Pyramid Solitaire Rules

The goal of Pyramid Solitaire is to remove all 28 cards of a seven-row pyramid by pairing uncovered cards whose values add up to 13, with a King removed on its own. One player, one standard 52-card deck.

This page sets out every rule, the rules that change from one version to the next, and what our game does in each case. For a shorter walk-through with a real deal and its first moves, see how to play Pyramid Solitaire.

The Layout

Shuffle one 52-card deck. Deal one card face up at the top, then a row of two overlapping it, then three, and on down to a row of seven: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 = 28 cards, all face up. Each card above the base row is partly covered by two cards in the row below it. The other 24 cards go face down beside the pyramid as the stock, next to an empty space for the waste pile. 28 plus 24 is 52, so no card is left over.

Card Values and Pairs

Number cards count their face value, an Ace counts 1, a Jack 11, a Queen 12, and a King 13. Two cards are removed together when their values add up to exactly 13; a King makes 13 alone. Suit and color never matter: the 8 of hearts pairs with any of the four 5s.

Every rank below the King has exactly one partner rank, so each pair of ranks, such as the 6s and 7s, has eight cards in the deck: four of each.

Which Cards Are Free

A pyramid card is free, and can be removed, only when no card covers it: both cards that overlap it from the row below must be gone. At the start that is the seven cards of the base row. A card still half covered by one card is not free, even when that card is its partner, and the card at the peak comes free only after all 27 cards below it have left.

Stock (24)

Waste

Some versions allow an overlap pair: a card may leave with the one card still covering it, when nothing else covers it. Our game does not; both cards must be free before they pair.

The Stock and the Waste

• Turn the top stock card face up onto the waste pile. Only the top waste card can be played, and turning another card buries the one below it.
• The top waste card pairs with any free pyramid card that makes 13 with it. A King on top of the waste is removed alone.
• In our game the top waste card never pairs with the next stock card or with another waste card. The classic rules let the top waste card pair with the card just turned from the stock.
• When the stock is empty, turn the waste over to make a new stock. The cards come round again in the same order, minus the ones you removed. The original game allows no second pass and Par Pyramid allows three passes; our game allows as many as you like.

Winning, Losing and Scoring

You win when the last of the 28 pyramid cards is removed. Cards still in the stock or the waste do not count. In the original game every one of the 52 cards had to go, which is far harder.

A deal is lost when no free card can pair with another free card or with any card left in the stock or waste. With unlimited passes that can happen while cards remain in the stock: if a full pass turns up nothing that pairs, nothing will ever change. Our game announces the end only when the stock and waste are both empty and no pair is left, so when a pass brings nothing, start a New Game. About two deals in three can be won with perfect play; the figures and a lost deal are on the main page.

Our game scores 20 points for each pair, whether both cards come from the pyramid or one comes from the waste, and 10 for each King, from either place. Nothing is taken off, and there is no bonus for speed or for clearing the pyramid. The move counter counts every action, draws and turns of the waste included. There is no undo.

Rules That Change From Version to Version

Pyramid has no governing body, and books and apps disagree on six points. The classic column describes the game as most card books print it.

Pyramid Variants

Each variant changes one or two of the rules above. We do not host them; the closest games on the site are Tri-Peaks, which also clears a pyramid-shaped layout, and Golf Solitaire.

Par Pyramid

The waste is turned over and dealt twice more, three passes in all. Clearing the pyramid scores 50 on the first pass, 35 on the second, and 20 on the third, less 1 for each card left in the waste. Albert Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith added it in 1949.

Relaxed Pyramid

Clearing the 28 pyramid cards wins, even with cards left in the stock or the waste. This is the goal in our game and in many apps.

Tut's Tomb and King Tut

The stock is turned three cards at a time. Tut's Tomb came with Microsoft's Entertainment Pack 2, and it lets a card pair with the one card covering it.

Apophis

Three waste piles instead of one, so more stock cards stay within reach.

Pyramid with a reserve

Six or seven cards are dealt face up below the pyramid as a reserve that can pair with free cards.

Giza

Designed by solitaire researcher Michael Keller: the 24 stock cards are dealt face up in eight columns of three, so every card is known from the start.

Quick Reference