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Pyramid Solitaire is a card-matching game played with a single standard 52-card deck. Unlike traditional solitaire games that rely on sequencing cards by rank and suit, Pyramid challenges you to find and remove pairs of cards whose values add up to 13. Twenty-eight cards are dealt into a pyramid-shaped tableau of seven rows, and the goal is to clear every card from the pyramid by pairing them off.
The game begins by dealing 28 cards face-up in a triangular arrangement:
Each card in rows 1 through 6 is partially covered by two cards in the row below it. A card is considered exposed only when both cards covering it have been removed. The remaining 24 cards are placed face-down to form the stock pile.
The core mechanic of Pyramid Solitaire is removing pairs of cards whose rank values total exactly 13. Each card has a fixed numerical value:
The valid pairing combinations are:
Suit does not matter in Pyramid Solitaire. A Heart 8 pairs equally well with a Spade 5, a Diamond 5, or a Club 5. Only the numerical values need to total 13.
Only fully exposed cards in the pyramid can be selected for pairing. A card is exposed when neither of the two cards that overlap it from the row below are still present. At the start of the game, only the seven cards in the bottom row are exposed. As you remove pairs from the base, cards in the sixth row become exposed, then the fifth row, and so on up to the apex. Planning which pairs to remove first is essential — removing the wrong pair early can block access to critical cards deeper in the pyramid.
The 24 cards not dealt into the pyramid form the stock pile. Here is how the stock and waste piles work:
You win Pyramid Solitaire by removing all 28 cards from the pyramid. Cards left in the stock and waste piles do not need to be cleared, because the pyramid is the only area that must be emptied. Not every deal is winnable, and no published figure measures the rules used here. The often-quoted “1 in 50” comes from Morehead and Mott-Smith, who called it guesswork and who were describing the harder job of discarding all 52 cards in a single pass. Michael Keller's solver, given perfect information, one pass and waste-to-stock pairing, cleared the pyramid in about 8 percent of a million deals. Our game differs on both counts, with unlimited passes and no waste-to-stock pairing, so that figure does not transfer. We have not measured our own rate.
Our game scores 20 points for every pair removed and 10 for every King discarded alone, whether that King comes from the pyramid or the top of the waste. There is no time bonus, no penalty for cards left behind and no extra bonus for clearing the pyramid. One consequence is worth knowing: a pyramid card paired with the waste top scores the same 20 as a pair of pyramid cards, so waste pairs pay double per pyramid card cleared.
Other implementations score it differently. Common alternatives include:
| Rule | Details |
|---|---|
| Deck | Standard 52 cards |
| Pyramid cards | 28 cards in 7 rows |
| Stock pile | 24 cards (remaining after pyramid deal) |
| Pair target | Two cards summing to 13 |
| Kings | Removed alone (value 13) |
| Card access | Only fully exposed pyramid cards |
| Stock redeals | Unlimited here; many rule sets allow only one |
| Waste pairing | Waste top with an exposed pyramid card only, never with another waste card |
| Scoring | 20 per pair, 10 per King discarded alone |
| Win condition | Clear all 28 pyramid cards |
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