But ever since I got my first flip phone (back in the dark ages) and Pyramid Solitaire came free with it, it’s been my favorite. 

I was playing it the other day, and my father-in-law watched me before shaking his head and mumbling about how it was too complicated. 

But here’s the truth! It’s a lot less complex than it looks. 

This is why I wanted to go through the Pyramid Solitaire rules in this article and show you why it’s my favorite solitaire game, hands down.

What You’ll Need To Play Pyramid Solitaire

As with many Solitaire games, playing couldn’t be more simple! 

All you’ll need is a simple deck of 52 cards.

If you’re looking for some cool ones, I humbly recommend this pack. They are durable and look great! 

On top of this, you just need the space to spread the cards out. 

Setting Up Pyramid Solitaire

Setting up this game couldn’t be easier, but you do have to know where to begin. 

Let’s start by shuffling the cards. (Take the jokers out, by the way.) 

Place one card face up at the top of your playing space. 

Now place two cards on top of that one. Make it so they only go about halfway on top of the first card both to the side and top-to-bottom. 

Keep in mind the general pyramid shape we’re going for. 

For the next row, place three cards on top of the two in a similar manner. 

Continue in this way until you get to seven rows (the last row has seven cards). 

Take the remaining cards and put them off to the side. 

This pile is the stock pile. The space next to this is going to be the Waste pile. 

It’s for the cards you’re moving through in the stock pile. 

Another spot (usually farther from the stock pile) is for the Foundation. 

This is where the cards go after you match them up. 

It should look something like this: 

Picture is taken from Pyramid Solitaire Online here. 

How To Win Pyramid Solitaire

Winning Pyramid Solitaire is a little bit up to debate. Under most games, you only have to meet the basic or easy winning condition: 

Clear all cards off the pyramid to win! 

This method is pretty simple, though there are some times when it isn’t even possible.

I don’t know the exact number, but I still believe this is possible at least 50% of the time. 

The harder method is the more traditional one: 

Clear all the cards off the pyramid AND in the stock and waste piles. 

This method is a lot more difficult. The numbers I’ve seen for this one put it at between 1-5%. 

This is just for being solvable, not even considering if you play it right. 

If you’re just starting, aim for the first goal. 

If you want a challenge, aim for the next. 

Pyramid Solitaire Rules

Move cards off the pyramid and from the stock and waste pile by matching them up. 

When a pair of cards add up to 13, you can mate them and then move them off to the Foundation. 

Numbered cards are worth their value (threes are worth 3), but face cards are different. Aces are 1, Jacks are 11, Queens are 12, and Kings are 13. 

Kings are freebies and don’t need a pair. 

(Some people play with Jokers as a wild card that can take any other card out of play.) 

Check out our table on matching cards in the next section. 

Only uncovered cards can be played. If a card is under another card at all in the pyramid, then it can’t be played. 

At any time, you may turn over a stock card and put it face up in the waste pile. Then, you may also flip over another stock and keep it face up on the stock pile. 

How To Match Cards

Cards can be matched from any combination of the stock, waste, and pyramid piles. 

Yes, you can and should match stock and waste cards together. BUT you can’t change the order of the cards as they come across. 

If you have an Ace in the waste and a Queen on top of the stock, you can match them up. 

But if you have an Ace on the waste, flip and move over a 10 from the stock, and then a Queen shows up, you can’t move them around to match them. 

When you run out of cards in the stock pile, simply flip the waste pile over and start again. Don’t shuffle at this point. 

The game continues until you either meet one of the above winning conditions OR you run out of possible moves. 

The most common reason for running out of moves is by leaving a card underneath its match in the pyramid, making it impossible to get off. 

Cards And Matches

Points In Pyramid Solitaire

Every app and program counts points differently. If you’re playing in-person with real cards, you probably don’t need to track points. 

One method of points is with the goal of playing down to zero. Count how many cards you have left, and this is what your number of points are. 

The other method is to add points (usually 5) for every card moved to the foundation pile. 

The more points, the better. 

Quick Tips For Pyramid Solitaire

There are some general tips for winning more you may want to follow (I mean, you do want to win, right?). 

• Check out the pyramid. Look for cards whose matches are buried under them. Use your draw pile to clear them off if possible.
• Keep taking cards from the middle AND sides of the pyramid evenly if possible.
• When you have a choice, get rid of the match that opens up the most cards underneath it.
• If you have two cards that match next to each other in your pile, combine them first (unless the match is a buried one).
• You won’t win every time. Keep track of your wins and stay motivated. You’ll get better in time!

Check out our detailed Solitaire Pyramid Strategy list by heading over to this article. 

The post Pyramid Solitaire Rules: How To Play Complete Guide appeared first on Huddle Around Games.

Not every game is winnable, but when they are, you want to make the right choices to get you to win more often. 

This is why I leverage my decades of playing this solitaire game with what other experts out there had to say to come up with these Pyramid Solitaire strategies to help you win more games right now. 

Note: All image examples come from screenshots from the game here. 

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#1 Watch Which Cards Are Buried

The first tip I have right now is the most critical one. 

Look at the Pyramid. Take note of which cards are buried deeper in the pyramid.

Pay particular attention when the match is somewhere on top of the same stack. 

Look at the example here: 

In this example, I noticed that there are several 8s and 5s buried in the pyramid. Even worse, the 8s are on top of that 5! 

Knowing this, I will go out of my way to make matches on those 8s first to make sure I don’t end up with an unsolvable pyramid. 

#2 Put The Stock Pile Cards Together When Next To Each Other

A lot of people advocate for holding off on making stock pile matches for the first go around. I support that, BUT you also need to leave the side-by-side matches alone. 

You may end up near the end of the game without a way to move cards off the stock. Playing those cards next to one another before separating them to make a match in the pyramid is a good strategy. 

This will allow you to play more cards to the Foundation overall and increase your score. 

In the example above, I chose to match these cards in the stock before moving them to the pyramid because I knew I’d have other options. 

Read more about scoring points in Pyramid Solitaire.

#3 Get Those Kings Out Of There Right Away

Kings are freebies, as they’re worth 13 on their own. Why wait to move them? 

Move them out of the way right when you see them, and you’ll be able to get access to more matches. 

This may seem like an obvious tip, but I’ve seen quite a few new players just kind of leave them for later. This makes the game way harder than it needs to be. 

I’ve fallen for this a few times just when I wasn’t paying attention. 

Clear them out so you can see better. 

#4 All Things Being Equal, Remove The Card That Brings More Into Play

There may be times when you have a choice of which cards to match and take off. With all things being equal, remove the card that gives you access to more. 

By equal, I’m talking about ignoring trapped cards or side-by-side stock cards for now. 

If there isn’t any real reason to choose one over the other. Clear out the one that can move more cards. 

For the next level up of this tip, look at the cards trapped underneath the ones you can choose from. Is there another match under that one? 

If so, you can clear it out for now and then have access to another match later on too! 

#5 Open Up The Pyramid Evenly

Along the game lines, you want to keep the pyramid as even as possible. 

If you go down only one side, you’re leaving a ton of cards blocked. This dramatically increases your chances of losing. 

Avoid this by focusing on all cards in a row and clearing them off as they come up. 

An uneven pyramid is a scary one for me. 

#6 Don’t Use Auto-Match (If This Applies)

This tip doesn’t apply to every game mode and not in person, but the idea applies to all. 

Some games have an auto-match where as soon as a pair pops up, it removes the matching cards. 

This isn’t a great idea. 

Sometimes you want to wait (keep these other strategies in mind) to make an intentional match. 

By the same token, when you’re playing even manually, don’t make every mate as soon as you see them. 

Consider all the factors and move with intent. It’ll help you win! 

#7 Play From The “Waste” Pile, Not The Turned-Up Stock

The stock pile is the deck of cards you flip over. As you flip the card, it sits first on top of the stock pile. 

After this, it goes face-up on the waste pile. Another card is turned up on the stock pile before being moved over. 

This is how we get side-by-side cards in the stock area. 

Whatever you call it, resist playing the card as soon as it’s turned up on the stock pile. 

By making it a habit to wait until you move it over and flip another card, you increase your chances of accidentally playing a card when it has a side-by-side match. 

#8 Middle Before Edge

Another general rule principle is that playing off middle cards in the pyramid is better than edge cards. 

This general idea covers two previous tips: 

1. Opening up more cards
2. Keeping the pyramid even

Whatever way you prefer to think about it, middle cards are better choices. 

Warning! This is only if the cards aren’t buried under one another. If they are, the top priority is getting access to buried-matched cards. 

#9 Save Time By Recognizing Unsolvable Games

Not every game of Pyramid Solitaire is winnable. 

If your winning conditions are to remove ALL cards from the pyramid and stock piles, you’re looking at a 5%-ish winning percentage. 

If the goal is to clear the pyramid only, it’s much higher (I think around 75-80%). 

Either way, you need to accept you’ll lose quite a bit. 

Look for and recognize when the buried cards can’t be uncovered. (This happens when there is a lot of one card of a match underneath a single other one.)

By learning to recognize this, you’ll be able to quit the game earlier and start a new one.

Accepting this will help you stay motivated to play more often, and it’ll save you time for playing the games you can actually win! 

If you love Pyramid Solitaire and other solitaire games, you have to check our SolitairEd.

It’s a great collection of free solitaire games, and it’s awesome for discovering new ways to play.

The post Pyramid Solitaire Strategy: 9 Tips For Winning More Often appeared first on Huddle Around Games.

This is exactly why I looked into the question: 

How do you score points in Pyramid Solitaire? 

Points are scored in one of two ways in Pyramid Solitaire: 1) Matching cards and moving them to the Foundation or 2) counting how many cards are left in the Pyramid. In the first, a higher score is better. In the second, a lower score is better. 

Learn how to play Pyramid Solitaire in minutes!

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Two Methods Of Tracking Points

The High Score

The first way (and the one I’ve seen the most) is tracking points by counting up. 

The amount of points you get largely depends on the game you’re using, but one of the most common ways of tracking is by gaining 5 points for every card moved to the Foundation pile. 

So if you move a King, you get 5 points. If you move a match (such as 10-3), then you get 10 points. 

This makes a maximum of 260 (52 x 5 = 260). Of course, if you win the game by clearing the pyramid, you may have some cards left in the stock pile. 

Read more about the different ways to win Pyramid Solitaire. 

The Low Score

The more common way of tracking points is by looking for the low score. This is kind of like the game of golf. 

Once no more moves can be made, you count how many cards are left in the Pyramid and how many are left in the stock pile. 

For every card left, you add a point. The perfect score is zero. 

Read more about what each card is worth in Pyramid Solitaire.

What Is A Good Score In Pyramid Solitaire? 

It depends on who you ask and which method you use. 

If counting up by fives, I consider a good score to be over 200. This means you were able to take 40 cards off the board. 

If counting by the number of cards left, I consider a good score to be under 10. 

To be honest, I think tracking by points isn’t the way to go. 

I consider it a good game if I can get all the cards off the pyramid. It’s a great game if I also remove the cards from the stockpile. 

How To Raise Your Score In Pyramid Solitaire

You raise your score by getting the most cards out of play. 

There are a few quick strategies I recommend from my decades of playing this game: 

• Look at the pyramid and notice matched numbers that are buried under one another. Use the pile to clear these cards above all else. 
• Try to keep the pyramid even in coming off. You’ll have more options this way. 
• If you have a couple of options, pick the card that opens up the most options. 
• When you have two cards next to one another in the pile, take them first (unless their matches are buried or stacked). 
• Don’t give up! Track your points by the number of cards off (five per card) and see if you get to 200. This is a sign that it was a good game!

Check out our detailed Pyramid Strategy guide.

Do You Draw One Or Three Cards In This Version Of Solitaire?

Unlike most other Solitaire games, Pyramid only flips over one card at a time. 

You flip one card over next to the stock pile. Then, you can flip over one more card before putting it on top. 

This means you can match the cards next to one another in the stockpile to move them off to the Foundation. 

For example, if you turn an Ace then a Queen, you can match them and move them off. 

But they have to be consecutive. 

If you turn an Ace, then 5, and then a Queen, you can’t match them. 

Once you run out of cards, flip the stock pile over and start again. 

You can’t shuffle them! 

If you want to make the game WAY harder and almost impossible, do the three-card turn thing and only play the cards in order. 

This will lower your win-loss ratio by quite a bit, but if you like challenges, go for it! 

The post How Do You Score Points In Pyramid Solitaire? appeared first on Huddle Around Games.

The only really tricky thing in learning how to play it is making sure you know what the pip value of each card is. 

That’s just a fancy way of saying: how much is each card worth in Pyramid Solitaire? 

The numbered cards are worth their face value (two = 2). The face cards are different. Jack is 11, Queen is 12, and King is 13. The Ace is only worth 1. Kings don’t have to have a match in order to be taken off the field. 

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How Much Is The ACE Worth In Solitaire Pyramid?

In Solitaire Pyramid, the Ace is worth 1. In order to get off the field, it needs to match with the Queen, which is worth 12 points. Adding them up together gets to the magic 13 needed to take the cards off the board. 

How Much Are The Face Cards Worth In Pyramid Solitaire?

Face cards are worth different amounts you’ll have to remember on your own in Pyramid Solitaire. The Jack is worth 11 and needs to pair with the 2. The Queen is worth 12 and needs to pair with the Ace. The Kings are worth 13 on their own. It doesn’t need to pair with anything! 

Card Matches In Pyramid Solitaire

In this game, it’s all about adding up values to 13. When they do, you can pair them (or single them, in the King’s case) and move them off the field. 

As such, you’ll need to learn to recognize the matches quickly and clearly. 

Use this chart to help you figure out if you struggle with adding them up.

Is Pyramid Solitaire Always Winnable?

No, there are times there is no path to victory. 

The exact odds of having a solvable game is unknown, and it depends on the mode you’re playing with. 

What are the winning conditions? Either: 

• Clearing out the Pyramid cards
• Clearing out the Pyramid card AND the cards in your deck

Obviously, the second one is much harder. 

The other night I played Pyramid Solitaire while waiting for my kids to do their gymnastics class. (Yes, I’m a nerd, and yes, I always have a deck of cards on me.) 

I played five games. In those five games, I was stuck once as not being able to clear out the Pyramid. This one I know wasn’t possible (too many matched stuck underneath their pairs). 

The other four I “won” by clearing out the Pyramid. But there were four cards left in the deck three times and eight cards left in the deck once. 

According to the hard rules, I didn’t win. According to the easy one, I did. 

Either way, it’s not always winnable, but both ways of winning are possible. 

Read more about the possibilities of winning Pyramid Solitaire.

How Does The Pyramid Game Work?

Here’s how to play the game in a nutshell. 

All you’ll need is a single deck of cards and a place to lay your cards out. 

Shuffle the cards. Lay cards one at a time face-up in a pyramid shape starting with the top of the pyramid. 

The first row has one card. The next has two, half overlapped on the first. 

Continue making each row one longer than the other until you reach the seventh row. 

Place the rest of the cards in a stock pile off to the side. 

Flip over cards one at a time. Either match cards on the pyramid to another or to the stock pile. 

One card stays flipped over on the stock pile, while the other flips up. So you can match one flipped-up stock card with another. BUT you can’t change the order. 

So if you flip a Queen, then an Ace, you can match them and move them off. 

But if you flip a Queen, two, and then an Ace, you can’t. 

Once matched, move the cards off to a foundation pile on the side. They are now removed from play. 

Read more about scoring points in Pyramid Solitaire.

The post How Much Is Each Card Worth In Pyramid Solitaire? appeared first on Huddle Around Games.

This simple, quick, yet engaging solitaire game has been my favorite ever since I learned it. 

But when I teach it to new people, they often wonder how much it’s like regular solitaire. They usually ask: 

Is it possible to win Pyramid Solitaire? 

It’s possible and relatively easy to win at Pyramid Solitaire. Winning by simply clearing out the pyramid is somewhat common. Winning by clearing out the pyramid AND your pile is a bit tougher but doable with the right strategies. 

Learn how to play Pyramid Solitaire in minutes!

Turn off the mindless scroll in your free time and sharpen your mind with card games!

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How Do You Win Pyramid Solitaire? 

This partly depends on which version of the game you’re playing. 

In most versions, you need to clear both the pyramid and the piles to win the game. 

This is a taller order when the cards in your pile aren’t always next to their matches. 

Clearing the pyramid on its own is relatively easy, though you’ll sometimes get stuck with a card’s match buried in the pyramid. 

Either way, the basic goal is the same: 

This is done by adding up their numerical value to make 13. 

Here is a quick table of cards and their matches: 

Read more about card worth in Pyramid Solitaire.

Can You Win Every Game Of Pyramid Solitaire?

Like most solitaire games, there are times when you can’t win no matter what you do. 

While this game seems simple on its surface, maybe statisticians think it’s one of the most challenging games to win. 

The numbers I’ve seen (I didn’t crunch them myself) are between 0.5-5.5% in terms of if the game is won or not. 

What makes Pyramid Solitaire fun despite this is two-fold: 

• You’ll get more cards played and off the board than other solitaire games (even if you don’t end up getting them all)
• The path to solving is much clearer than in typical solitaire games, so you usually get it when it happens

It all comes down to the specific strategies you need to follow. 

Here’s a quick list of tips I’ve come up with in my decades of playing this game: 

• Look at the pyramid and notice matched numbers that are buried under one another. Use the pile to clear these cards above all else. 
• Try to keep the pyramid even in coming off. You’ll have more options this way. 
• If you have a couple of options, pick the card that opens up the most options. 
• When you have two cards next to one another in the pile, take them first (unless their matches are buried or stacked). 
• Don’t give up! Track your points by the number of cards off (five per card) and see if you get to 200. This is a sign that it was a good game! 

How Do You Lose Pyramid Solitaire? 

Losing Pyramid Solitaire is the opposite of winning. It’s when you get completely stuck and can’t make any more 13 matches to move them off to the side. 

In some versions of the game, they only let you go through the deck three times before you automatically lose. 

In most versions, you have infinite chances. But when you’re out of moves, it’s game over. 

Is Pyramid Solitaire A Game Of Skill Or Luck?

This Solitaire definitely has elements of luck and skill in it. 

The exact mix is up for debate, though. 

Luck needs to come in to make the Pyramid solvable. 

After this, it’s all skill. You need to be able to see where the stuck cards are and plan out how to get them out of the stacks. 

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