
- Free cards. Only a card with nothing on top of it can be used. At the start that is the bottom row of seven; each pair you take away frees the cards above it.
- Pairs of 13. Take away two free cards that add up to 13: Ace and Queen, 2 and Jack, 3 and 10, 4 and 9, 5 and 8, 6 and 7.
- Kings go on their own, as soon as they are free.
- The stock. Tap it to turn one card over. The turned-up card is free too, and pairs with a card in the pyramid. When the stock runs out, tap it to turn the pile over and go through again, as often as you like.
Controls
Tap or click a free card, then its partner: the two go together. A King goes with a single tap. Tap a picked card again to put it back. You can also drag one card onto its partner. With a keyboard, Tab moves between the free cards and Enter picks one. D turns the stock, H asks for a hint, U undoes and N starts a new deal.
Undo takes back any move, as many times as you like. Hint rings a pair that leads to a win (tap either card to take them away), or the stock when the card you need is still in it.
Large, clear cards
The cards grow to fill your screen, and every card shows its rank and suit in large print in its top corner, so you can read the covered cards as well as the free ones. Covered cards are a shade darker, so the ones you can use stand out. Hearts and diamonds are red, spades and clubs are black, and the table is a calm green. Use Settings to make the text larger or to switch to a darker screen in the evening.
A few tips
- Look up the pyramid before you pair: when two 7s could take the same 6, use the one that frees more cards above it.
- Pair two pyramid cards when you can, and save the stock cards for the pairs only they can make.
- Watch for a card sitting on its own partners: a 6 above a 7 cannot pair with it, so find that 6 another 7.
- Take Kings away as soon as they are free: they only ever get in the way.
For the full rules and more ways to win, read how to play Pyramid Solitaire. Fancy something different? Try Klondike Solitaire, FreeCell or Mahjong Solitaire, which is also a game of pairs.