Pyramid Solitaire is a single-player card game where you remove cards by making pairs that add up to 13. Kings are worth 13 on their own, so they can be removed without a partner.
Your goal is to clear all 28 cards from the pyramid. Cards may still remain in the stock or waste when you win.
Need more detail? The How to Play Pyramid Solitaire guide covers the full rules. Also see Pyramid Solitaire Pairs: What Cards Add Up to 13? and Pyramid Solitaire Strategy: How to Win More Games.
Clear every card from the pyramid by removing exposed pairs that total 13.
The possible pairs are Ace–Queen, 2–Jack, 3–10, 4–9, 5–8 and 6–7. Kings are removed by themselves.
Suits do not matter. Only card values count.
Pyramid Solitaire uses one 52-card deck.
Twenty-eight cards are dealt face-up into seven overlapping rows, with one card at the top and seven across the bottom. The remaining 24 cards form the stock.
A pyramid card can only be used when it is fully exposed. For most cards, that means both cards covering it from the row below must already have been removed. The seven cards in the bottom row begin exposed.
The other available card is the top card of the waste pile. Cards still face-down in the stock cannot be selected, and cards buried underneath the top waste card are unavailable.
Start by looking for exposed Kings and pairs in the pyramid that add up to 13.
Select one available card, then its matching partner. You can pair two exposed pyramid cards, or one pyramid card with the top waste card. You cannot pair two waste cards together.
If no useful pair is available, draw from the stock. The drawn card becomes the new top waste card. Drawing does not remove anything automatically—you still select Kings and pairs yourself.
Continue until the pyramid is clear.
Stock limits depend on the mode:
Easy: unlimited stock redeals, except a full pass with no removals that still has no legal move when the stock empties ends the game. Medium: three complete stock traversals. Hard: one stock traversal with no redeals.
The matching rules, layout and win condition stay the same in every mode.
Try to make removals that expose cards higher in the pyramid. When several pairs are available, the best move is often the one that opens more of the board rather than simply the first pair you notice.
Check the pyramid and current waste card before drawing again. Each new stock card covers the previous waste card, so drawing too quickly can bury a card you could have used.
In Medium and especially Hard mode, stock management matters more because your opportunities to see those cards again are limited.
Kings are easy to remove, but position still matters. Clearing a King from the pyramid can be more useful than clearing one from the waste if it helps expose another card.
For more detailed rules, examples and strategy, read the full How to Play Pyramid Solitaire guide.
Pyramid Solitaire is easy to understand, but choosing the first available pair is rarely the best strategy. Learn how to expose useful cards, manage the stock, protect scarce matches, and give yourself a better chance of clearing the pyramid.
Pyramid Solitaire looks simple: find pairs that add up to 13 and clear the pyramid. In practice, blocked cards, limited matching partners and the order of the stock can make a deal difficult—or sometimes impossible—before you realise it.
Pyramid Solitaire is built around one simple rule: remove cards that add up to 13. Learn every valid pair, how Kings work, why suits do not matter, and how to make better pairing decisions once several matches are available.
