Pyramid Solitaire Strategy Guide
Pyramid is a game of pairs. You clear 28 cards laid out in a pyramid by removing two at a time that add up to 13, and a King goes alone. It plays quickly, but it is less forgiving than it looks, because every card you use is a card you may need later. This guide is about counting, planning and knowing when a deal is already lost.
Opening principles
Ace is 1, number cards are their number, Jack 11, Queen 12 and King 13. The pairs are Ace and Queen, 2 and Jack, 3 and 10, 4 and 9, 5 and 8, and 6 and 7. Every rank from Ace to Queen has exactly one partner rank, which makes the game a counting puzzle.
- Know where the partners are. Before you remove a 5, find the 8s. If all four are buried deep, the 5 may be better left alone.
- Go for the middle first. A card is free only when both cards that touch it from the row below are gone. Pairs that uncover several cards at once are worth more than pairs at the edge.
- Take Kings when they help. A free King can leave on its own, so use it when it opens up a lower card.
- Check the waste before the stock. The top waste card can pair with a pyramid card, so do not turn the next stock card until you have looked at what you already have.
Counting partners
This is the heart of the game. There are four cards of each rank, and each rank has one partner rank. Say you want a 7 to pair with a free 6. If three of the four 7s are already gone, the last one is the only link, and you should not use the 6 with anything else.
- Keep a simple tally. For each rank, note how many remain and whether they are free, covered or in the stock.
- Prefer the pair that wastes nothing. If two cards could pair with the same free card, use the one you will need less.
- Pair pyramid cards with each other when you can. The waste card is a reserve; free pyramid cards are not guaranteed to stay free.
Using the stock
On this site the stock can be gone through three times in total: the stock itself plus two turn-overs of the waste. That is plenty of looks at the same 24 cards, so you can plan around them.
- Remember the order. After the first pass you know the whole waste. Use that to decide which pyramid cards to leave in place for a later card.
- Use every pass. Do not give up before the third pass: a card that did not fit the first time may fit perfectly once the pyramid has changed.
- Turn a card only when nothing else fits. And think about what you will want the new waste card for.
Common mistakes
- Removing a pair without checking the other partners. The most common cause of a stuck game is using up the last available partner of a rank too early.
- Clearing the edges first. It feels productive, but the apex opens only once the rows beneath it are gone, so the middle matters more.
- Forgetting that Kings are free. A free King can go any time. Leaving one in place can keep a lower card covered for no reason.
- Playing from memory. The state changes every move. Look at the whole pyramid on each turn, not just the part you were working on.
- Playing on after the deal is lost. If every partner of a card you need is gone, the game cannot be won. Spot it early and start again.
Advanced techniques
- Work backwards from the apex. The top card goes last, and its partner must still be reachable. Plan the ending first.
- Look for doubles. If two free cards are both partners of the same waste card, you can often take one now and keep the other for a later pass.
- Count free cards per row. Removing a card that is the last cover of two cards at once gives you two new options for the price of one.
- Use the Solver after a loss. It tells you whether the position could still have been won, which is the quickest way to see where a game turned.
How winnable are the deals?
Many random Pyramid deals have no winning line. We have not measured a percentage for Pyramid, and we will not quote one that we cannot support. Solitaire Play does not pre-screen Pyramid deals, so a lost game may be down to the deal. The Solver in the menu can tell you whether the current position can still be won, and Hint shows the next move of a winning line when the solver finds one.
So judge yourself by whether you used the information on the table, not only by whether you won. A deal that was lost from the start is not a failure.
Practice and play
Play a few deals with the sole aim of keeping a partner tally, and watch how much more often you spot a dead end. The habit matters more than any single trick. It also helps to say the pair out loud before each move: five and eight, six and seven. That tiny pause is often enough to catch a pair that would have used up a partner you needed.