Pyramid Solitaire Rules and Strategy: Pairs of 13

Pyramid Solitaire is quick, tidy and surprisingly tricky. Every card is face up from the start, so it looks like pure arithmetic: find two cards that add up to 13 and remove them. The challenge is that removing the wrong pair can bury the card you will need three moves later. This guide covers the rules and the strategy that clears more pyramids.

The setup

• The pyramid: 28 cards dealt face up in seven rows, from 1 card at the top to 7 at the bottom. Each card is partly covered by the two cards below it.
• The stock: the other 24 cards, face down.
• The waste: where stock cards go when you turn them over.

Card values

Card	Value
Ace	1
2 to 10	Face value
Jack	11
Queen	12
King	13

The pairs that make 13 are therefore:

Pair	Pair	Pair
Ace + Queen	2 + Jack	3 + 10
4 + 9	5 + 8	6 + 7

Kings are worth 13 on their own, so you remove a King by itself whenever it is exposed.

The rules

1. A pyramid card is exposed when both cards below it (the two that overlap it) have been removed. The seven cards of the bottom row start exposed.
2. Remove any two exposed cards that total 13, or any exposed King on its own.
3. Turn stock cards onto the waste one at a time. The top card of the waste counts as exposed and can pair with a pyramid card.
4. When the stock runs out, you may turn the waste back over to make a new stock, a limited number of times in the classic game.
5. Clear all 28 pyramid cards to win. The stock and waste do not need to be empty.

On this site, Classic mode lets you recycle the waste twice (three passes in all) and Relaxed mode allows unlimited passes.

Why so many games are lost

With limited passes, Pyramid is one of the harder solitaires to win; estimates of winnable deals vary widely with the exact rules. The usual cause of a loss is a blocked pair: you need a 9 to free a 4, but the only remaining 9s are under that same 4, or already used elsewhere. Good strategy is about avoiding these traps.

Strategy

1. Plan from the bottom up

Only the bottom row is free at first. Look at which cards each bottom-row removal would expose. Prefer pairs that expose new cards, especially in the middle of the bottom row, where each removal starts to free two cards above.

2. Keep the pyramid balanced

Clearing one side completely while the other is untouched often leaves the top cards needing partners that are trapped on the untouched side. Alternate between left and right when you have the choice.

3. Count the four copies

Each rank appears four times. Before using two 6s and two 7s on easy pairs at the edges, check whether a 6 or a 7 is still buried in the pyramid. If it is, keep a partner for it in reserve.

4. Do not waste stock cards

A pair made entirely inside the pyramid costs you nothing. A pair that uses a waste card spends a card you might need later. When both options are available, use pyramid-only pairs first, unless the waste card is about to be buried.

5. Think before turning the stock

Each card you turn covers the previous waste card. If the current waste card is the only partner for something about to be exposed, make that pyramid move first.

6. Kings are free moves, but not always urgent

Removing an exposed King never hurts and often exposes new cards, so do it. A King in the stock or waste can also be removed on its own.

7. Use undo to compare lines

When two pairs compete for the same card, try one, look at what it exposes, and undo if needed. On this site deals are numbered and shareable, so you can replay a hard deal until you find the order that clears it.

A worked example

Suppose the bottom row shows 4, 9, K, 10, 6, 3, 7. The King comes off by itself at once. That leaves three pairs: 4 + 9, 3 + 10 and 6 + 7. They are not equal. Removing 4 + 9 frees two cards in the row above, because the King beside the 9 is already gone. Removing 6 + 7 frees nothing, because the 10 and the 3 still hold the cards above them. Take 4 + 9 first, then look again: every removal changes which pairs are worth most.

A quick routine

1. Remove any exposed Kings.
2. Make pyramid-only pairs that expose new cards.
3. Use the waste card when it is the only partner available.
4. Keep the pyramid balanced and count copies of key ranks.
5. Turn the stock only when the pyramid has no useful move.

Start in Relaxed mode to learn the pairs, then switch to Classic for the real challenge.