Pyramid Solitaire

Overview

Pyramid is a matching game with one rule: every pair you remove must add up to exactly thirteen. Twenty-eight cards are stacked in an overlapping pyramid and you dismantle it from the bottom — an Ace with a Queen, a 5 with an 8, a 6 with a 7 — while Kings, worth thirteen alone, come off by themselves.

Under that arithmetic sits a real puzzle. Each card blocks the cards above it, so the order you remove pairs in decides how fast the pyramid opens. A pair available now may be worth less than one that exposes several new cards.

The stock gives you extra cards to pair against, but only so many times — and because it is never reshuffled, what is coming is knowable.

The pyramid

Twenty-eight cards are dealt face up in seven overlapping rows: seven along the bottom, then six, five, and so on to a single card at the apex. The remaining 24 cards form the stock.

Because the rows overlap, a card is playable only once both cards beneath it are gone. At the start only the bottom row is available.

That is the whole puzzle. Clearing one card from under an upper card is half a job — its other blocker has to go too. So the aim is not simply to find pairs that make 13, but pairs that open the pyramid.

Goal

Remove all 28 pyramid cards by pairing them to a total of 13. Clear the pyramid and you win. The waste card can partner an exposed pyramid card, which is often the only way through a tight position.

Card values and pairs

• Ace = 1, 2 through 10 at face value, Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13.
• The pairs are therefore Ace+Queen, 2+Jack, 3+10, 4+9, 5+8 and 6+7.
• Kings are removed on their own, needing no partner.
• Suits never matter. A 5 pairs with any exposed 8.

Which cards can be played

Only uncovered cards — those with nothing still overlapping them. You may pair two exposed pyramid cards, or an exposed pyramid card with the current waste card, or take a King alone.

Only the top card of the waste is available. Anything below it is out of reach until the cards above are used.

Stock and passes

Tap the stock to turn its next card onto the waste, one at a time.

You get three passes. When the stock empties, the waste turns back over into the stock — twice. And the cards are not reshuffled: they come back in the same order.

That last detail changes how the game is played. The stock is not a random drip you hope to get lucky with; it is a known sequence you can plan around. A card you cannot use on the first pass may be exactly what you need on the second, and you can work out roughly when it will reappear.

Which makes drawing a real decision. Spend a pass carelessly and the useful cards come back at the wrong moment — or not at all.

Timing your pairs

Not all pairs are worth the same. One removes two bottom-row cards and exposes nothing; another removes both blockers under an upper card and opens a section.

The second is usually stronger even though both take two cards off. The best move is the one that changes the structure, not the one that clears fastest.

Strategy tips

• Prefer pairs that uncover. Given a choice, take the one that frees the most.
• Watch for shared blockers. One low card can hold up two cards above it — removing it opens a lot at once.
• Take Kings when they appear. They cost no partner, so a King is a free removal.
• Clear both blockers. Removing one card under a target achieves nothing on its own; plan for the pair.
• Remember the stock order. It never changes, so a card you skip is a card you can plan to meet again.
• Do not pair just because you can. A legal pair that opens nothing may cost you the partner you needed later.

Controls and features

• Tap two available cards to pair them, or a King on its own.
• Tap the stock to reveal the next card.
• Use Undo to explore different choices.
• Start a New Game for a fresh deal.

If you liked Pyramid

TriPeaks is the other layout game here: 28 cards again, but in three overlapping peaks, and you clear them by playing a card one rank above or below the waste rather than by adding to 13. Aces there connect to both Kings and 2s.

Golf works the same way from seven columns — one rank up or down onto the waste — except the ranks do not wrap, so a King is a dead end.