Pyramid – how to play
Pyramid is a quick solitaire of adding up. 28 cards lie face up in a pyramid, and you take them away in pairs that make 13. Clear the whole pyramid to win.
How to play, step by step
Step 1
The cards on the table
You play with one deck of 52 cards. 28 of them lie face up in a pyramid of 7 rows. The rest are the stock, top left: its top card lies face up. Next to it are the cards you turn from the stock, and top right is the pile of cards you have removed.
Stock
Turned cards
Removed cards
Pyramid: 28 cards
- 1 Stock
- 2 Turned cards
- 3 Removed cards
- 4 Pyramid: 28 cards
Step 2
Which cards you can take
Each card is half covered by the two cards below it. You can take a card only when both cards below it are gone. All the cards of the bottom row are free from the start.
Free
Covered
- 1 Free
- 2 Covered
Step 3
Remove pairs that make 13
Take away two free cards whose values add up to 13. An Ace counts 1, a Jack 11 and a Queen 12, the other cards their number. Drag one card onto the other, or click one and then the other. For example 5 and 8 make a pair, 5 and 9 do not.
5 + 8 = 13
5 + 9 = 14
- 1 5 + 8 = 13
- 2 5 + 9 = 14
Step 4
A King goes alone
A King counts 13 by itself, so it needs no partner. Click a free King and it goes to the removed cards.
King alone
- 1 King alone
Step 5
Use the stock
Click the stock to put its top card on the turned cards. The top card of the stock and the top turned card are in play too: pair them with a free card of the pyramid or with each other. To pair the stock's top card by clicking, click the other card first and then the stock. Or drag one card onto the other.
Click the stock
6 + 7 = 13
- 1 Click the stock
- 2 6 + 7 = 13
Step 6
Three times through the stock
When the stock is empty, click its place: the turned cards go back and you go through them again. You can do this twice, so you have three passes in all. The counter under the stock shows which pass it is.
Click to start again
Pass 1 of 3
- 1 Click to start again
- 2 Pass 1 of 3
Step 7
Win the game
You win when the whole pyramid is cleared. Cards left in the stock do not matter. No pairs left and no passes? Undo a few moves and try other pairs.
How to clear more pyramids
- Look before you pair: a card often has several partners, and the right one frees the cards you need.
- Free the high rows: the top of the pyramid is the hardest part, so work towards it from the start.
- Keep a partner in the stock in mind: you see its top card, so you can plan the next pair.
Scoring
| Move | Points |
|---|---|
| Pair of cards that make 13 | +10 |
| King on its own | +5 |
| Card from the stock to the turned cards, a new pass | 0 |
With timed scoring (the default) you lose 2 points for every 10 seconds of play, and a quick win earns a time bonus. You can switch to standard scoring in the Options.
Tips
- Before you pair two bottom cards, check which cards each one frees.
- Do not hurry to turn the stock: a card you skip comes back only in the next pass.
- Kings go at once with one click: they never block a pair.
- Stuck? Undo a few moves and try another pair, or play the same deal again with Retry game.