🔺 Pyramid Solitaire
🂡 Cards · 2 playsPyramid Solitaire
Take apart a 28-card pyramid, two cards at a time, each pair summing to 13.
About Pyramid Solitaire
Pyramid asks for arithmetic rather than sequence building: two exposed cards whose ranks add to thirteen come off together, with Aces low, Jacks eleven, Queens twelve and Kings leaving on their own. Only cards with nothing resting on them are available, so the pyramid unpicks from the base upward and the order of removals decides everything. The common trap is taking the first valid pair you notice; a card that would have freed two others later is worth more than an easy match now. Luck in the stock plays its part, but a player who scans the whole pyramid before the first tap wins far more often than one who does not.
How to Play
Remove two uncovered cards whose ranks total 13, with A=1, J=11, Q=12. A King leaves alone. A card becomes available only once both cards beneath it have gone. Turn the stock when nothing pairs, and remember your passes through it are limited.
💡 Tips & Strategy
Look beneath before you pair. Removing two cards that sum to thirteen is always legal, but the pair that also exposes a card you need later is the one worth taking. Scan two rows down before every match.
Kings are free removals — take them the moment they are exposed, since they need no partner and always open the cards beneath.
Count your aces and queens, and your twos and jacks. Each rank pairs with exactly one other, so if both queens are buried deep in the pyramid and both aces sit in the waste, that pairing is effectively dead. Knowing which pairs are still alive tells you which side of the pyramid deserves your attention.
Do not burn stock cards to clear a single easy pair. Passes through the stock are limited, and a waste card kept available for one more turn is often the partner an exposed pyramid card needs.