Pyramid Solitaire

👥 1 players 📍 Indoor📍 Anywhere ⚡ Calm 🧩 Moderate ⏱ 10-20 minutes 🎂 Ages 6+

Quick Pitch

Pyramid Solitaire is a solo card game where you remove pairs of cards that add up to 13, working your way down through a pyramid layout until it's cleared — or you run out of moves.

Hook

Deal 28 cards into a pyramid shape — one card at the top, two in the next row, all the way down to seven at the base. Your goal is to remove all of them by pairing up any two uncovered cards that add up to 13: a 6 and a 7, a Queen and an Ace, a lone King on its own. But you can only reach cards that aren't covered by others, so clearing the bottom row reveals the middle — and you have a stock pile for backup. It's quick, satisfying, and harder than it looks.

Equipment Needed

  • One standard 52-card deck
  • Clear playing surface

Setup

  1. Shuffle deck
  2. Arrange 28 cards in pyramid form:
    • Row 1: 1 card
    • Row 2: 2 cards
    • Row 3: 3 cards
    • Continue until Row 7: 7 cards
  3. Remaining 24 cards form stock

Rules

Objective

Remove all cards from pyramid by pairing cards that sum to 13 points. Uncover lower pyramid cards and move to stock.

Card Values for Pairing

  • Ace: 1 point
  • Number cards (2-10): Face value
  • Jack: 11 points
  • Queen: 12 points
  • King: 13 points (removes alone, no pairing needed)

Valid Moves

Pairing:

  • Pair any two uncovered cards that sum to 13
  • Remove both cards from pyramid
  • Example: 6 + 7 = 13 (remove both)
  • Example: Queen (12) + Ace (1) = 13

King removal:

  • King (13) can be removed alone (or paired with another King)

Exposure:

  • When cards are removed, cards below are exposed
  • Only fully exposed cards (no cards covering them) can be paired/removed

Stock Pile

Drawing:

  • When no pyramid moves available, flip card from stock
  • Pair stock card with pyramid card (if possible)
  • If no pairing possible, discard stock card to waste pile
  • Continue through entire stock

Redeals (if applicable):

  • Some variants allow one or more reshuffles of waste pile

Winning

  • Entire pyramid cleared = Win
  • Cards remaining when stock exhausted = Loss

Expert Player

Tips

  1. Pair exposure: Prioritize removing pairs that expose lower cards
  2. King strategy: Save King removals for when beneficial
  3. Stock awareness: Look ahead to what stock cards might pair
  4. Cascade planning: Plan multi-move removals using exposed cards
  5. Patience: Don't waste stock cards carelessly

Variations

  • Three-card Pyramid: Smaller pyramid (15 cards); easier
  • Tut's Tomb: Variant with 15-card pyramid
  • Multi-deck: Use two decks for more complex play
  • Different target: Sum to different values (e.g., 14)
Learn More — History & Origins

History & Origins

Pyramid Solitaire's exact origins are unclear, but the game was likely developed in the 20th century as a variant of the broader solitaire tradition. It gained widespread recognition through digital implementations — it was included in various Microsoft card game collections and became a popular mobile and browser game in the 2000s and 2010s, where its short play time (usually 5–15 minutes) and clear visual structure made it well-suited to casual gaming platforms.

Cultural Context

Pyramid has an interesting relationship with probability: the game is not always winnable regardless of strategy — some initial deals are mathematically unbeatable — but the win rate is significantly higher with good play than with random play. Knowing which uncovered cards to prioritize, when to draw from stock, and how to sequence removals to expose the most options gives skilled players a clear advantage over random play. This makes Pyramid a satisfying casual game: not as demanding as FreeCell or Spider Solitaire, but not purely luck-based either.

See Also