A step by step guide to playing Pyramid Solitaire

Pyramid solitaire is a fun game that I also find a little bit challenging. Here's an easy guide to help you learn how to play pyramid solitaire.

10:11 09 June 2020

Play it by hand or on the computer at Solitaire Bliss.

 

Setting Up:

 

To play this game, you are going to need a standard 52 card deck. The computer will shuffle the cards thoroughly create a seven-row pyramid using 28 cards in total, all cards facing up. The top of the pyramid is one card. The next row down has two cards, which overlap the first row. Continue doing this by increasing the number of cards in each row by one and be sure that you overlap each row. When you have finished creating the pyramid, set down the remaining cards in a pile, face down to deal from in the game.

 

The object of the game:

 

The object of the game is to remove all the cards from the pyramid. You do so by pairing cards that add up to 13. Each card has a value to it. Numbers 2-10 are of face value. Normally, aces are high in card games, but in Pyramid solitaire, the ace is valued at 1. The jack, queen and king are valued at 11, 12, and 13 respectively.

 

How to play:

 

Start playing by simply taking two cards from the first row that equal to thirteen. For example, the numbers 5 and 8 equal 13, so pair them together and take them off of the pyramid. These pairs form a discard pile. Kings can be moved directly to the discard pile if it’s in an open row or from the deck, as kings don’t need a pair to equal 13.

 

Continue pairing any two cards that value thirteen and place them in the discard pile. If there are no pairs available, flip a card over from the deck to help you form pairs from the pyramid. By removing pairs, you are then able to get to the remaining rows, therefore having open cards available to play. You can use an open card from any rows to make a pair. If there are no more pairs to make, take the flipped card from the deck and make a new pile, the waste pile. Keep flipping cards from the deck and removing it to the waste pile or make pairs. When all the cards from the deck are finished, turn over the waste pile and start again.

 

Here are some rules to the game:

 

• The top card of the deck can be used with the top card of the waste pile to make a pair.
  
  
• The top card from the waste pile and a card from the pyramid can be removed if they equal thirteen.
  
  
• An open move can be skipped if you desire since one of the cards might be of better use later on.
  
  

How to win:

You win the game by removing all the cards from the pyramid. If you get stuck and have no more moves to make, you lose the game.

So, if you are looking for something fun to pass the time, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, pyramid solitaire is an excellent game to do just that.

 

Author Bio: Rachael is a content writer at Pearl Lemon who has written on a diversity of topics, from colored diamonds to SEO software. In her spare time, she enjoys singing, sketching, cooking, and video games.