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Pyramid Solitaire: pairs that make thirteen

By Gleb Tkatchouk · last updated 2026-09-18

Pyramid is the solitaire of arithmetic rather than sequence. Twenty-eight cards lie face up in a triangle of seven rows; you remove them in pairs that add up to thirteen. It is quick, it is unusually easy to learn, and it is far harder to win than it looks — most deals are lost in the top three rows, decided by cards you cannot reach yet.

Pyramid with four, two or one pass of the deck — every deal proven winnable. Free on the App Store.

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Rules of Pyramid Solitaire

The layout. Twenty-eight cards are dealt face up in seven rows — one card in the first row, seven in the last — each row overlapping the one above. The remaining twenty-four cards form the stock.

Availability. A card is available while no card of the row below covers it. At the start only the seven cards of the bottom row can be played.

Pairs. Take any two available cards whose ranks add up to thirteen: an ace counts one, a jack eleven, a queen twelve, number cards their face value. A king is thirteen on its own and leaves alone. The top card of the waste may be one half of a pair.

The stock. Out of moves, turn a card from the stock onto the waste. When the stock is empty it may be turned over for another pass — how many passes depends on the level.

Winning. Clear the pyramid. Cards left in the stock and waste do not matter.

The three levels

Pyramid in Decks differs by how many times the stock may be dealt:

• Easier — four passes of the deck.
• Classic — two passes.
• Hard — one pass: what you do not use the first time, you do not get again.

Everything else — the pyramid, the pairs, the king — stays the same.

Are Pyramid deals winnable?

Every Pyramid deal in Decks comes from a pool of deals that a look-ahead bot has actually won, with the win replayed by the engine to confirm it. In the last measurement the bot proved 26% of Easier deals, 20% of Classic and 8% of Hard — floors, not the true share, since the bot plans only a few moves ahead. Only the proven deals are dealt. Numbers for the other games are on Is every solitaire deal winnable?.

Strategy

1. Read the top of the pyramid first. The single card at the apex and the two below it decide the game: if their partners are buried under them, the deal is lost before it starts. In Decks it is not — the deal is proven — but knowing where the partners are tells you the order of work.
2. Kings first, always. A king costs nothing to remove and frees a card beneath. There is never a reason to wait.
3. Prefer pyramid-to-pyramid pairs. Pairing a pyramid card with the waste removes one card from the triangle; pairing two pyramid cards removes two.
4. Count partners. Each rank has four partners that make thirteen. If three of the four sixes are already gone, the last seven is in trouble — take it while a six is available.
5. Use the stock sparingly on the first pass. With two or more passes, a card you skip comes round again; with one pass it does not. On Hard, every turn of the stock is a decision.
6. Uncover before you clear. A move that exposes a new pyramid card is worth more than a move that only tidies the waste.

Pyramid in Decks

Three levels, a rules page one tap away, undo without penalty, and a history of every round with its deal code. No ads, no account, works offline.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play Pyramid Solitaire? Remove pairs of uncovered cards that add up to thirteen; kings leave alone. Turn the stock when stuck. Clear the pyramid to win.

What do the cards count? Ace 1, two to ten face value, jack 11, queen 12, king 13.

Can you use the waste pile? Yes — the top card of the waste can be one half of a pair.

How many times can you go through the deck? Depends on the level: four times on Easier, twice on Classic, once on Hard.

Is every Pyramid game winnable? No — many deals are impossible from the start, which is why Decks only deals from a pool the bot has proven.

Pyramid with four, two or one pass of the deck — every deal proven winnable. Free on the App Store.

Scan with your phone to install