How to play Pyramid Solitaire

To play Pyramid Solitaire, take away two free cards whose values add up to 13, or a King on its own, until all 28 cards of the pyramid are gone. An Ace counts 1, a Jack 11 and a Queen 12. A card is free when no card below covers it. Here are the rules in full, and the tips that clear more pyramids.

The layout

Pyramid Solitaire uses one ordinary pack of 52 cards, with no jokers. To start, 28 cards are dealt face up in a pyramid of seven rows: one card at the top, two in the next row, and so on down to seven in the bottom row. Each row overlaps the one above it, so every card except those in the bottom row is partly covered by the two cards below it.

The other 24 cards are the stock, a face-down pile in the top left corner. Next to it is the turned-up card, the last card you turned over from the stock. The cards you take away go to a pile in the top right corner.

The goal

You win when the pyramid is empty: all 28 of its cards taken away. Cards left in the stock do not matter.

What each card is worth

Every card has a value. Suits and colours do not matter in Pyramid, only the values:

Ace 1, then 2 to 10 their own number,
Jack 11, Queen 12 and King 13.

So the pairs that make 13 are always the same six: Ace and Queen, 2 and Jack, 3 and 10, 4 and 9, 5 and 8, 6 and 7. A King makes 13 on its own.

Which cards are free

Only a free card can be used. A card is free when both cards that cover it, the two just below it, have been taken away. At the start, only the seven cards of the bottom row are free.

The middle card of the lower row is gone, but the 9♣ and the 4♦ are each still covered by one card: the Q♠ and the 8♥. Once those two have gone, each with a partner of its own, both are free, and the 9♣ and 4♦ make 13 together.

Taking cards away

Pick two free cards that add up to 13 and they leave the game together. A King needs no partner: once it is free, take it away on its own. Each pair you take away can free the cards above it, and the game goes on until the pyramid is clear or no pair is left.

The 7♥ and 6♦ make 13, and the K♣ goes on its own. With those three gone, the 5♠ and the J♦ are free; the 3♣ still waits for the A♣ to go.

A card can never pair with a card that it covers, or that covers it, because the two are never free at the same time. If a 6 sits above all four 7s, that 6 can only go with help from the stock.

The stock and the turned-up card

When no pair on the table helps, turn a card from the stock. The turned-up card is free, and can be paired with a free card in the pyramid, or taken away alone if it is a King. When it is used, the card turned before it becomes the turned-up card again.

When the stock is empty, turn the whole turned-up pile over to make a new stock, in the same order, and go through it again. On this site you can go through the stock as many times as you like. Some versions allow only one pass, or three; with a single pass, far fewer deals can be cleared.

Tips to clear more pyramids

Look up before you pair. When two cards could take the same partner, choose the one that frees more cards above it, or frees a card you need.
Pair inside the pyramid first. A pair of two pyramid cards clears two places at once. Keep the stock for the pairs that only the stock can make.
Mind the cards that sit on their partners. A Queen above two Aces cannot use them. Count which partners are left for each card near the top, and keep one free for it.
Work on both sides of the pyramid. The top card needs both halves of the rows below it cleared, so a pyramid that is cleared on one side only will stall.
Take Kings away at once. A free King never helps anything by staying.
Remember the stock. It comes round in the same order every time, so a card you pass now will come back. Note where the partners you need are.
Use Undo to explore. Undo here takes back anything, so try a line and come back if it goes nowhere.

How hard is it?

Pyramid is a game of choices more than luck: most of the time several pairs are possible, and which one you take decides which cards you free next. With a fully shuffled pack, about seven deals in ten can be cleared when you may go through the stock as often as you like, and you cannot tell which by looking. On this site every deal has been played through and cleared by the computer before you see it, so a win is always possible.

Where it comes from

Pyramid is the best known of the adding patience games, where cards are paired by their values rather than built up in order. It is one of the five games in Microsoft Solitaire Collection, which is how many people first met it, alongside Klondike, Spider, FreeCell and TriPeaks.

Where to play

Start a game of Pyramid Solitaire. If you enjoy patience games, Klondike Solitaire, FreeCell and Spider Solitaire are here too, and Mahjong Solitaire is another game of matching pairs.