Pyramid Solitaire Rules

Pyramid Solitaire here follows the classic rule — clear all 28 pyramid cards by removing pairs of exposed cards whose values sum to exactly 13, with Kings (13) removed alone. This page covers how THIS version plays: the redeal modes, the controls, undo, hints, and how the game saves and scores. For the history of the game and its many variants, see the reference entry on our card game hub (linked below). To start playing: pick a difficulty (it sets how many redeals you get), then click an exposed card and a second card that together make 13. A King is removed with a single click. When no exposed pair is available, draw from the stock. The pyramid, stock, and waste sit on one screen — there is nothing to download and no account to create. The 28 cards form a 7-row triangle; the bottom row starts exposed, and each card higher up becomes playable once the two cards covering it are gone. The remaining 24 cards start face-down in the stock.

The difficulty selector is really a redeal selector — it changes how many times you may recycle the waste pile back into the stock, and nothing else. The pyramid, the pairing rule, and the deal are identical across all three modes: Easy — 2 redeals. When the stock empties, the Redeal button returns the waste to the stock up to two times. Medium — 1 redeal. One recycle of the waste back into the stock. Hard — 0 redeals. Once the stock runs out, that is it — this is the strict classic rule. When you press Redeal, the waste pile is turned face-down and placed back on the stock in its original draw order, so the cards come off exactly as they did the first time. Each redeal is a limited resource: on Easy and Medium the button disappears once your redeals are spent, and on Hard there is no Redeal button at all. Switching difficulty starts a fresh deal, so choose your mode before you commit to a game.

Everything is click (or tap) based: Pairing: click one exposed card, then click a second exposed card that makes 13 with it. The pair clears immediately. You can pair two pyramid cards, or a pyramid card with the top card of the waste. Kings: a King is worth 13 on its own — click it once to remove it, no partner needed. This works for exposed pyramid Kings and for a King on top of the waste. Draw: click the stock to turn the next card face-up onto the waste when no exposed pair is available. Invalid pairs: if the two cards you pick do not sum to 13, the card shakes briefly and your selection resets — nothing is removed, so mistakes cost nothing. Undo and Redo: step backward or forward through your moves. Undo reverses a pair removal, a draw, or a redeal; Redo replays a move you undid. Undo last move (from a loss): if the board goes dead but you have moves in your history, the "No moves left" dialog offers an Undo last move button. It rewinds one step and puts you back in play — re-ordering the same cards can rescue a deal a redeal cannot. Take it before starting a new deal if you want to keep trying. Hint: the Hint button highlights an available pair (or a playable King/stock draw) for a couple of seconds. If no move exists, the board is already lost and the loss dialog appears instead.

You do not have to notice a loss yourself — the game checks for a dead board after every removal and every draw, and ends the deal the moment no move remains. A deal is lost when all of these are true at once: No two exposed pyramid cards sum to 13. No exposed pyramid card pairs with the top waste card. There is no exposed King and no King on top of the waste to remove alone. The stock is empty and you have no redeals left (or the waste is empty, so a redeal would do nothing). When that happens, the "No moves left" dialog appears. From there you can start a New deal, or — if you still have move history — use Undo last move to rewind and keep working the same board. Because the game surfaces the loss automatically, you never sit on a stranded pyramid wondering whether a move is still hiding somewhere.

Your game state lives in your browser, not on a server. If you close the tab or refresh mid-deal, the game resumes exactly where you left off — the pyramid, stock, waste, redeal count, and timer all come back. A finished deal is not resumed; you simply start a new one. Wins and games played are tracked locally and shown as a running "Wins" tally on the end-of-deal dialog. Winning a deal counts one win and one game played; losing counts one game played. Rescuing a lost board with Undo last move does not double-count — the earlier loss is rolled back and the deal is only scored once, when it actually ends. Because everything is stored in your own browser, clearing site data resets your statistics.

Suits are ignored — only the numeric value of a card matters. Ace = 1, 2 through 10 are face value, Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13. Every pair that sums to 13: Ace + Queen 2 + Jack 3 + 10 4 + 9 5 + 8 6 + 7 King — removed alone (already 13) Both cards in a pair must be exposed, meaning no card is covering them. The bottom row starts exposed; a covered card becomes playable once both cards resting on it have been cleared.