The goal
Twenty-eight cards are dealt face up in a pyramid of seven rows. The other 24 cards form the stock. You win when every card in the pyramid is gone. Cards left in the stock don't matter.
Pyramid Solitaire rules
Remove two cards at a time when their values add up to exactly 13. Number cards count their number, aces count 1, jacks 11 and queens 12. Kings count 13 on their own, so a king is removed as soon as it is free; in the Arena13 version it is cleared automatically.
The pairs that make 13:
- Ace and queen
- 2 and jack
- 3 and 10
- 4 and 9
- 5 and 8
- 6 and 7
Only free cards can be paired. A pyramid card is free when neither of the two cards that overlap it from the row below is still there. At the start, only the seven cards in the bottom row are free.
How the stock works
The top card of the stock is turned face up and can be used straight away. Tap it to move it onto the waste pile, which turns up the next card. The top card of the stock and the top card of the waste are both free, so you can pair either of them with a free pyramid card, or with each other. When the stock runs out, tap the empty stock to turn the waste back over and go through it again. The Arena13 version lets you go through the stock as many times as you like.
How to play Pyramid Solitaire, step by step
- Look along the bottom row for pairs that make 13 and drag one card onto its partner.
- Every pair you remove can free cards in the row above. Check them before you touch the stock.
- When nothing on the table pairs, turn a card from the stock and see if it pairs with a free pyramid card.
- Keep going until the pyramid is clear, or until a whole pass through the stock finds nothing.
Pyramid Solitaire strategy
- Free two cards, not one. When you have a choice of pairs, take the one that uncovers more cards in the row above.
- Don't waste a stock card on another stock card if the same value could free a card in the pyramid instead. There are four of each value, and the pyramid needs them more.
- Look for buried partners. If a card's only remaining partners sit underneath it in the same column, the game can get stuck. Clear that side of the pyramid first.
- Work the middle. Cards near the centre of the pyramid block two cards above them, so clearing the middle opens the pyramid fastest.
- Count before you cycle. Before turning the waste back over, note which values you still need. It tells you which stock cards to save.
Undo and new deals
Pyramid is harder than it looks, and not every deal can be won. Use Undo (Ctrl+Z on a keyboard) to try another line, and start a new game with N or the New Game button when a deal is truly blocked.
