Clear all 28 pyramid cards by matching exposed pairs that total 13 before three stock trips run out.
Last updated July 22, 2026
Pyramid Solitaire is a one-deck card game with a simple target and a surprisingly thoughtful path. Twenty-eight cards form a seven-row pyramid, while the other twenty-four begin in the stock. Clear the pyramid by removing exposed pairs whose ranks add up to 13. A King already equals 13, so an uncovered King leaves on its own. The puzzle is won when every card in the pyramid has been removed; cards left in the stock or waste do not need to be cleared.
Only available cards may be used. A pyramid card becomes exposed when no card overlaps it from the row below. At the beginning, that means the seven cards along the bottom edge are available. Removing those cards gradually uncovers the row above. The top waste card is also available after you draw from the stock, so it can pair with an exposed pyramid card. Two exposed pyramid cards may pair with each other, but covered cards cannot be selected even when their values would make 13.
This version uses draw-one stock play and allows three trips through the stock in total. Each draw moves one card to the waste, where only the top card can be played. After the first and second trips, the waste can be returned for another pass; after the third, there is no further redeal. That limit makes timing important. A useful waste card may appear again, but spending a full trip without opening the pyramid reduces the choices available later.
Every deal offered by this game is constructed to be solvable under those exact rules: exposed pairs total 13, Kings remove alone, only the top waste card is available, cards are drawn one at a time, and no more than three stock trips are allowed. That guarantee applies to this game's generated deals, not to every possible random Pyramid shuffle. A deal number recreates the same layout, making it easy to replay a puzzle, compare paths, or share a fair challenge without sharing personal progress.
The board begins ready to play with one 52-card deck. Follow these steps to understand exposure, pair values, stock trips, and the exact condition for winning.
Fast, confident play begins with the complement pairs: Ace-Queen, 2-Jack, 3-10, 4-9, 5-8, and 6-7. Kings leave alone. Once those relationships are automatic, your attention can stay on which move opens the pyramid rather than on doing arithmetic for every selection.
Suits are irrelevant, so avoid importing habits from Klondike or FreeCell. A red 6 can pair with a red 7, and a spade can pair with another spade. Rank and exposure are the only requirements. This makes the board easy to read after a little practice, but it also means two apparently equivalent partners may lead to very different positions.
A pyramid-to-pyramid pair usually creates more progress than matching a pyramid card with the waste because it removes two blockers at once. It may uncover one or even two new cards and reduce the number of future stock matches the layout needs. When both choices are safe, the double-tableau removal is normally stronger.
That is a preference, not an absolute command. Sometimes a waste card has only one useful moment, or one of the two pyramid cards must remain for a harder blocker above. Before taking the visually satisfying double removal, inspect the cards it exposes and the complements that are still visible or expected in the stock.
Every card above the bottom row depends on two cards beneath it. Some lower cards block two different cards at once, which makes them especially valuable targets. Removing a central pair can release more of the board than clearing an isolated card near an outer edge, even when both moves remove the same number of cards.
Trace the overlapping diagonals before choosing between equal ranks. Ask which candidate sits beneath a card you urgently need, and whether its partner also helps uncover another branch. Pyramid Solitaire rewards moves that improve several future choices at the same time rather than simply reducing the visible card count.
If several exposed 8s are waiting but only one visible 5 remains, that 5 is scarce. Using it on the first 8 may strand a more important 8 that blocks the center of the pyramid. Count duplicate ranks on the board and note which complements have already gone to the discard history before committing a flexible partner.
The same idea applies to face cards. A Queen needs an Ace, and a Jack needs a 2; neither can substitute another rank. When a rare complement reaches the waste, choose the pyramid target that opens the most useful structure. A legal match is not automatically the best match when several cards share a value.
An exposed King needs no partner and therefore represents free progress. Removing one from the pyramid often opens a card without consuming another useful rank. A King on top of the waste can also be removed to reveal the card underneath as the new waste top.
Still, pause long enough to see what the King was blocking. If removing a pyramid King exposes two competing moves, plan which branch to pursue before drawing. The action itself is safe, but the new choices can make it easy to overlook a high-value pyramid pair that was not available a moment earlier.
Drawing is easy, but each draw covers the current waste card. Before touching the stock, scan all exposed pyramid cards for internal pairs, Kings, and matches with the waste. Missing one of those actions may force you to wait an entire trip before the covered waste card returns.
A consistent scan order helps: first remove available Kings, then check pyramid-to-pyramid pairs, then compare the waste with every exposed rank. Only draw when none of those options serves the plan. This small routine prevents many avoidable losses and makes the three-trip limit feel generous rather than rushed.
The stock order repeats when you redeal, so the first trip provides information as well as playable cards. Notice where important complements appear and which pyramid cards must become exposed before those moments. You do not need to memorize all twenty-four cards; remembering a few key ranks and their rough order can guide the next pass.
Avoid treating the first trip as disposable. Take useful matches when they advance the pyramid, especially if a card may remain covered on the next trip because of the waste order. The goal is to learn while progressing, then use the second and third trips to execute the sequence that the opened pyramid now supports.
A waste card is available only while it remains on top. If a 4 appears and an exposed 9 can use it, decide before drawing again. Once covered, the 4 normally cannot help until a later trip. Timing matters most when the pyramid partner is currently exposed and the same complement does not appear elsewhere.
Sometimes passing a match is correct because another copy of the partner will become exposed later and the waste card serves a more important blocker. Make that choice deliberately. Compare what the current match opens with what the planned future match opens, and remember how many trips remain before relying on seeing the waste rank again.
Central cards often participate in more overlap relationships, so clearing toward the middle can release several options. The top card also cannot be reached without progress through the inner branches. A board that opens only along the outside may look active while leaving the most connected blockers untouched.
The edges still matter because an outer card has only one card above it and may offer an efficient route into the next row. Strong play alternates between them: use edge removals when they expose immediate pairs, then spend those pairs to loosen the center. Judge each move by the new cards it makes available rather than by location alone.
A trip through the stock is a limited resource. If several draws pass without any pyramid card leaving, stop and inspect whether an earlier waste match or internal pair was missed. Continuing to click through the same blockage uses access without changing the set of exposed cards, which makes the next trip face the same problem.
Undo is valuable at exactly this point. Return to the decision where useful progress stopped, choose the alternate legal pair, and see whether it opens a new rank before resuming the stock. Because the deal is constructed to have a solution under the three-trip rules, a stalled position is a prompt to revise the path rather than proof that the layout was impossible.
Before removing two cards, identify what will become exposed. If the new card is a 10, ask whether an available 3 exists in the pyramid or is approaching in the stock. A move that opens a card with no reachable complement may still be necessary, but a move that opens an immediately playable card creates momentum and more freedom.
This one-step look-ahead is enough for most decisions. You do not need to calculate the entire deal at once. Repeating a short cycle - choose a pair, inspect the newly exposed rank, locate its complement, and preserve that complement - builds a clearing path while keeping the board understandable.
A loss often reveals the exact card or stock moment that mattered. Restarting the same deal keeps the pyramid and stock order fixed, so you can test a different partner without relearning the whole layout. Try to identify the earliest decision that changed which card became available, not merely the final move before the board stopped.
Hints and Undo support that learning loop, while the deal number makes results comparable. Solve once with help, then replay without a hint or with fewer reversals. Constructed-solvable deals make improvement meaningful: the challenge is finding the intended legal path within three trips, not hoping a new shuffle removes an impossible obstacle.
Remove all 28 cards from the pyramid. Pair exposed cards whose values total 13, and remove exposed Kings by themselves. You win as soon as the pyramid is empty, even if cards remain in the stock or waste.
Ace pairs with Queen, 2 with Jack, 3 with 10, 4 with 9, 5 with 8, and 6 with 7. Kings count as 13 and are removed alone. Suits and colors do not matter.
A pyramid card is exposed when no cards overlap it from the row below. Bottom-row cards begin exposed. A covered card becomes available only after both of its blockers have been removed.
Yes. Any two exposed pyramid cards may be removed together when their values total 13. You may also pair one exposed pyramid card with the top waste card.
The stock draws one card at a time onto the waste. Only the top waste card is available. This version permits three trips through the stock in total: the initial trip and two redeals.
No. Only the 28 pyramid cards determine the win. Stock and waste cards are tools for pairing with the pyramid; they may remain when the final pyramid card is removed.
Not every arbitrary shuffle of the physical game is winnable. Every deal generated here is constructed to be solvable using this board's exact draw-one, exposed-card, King, and three-trip rules.
Draw the next stock card if trips remain. If the position still stalls, use Undo to revisit an earlier pair or ask for a Hint. Replaying the same deal preserves its layout and stock order so you can try a better branch.
Yes. Pyramid Solitaire is free to play in the browser with no download or account. The board supports touch, pointer, and keyboard-friendly controls and adapts to phone, tablet, and desktop screens.
Pyramid removes pairs that total 13 instead of building ordered tableau runs. Klondike combines hidden cards and foundations, FreeCell exposes every card with temporary cells, and Spider builds same-suit sequences across two decks.