Guide
How to Play Pyramid Solitaire
Pyramid Solitaire is a game of pattern-spotting. Clear pairs that add up to 13, send a King home alone, and turn the stock when the pyramid runs dry.
Play Pyramid SolitaireThe objective
Clear all 28 cards from the pyramid
Pyramid Solitaire is played with one standard 52-card deck. Twenty-eight cards deal face up into a seven-row pyramid; the rest form a face-down stock. You win the moment the last pyramid card is removed — whatever is left in the stock or waste does not matter.
Between the deal and the win, the work is spotting which playable cards pair to 13 and, just as often, choosing which pairing to take first so you keep uncovering new rows. There is no timer forcing your hand; the challenge is reading the board.
The game is free, runs in the browser, and needs no account. Open the board when you want to play; use this guide for the rules and the habits that clear more pyramids.
The deal
A seven-row pyramid, dealt face up
The first row gets one card at the apex, the second gets two, and so on to seven cards along the base — 28 cards in all, every one dealt face up so the whole board is visible from the start. The remaining 24 cards form the face-down stock, with the waste pile beside it.
Every deal here is a fresh shuffle. Some are comfortably clearable and some are not, and you cannot always tell which is which — that uncertainty is part of the game.
Controls
Tap, click, or use the keyboard
Every method clears the same cards. Pick whichever fits the device in your hand.
Everywhere
Tap or click to pair
Tap a playable card to select it, then tap a second playable card that adds up to 13 to clear both. Tap the same card again to let it go, or tap a different card to switch your pick — nothing is committed until a pair actually matches.
Everywhere
One tap on a King
Kings do not need a partner. Tap a playable King once and it clears immediately, worth 13 on its own.
Desktop
Keyboard
Space turns the stock, U undoes, H asks for a hint, N deals a new game, and M mutes the sound. Every on-screen control also has a visible focus ring for keyboard navigation.
The loop
Four moves you repeat all game
Reading the board, then choosing between these four is the whole game.
- 1
Read the pyramid
Twenty-eight cards deal face up into seven rows — one at the top, seven along the base — so the whole board is visible from the start. The other 24 cards form the face-down stock. A card is playable once the two cards resting on it are both gone; the base row is playable immediately.
- 2
Clear pairs that add to 13
Tap any two playable cards whose ranks add up to 13 — Ace counts as 1, number cards count as their face value, Jack is 11, Queen is 12 — and both are removed. A 9 and a 4, a Jack and a 2, a Queen and an Ace all work.
- 3
Send a King home alone
A King is already worth 13, so it clears by itself with a single tap the moment it is playable — no partner required.
- 4
Turn the stock for options
Tap the stock to turn one card face up to the waste; only the top waste card is in play, and it can pair with any playable pyramid card. When the stock runs out, tap it again to turn the waste back over and go again — redeals are unlimited here.
Rules & scoring
Every rule that decides a move
The objective
Clear all 28 cards from the pyramid. What is left in the stock or waste when you do does not matter — the moment the last pyramid card is removed, you win.
What counts as playable
A pyramid card is playable once the two cards directly beneath it are both gone (the seven-card base row is playable from the very first deal). The current top card of the waste is also always playable. Anything else is locked until it is uncovered.
Pairing to 13
Select any two playable cards whose ranks sum to 13: Ace = 1, 2 through 10 = face value, Jack = 11, Queen = 12. A King is already 13, so it clears alone with a single tap instead of pairing.
The stock and waste
Turning the stock moves one card at a time to the waste; only the top waste card is playable. When the stock is empty, turning it again recycles the waste into a new stock and starts another pass — unlimited passes are allowed in this version.
Scoring
Each matched pair scores 10 points, a lone King scores 15, and clearing the whole pyramid adds a 50-point finishing bonus. Moves and time are tracked separately so you can chase a fast clear or a low-move clear.
Winning and getting stuck
Not every deal can be cleared. Once the stock is empty and no playable card can pair or clear, the deal is stuck — deal a new game. Undo is unlimited, so a dead end is only final once you choose to move on.
Key mechanics
Kings and redeals
Two rules do most of the work in Pyramid Solitaire: how a King clears, and how far a stock pass will take you.
- 01 · Worth 13 on their own
Kings
A King already equals the target of 13, so it is the one card that clears without a partner. Kings buried deep in the pyramid are often the move that unlocks a whole branch of the board underneath them, so take a King the moment it is playable.
- 02 · Unlimited passes through the stock
Redeals
When the stock empties, tapping it again turns the waste back into a fresh stock and you draw through it once more. This build keeps redeals unlimited, so a deal ends only when no legal move remains with the stock exhausted — not because you ran out of passes.
Common mistakes
Why clearable pyramids get stuck
Leaving a playable King on the board
A King never needs a partner and never gets harder to clear later. Skipping it to chase a pair elsewhere just delays uncovering whatever is trapped beneath it.
Clearing the base row on autopilot
The seven base cards are playable immediately, which makes them tempting, but pairing them off first can remove a card the upper rows still need. Look up the pyramid before committing a base-row match.
Turning the stock without a plan
Each stock turn only reveals one new card on the waste. Turning repeatedly without tracking what you are hoping to find burns through a pass for no real information.
Giving up before the stock is empty
A board with no obvious pair right now can still open up after a few stock turns reveal the right waste card. The deal is only truly stuck once the stock is empty and nothing pairs.
Strategy habits
Tips to clear more pyramids
A summary — the full tips page walks through each in depth.
- Clear a King the instant it becomes playable — leaving it in place blocks whatever sits above it for no benefit.
- Before turning the stock, scan the whole exposed edge of the pyramid for every legal pair, not just the first one you spot.
- Favour moves that uncover a new row over moves that only clear cards already sitting at the base.
- Track which ranks are getting scarce — if both remaining 9s are gone, every exposed 4 is dead weight until a new one turns up.
- The waste-top card is a free wildcard against the whole exposed pyramid edge — hold the stock turn until you know what you need from it.
- Use undo to test a pairing choice when two different matches are both available; taking the wrong one first can wall off the other.
- If a redeal has cycled through the whole stock without freeing a single card, the deal is genuinely stuck — start a new one rather than cycling again.
Where you can play
Same game on phone and desktop
pyramidsolitaire.app runs in any modern browser with no app to install. Progress stays on the device you played on.
Desktop browsers
Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari all run the game with no plugin. Click a card to select it and click a second to pair, or use the keyboard shortcuts for the stock, undo, hint, and new game.
Phones and tablets
The layout is touch-first. Tap a playable card, then tap its partner — no dragging required. The full pyramid, stock, and waste stay on one screen in portrait, and restart is instant.
Progress on this device
Best score, best time, best move count, games played, and win streak live in local browser storage. They stay until you reset them or clear site data, and they do not sync between devices.
Still stuck on a rule? Read the Pyramid Solitaire FAQ or jump in and play.
Play Pyramid Solitaire free