Pyramid Solitaire Strategy: 9 Tips to Clear the Pyramid

Pyramid Solitaire looks like a game of pure luck: find two cards that make 13, take them off, repeat. But the order in which you take them matters a great deal. The same deal can be lost by grabbing every pair you see and won by holding one card back for a few turns. The Pyramid Solitaire strategy tips below are simple habits that turn a good many losses into wins.

If you're still learning how the game works, start with the Pyramid Solitaire rules.

1. Look Over the Whole Pyramid First

Every card in the pyramid is face up from the start. Before your first move, take half a minute to look for trouble. The thing to look for is a card whose partners are stacked right on top of it or right underneath it.

Here is why that matters. A card can never be paired with a card that covers it, because the lower card isn't free until the upper one is gone. So if a 5 near the top of the pyramid has three 8s sitting in the rows below it, in its own "family tree," those three 8s can't be the ones that remove it. Only the fourth 8 can. Find out where that 8 is, and treat it like gold.

2. Take Kings Right Away

A King comes off by itself, and removing it never costs you a partner you might need later. So when a King becomes free, in the pyramid or on top of either pile, take it. In the pyramid it opens up the cards above. On the waste pile it uncovers the card underneath, which may be just the one you wanted back.

3. Pair Inside the Pyramid When You Can

When two free pyramid cards add up to 13, that is nearly always the pair to take. You clear two pyramid cards in one move, and you spend no stock cards doing it. Think of the stock as your reserve. Every stock card you use on an easy pair is one that won't be there for a hard one.

The same thinking tells you what to do when a pyramid card could pair with either another pyramid card or a stock card: use the pyramid card.

4. Count the Partners

There are only four of each card in the deck. Good Pyramid players keep a rough count as they go. Suppose two Queens have already been removed, one is at the very top of the pyramid, and the last one has just come up on the stock. Any Ace still in the pyramid needs that Queen on the stock. If you use it carelessly, or bury it in the waste pile on your last pass, the game is over even though it may take a while to notice.

You don't need to count every card. Just ask one question before you remove a pair:

If the answer is yes, look for another way to make the move.

5. Choose the Pair That Uncovers the Most

Often you have a choice. Two different 6s could go with the 7 on the waste pile, for example. Pick the 6 whose removal frees a new card, or better yet two. A pyramid card is covered by two cards, so the best removals are the ones that take away the second blocker of a card. Removing two cards side by side in the same row always frees the card they were both covering.

Give a little extra weight to the middle of the pyramid. The cards near the center line hold down more of the pyramid than the ones at the edges, and the single card at the peak can only be reached after everything else in its way has gone.

6. Work on Both Sides Evenly

It is tempting to dig straight up one side. The trouble is that you end up with a tall, narrow stack on the other side where only one or two cards are free, and then you depend entirely on the stock to bring the right partners. A pyramid that is taken down evenly keeps more cards free at once, which gives you more pairs to choose from.

7. Don't Rush Through the Stock

Each time you turn a card, the previous one is buried in the waste pile until the next pass, or until the cards above it are removed. Before you press Turn Next Card, check the card that is showing against every free card in the pyramid. It is easy to miss a 3 that goes with the 10 you are about to cover.

Remember that the top of the stock and the top of the waste pile can also be paired with each other. That is handy for digging: removing both brings up a fresh stock card and re-opens the waste card underneath, all in one move. Just make sure neither card is needed by the pyramid first (see tip 4).

8. Plan Around the Passes

With the usual three passes, the first trip through the stock is partly for looking. The cards come back in the same order each time, so on the second and third pass you know what is coming. If you saw two Jacks close together in the first pass, you can plan to have a 2 free when they come around again.

The last pass is different. Anything you turn onto the waste pile is likely gone for good. Slow down and double-check every card before you cover it. Our game marks the last pass on the table so it doesn't take you by surprise.

9. Use Undo and Hint as Teachers

Undo is unlimited in our game, and using it doesn't count against you. When you get stuck, go back five or ten moves and look for the moment where you had a choice. Trying the other branch is the quickest way to learn how the game really works.

The Hint button suggests a sound move based on the cards you can see, and tells you why. It follows the advice on this page: Kings first, then pairs inside the pyramid, then pairs that use a pile, and only then a new card. It doesn't peek at the cards hidden in the stock, so it is giving you the same advice a careful friend looking over your shoulder would give.

A Short Checklist

Before each move, run through these in order:

1. Is there a free King? Take it.
2. Do two pyramid cards make 13? Take them, unless one is the last partner for a buried card.
3. Does a pyramid card pair with the top of the waste or the stock? Take the pair that uncovers the most.
4. Nothing? Check once more, then turn the next card.

Accept the Odd Unwinnable Deal

Even perfect play can't win every game. Sometimes all four partners of a card are trapped where they can never meet it. When you press New Game here, the game tries to hand you a deal it has checked can be won, so most of your games have a way through. If you type in a deal number yourself, you get that shuffle as it falls, winnable or not. Either way, a lost game of Pyramid takes three minutes, and the next deal is one tap away.

Want a solitaire game where skill decides almost everything? Try FreeCell. For the classic with seven columns, play Klondike solitaire.