Pyramid Solitaire
Pyramid Solitaire turns a deck of cards into a little addition puzzle. Twenty-eight cards are laid out face up in a triangle of seven rows, and you take them away two at a time whenever their values add up to 13.
Aces count as 1, Jacks 11, Queens 12, and Kings 13, which means a King can be cleared by itself. The cards are plain black and white with no timer, and it all works in a browser tab without installing anything.
How to play Pyramid Solitaire
You can see every pyramid card, but you can only use one once the two cards overlapping it from the row below have been removed. Blocked cards appear dimmed. At the start, the whole bottom row is open.
Select an open card, then a second. If the pair totals 13, say a 9 and a 4 or a Queen and an Ace, both vanish. The 24 cards not in the pyramid make up the stock. Tapping the stock flips one card onto the waste pile, and the top card of the waste can be matched with any open pyramid card.
Run out of stock and a tap on its empty spot flips the waste over for another pass. That can happen twice per game. Remove all 28 pyramid cards to win. The game is over once the stock is spent, no redeals are left and no legal pair or King remains.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Select a card for a pair | Tab to the card (arrows move around the pyramid), Enter | Click an open card, then its partner | Tap an open card, then its partner |
| Clear a King | Tab to the King, Enter | Click the King | Tap the King |
| Draw or redeal | — | Click the stock | Tap the stock |
| Take back | — | Click Undo | Tap Undo |
| New deal | — | Click New game (open Menu if hidden) | Tap New game (open Menu if hidden) |
Tips
- Learn the pairs by heart: Q-A, J-2, 10-3, 9-4, 8-5 and 7-6. Spotting them quickly makes every deal smoother.
- Choose pairs that open up new cards. Removing two cards that free nothing is usually worse than a pair that uncovers a higher row.
- Watch for a card sitting right on top of its own partner, such as an 8 above a 5. Those two can never pair with each other, so plan a different match for one of them.
- Clear every pair you can in the pyramid before you touch the stock. With only two redeals, wasted passes add up fast.
- Keep track of which values are still hidden in the stock. If a pyramid card's partners are all gone from the table, the waste is its only hope.
If you like Pyramid Solitaire, try these
FreeCell SolitaireHere every card starts face up, so this solo card puzzle rewards planning far more often than lucky draws.
Klondike SolitaireThe classic seven-column layout trades pairing to 13 for building down in alternating colors from a stock you can cycle.
Questions
What are the cards worth in Pyramid Solitaire?
Number cards are worth their number, Aces are 1, Jacks 11, Queens 12 and Kings 13. Any two open cards that add to 13 can be removed together.
Is there a limit on redeals in Pyramid Solitaire?
You can redeal the waste pile twice, so you see the stock three times in total. After that, no more cards can be drawn.
Does Pyramid Solitaire save my progress?
Yes. The game in progress is kept in your browser, so a reload brings back the same pyramid. A private window or clearing site data will reset it.
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