Pocket Games
Pyramid solitaire
Twenty-eight cards in a pyramid and one rule: remove them in pairs that add up to 13, and kings go on their own. Five minutes a game. All the difficulty is in the order you free cards, because every card covers two others.
The rules
Twenty-eight cards laid out as a pyramid, in seven rows. Every card is covered by the two below it: you can only use a free card, meaning one with nothing resting on top of it. The remaining cards form a stock you draw from, one at a time.
You remove cards in pairs adding up to 13, where an ace is 1, a jack 11, a queen 12 and a king 13:
- Ace + Queen
- 2 + Jack
- 3 + 10
- 4 + 9
- 5 + 8
- 6 + 7
- A king goes on its own, because it is already worth 13.
You can pair a pyramid card with another pyramid card, or with either of the two cards turned last from the stock. You win by clearing the whole pyramid.
On Pocket Games
Every game shuffles a 52-card deck: 28 cards go into the pyramid and the other 24 make up the stock. Deals are not picked from solvable ones, so some games cannot be won.
- You turn the stock one card at a time by tapping it. Of the turned cards, the last two stay visible and both can be used.
- Tap a free card to select it, then its partner: if they add up to 13, both disappear. A king disappears with a single tap.
- When the stock runs out, tapping the empty space puts the turned cards back into the stock. You can do this twice, so three passes in all: the Passes counter at the top shows how many are left, including the current one.
- When no move is left, the game ends the round by itself.
- There is no undo and there are no hints.
- The game in progress is saved after every move and can be resumed from the start screen.
The counter at the top counts moves like this, and your record is the lowest number you have won with:
| Action | Moves |
|---|---|
| A pair adding up to 13 | 1 |
| A king removed | 1 |
| A card turned from the stock | 1 |
| Turned cards put back into the stock | 1 |
How to play it well
Remove kings the moment you see them. There is no downside: they leave on their own and free whatever is underneath. Nothing else in the game costs you nothing.
Before removing a pair, check where its twins are. Every rank has four cards. If you can remove an 8 with a 5, but the pyramid has another 5 buried deep that will need an 8, and the other 8s are already gone, you have just condemned that card. This is the reasoning that separates a won game from a lost one, and that is all there is to it.
Counting pays. You do not need a champion’s memory: it is enough to notice when a rank is running out. If three 9s out of four have gone and two 4s remain in the pyramid, one of them is never coming out.
Dig where the pyramid is deepest. Cards in the bottom rows are available straight away but they also block the least; the real goal is freeing the upper rows, so favour moves that remove cards vertically rather than sideways.
Do not draw out of habit. Every draw brings the end of the pass closer. Before touching the stock, check for pairs between two free pyramid cards: those are always free.
When the game is lost
Pyramid has a low win rate: many layouts are not solvable even with perfect play, typically because two cards of the same rank cover each other inside the pyramid. If you see a 6 sitting directly above the 7 it would need, and the other 7s are already out, that game is decided.
That is not a flaw: it is why a game lasts five minutes and you can start another one straight away.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a stock card with another stock card?
Yes: the last two turned cards are both face up, and if together they make 13 they clear each other. It is a move worth watching for on the last pass, once the pyramid is nearly empty.
How many times can I go through the stock?
Three passes in total. When the stock is empty, a circular arrow appears in its place: tap it and the turned cards go back into the stock in the same order as before. After the third pass, only pairs among the free cards are left.
Can I undo a move?
No: this version has no undo button, and no hints either. A pair you remove stays removed, so it pays to check where the twins are before you tap.
How do I know the game is lost?
The game tells you: as soon as the stock and the passes are used up and there are no pairs making 13 and no kings among the free cards, the round ends by itself. As long as a move is possible, though, you play on, even if the pyramid can no longer be cleared.
Does my record survive if I change phone?
Yes, with a Google account: your move record is stored on the account, and on the other device the lower of the two counts. It is the only thing saved: games won and lost are not counted.
More games to try
See the full list of games, or open Pocket Games in your browser: they are free and you don’t need an account.