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How to Play Pyramid Solitaire with Cards?

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Items Necessary to Play Pyramid Solitaire

You will need one standard deck of playing cards as well as a clean, flat surface to lay the cards on.

Pyramid is an interesting solitaire game that does not have "building" or "packing" elements to it, but involves matching pairs (or a single King) of cards whose values add up to 13. This tutorial will show you the steps to set up, play, and win Pyramid Solitaire.

Pyramid Solitaire Layout Terminology

The Pyramid Solitaire has 4 locations: a single pile foundation, a 7 row, pyramid-shaped tableau, a stock, and a discard.

Foundation

The foundation is a single pile of face down cards that have been already matched.

Pyramid Solitaire Foundation during Gameplay
Pyramid Solitaire Foundation during Gameplay

Tableau

The tableau has 7 rows where each row overlaps the cards in the row above. It is pyramid-shaped with the first row having 1 card, the second row having 2 cards, and so on.

Pyramid Solitaire Tableau during Gameplay
Pyramid Solitaire Tableau during Gameplay

Stock

The stock has cards that are face down and they are drawn one-by-one into the discard.

Pyramid Solitaire Stock during Gameplay
Pyramid Solitaire Stock during Gameplay

Discard

The discard has cards that are face up. In different variations the discard is treated differently. In standard Pyramid Solitaire, the discard contains a single face up card and if there is no match with a card in the tableau, the card is moved to the foundation and placed face down.

Pyramid Solitaire Discard during Gameplay
Pyramid Solitaire Discard during Gameplay

Pyramid Solitaire Relaxed Variation

In this variation, cards are not moved from discard to foundation.

Pyramid Solitaire with Redeal Variation

In this variation, when the stock is exhausted, the cards in the discard are returned to the stock.

How to Set Up Pyramid Solitaire with Cards

To start, you need a standard deck of playing cards. Remove the jokers and set them aside in a safe place because Pyramid Solitaire does not use jokers. We will use all 52 cards that are Aces through Kings of each suit. Next, shuffle the deck so that the cards are distributed randomly.

A deck of playing cards with jokers removed
A deck of playing cards with jokers removed

Create the seven rows of the pyramid using the next steps.

Step 1: Place one card face up near the top of your flat space.

The top of the pyramid.
The top of the pyramid.

Step 2: Place two cards face up in a row below the top card and slightly overlapping it.

The second row of the pyramid
The second row of the pyramid

Step 3: Place three cards face up in a row below the row of two and slightly overlapping them.

The third row of the pyramid
The third row of the pyramid

Step 4: Place four cards face up in a row below the row of three and slightly overlapping them.

The fourth row of the pyramid
The fourth row of the pyramid

Step 5: Place five cards face up in a row below the row of four and slightly overlapping them.

The fifth row of the pyramid
The fifth row of the pyramid

Step 6: Place six cards face up in a row below the row of five and slightly overlapping them.

The sixth row of the pyramid
The sixth row of the pyramid

Step 7: Place seven cards face up in a row below the row of six and slightly overlapping them.

The initial Pyramid Solitaire layout
The initial Pyramid Solitaire layout

The layout is complete and we are ready to play the game.

Pyramid Solitaire Gameplay Rules

In Pyramid Solitaire the object is to remove all the pyramid cards (Relaxed Variation) or to move all of the cards to the foundation. Cards match if their values sum to 13 or if the card is a King.

CardPair
King
QueenAce
JackTwo
TenThree
NineFour
EightFive
SevenSix
SixSeven
FiveEight
FourNine
ThreeTen
TwoJack
AceQueen
Rules for matching cards in Pyramid Solitaire

Pyramid Solitaire Gameplay

A card is available to remove to the Foundation if it has its bottom uncovered. Then, if a match is found it can be removed. Kings can be removed immediately as they don't require a match.

First Play

The King is uncovered and does not require a pair, so can be removed to the Foundation.

The initial pyramid with a King uncovered.
The initial pyramid with a King uncovered.
The King has been removed to the Foundation.
The King has been removed to the Foundation.

Second Play

Cards are turned over into the discard until a matching pair card is found for one of our uncovered cards. The Queen can be paired with the Ace.

The Queen is turned over allowing it to be paired with an Ace.
The Queen is turned over allowing it to be paired with an Ace.
The Queen and Ace are removed to the Foundation
The Queen and Ace are removed to the Foundation

Third Play

The 2 can be matched with the Jack. The 2 and the Jack are removed to the Foundation.

The Two is turned over allowing it to be matched with the Jack.
The Two is turned over allowing it to be matched with the Jack.
The Jack and the Two are placed in the Foundation.
The Jack and the Two are placed in the Foundation.

Pyramid Endgame

The game ends when the top card in the pyramid is removed or the Stock has been exhausted and there are no matches to be had with uncovered cards. When you manage to remove the top card in the pyramid, this means that all pyramid cards have been removed and you have won the game.