What is Pyramid layout?
The Pyramid is a layout of 140 tiles built as a stepped pyramid. The base is a solid block of 9 by 8 tiles, and three smaller terraces stand on it: 7 by 6, 5 by 4 and 3 by 2 tiles, each set one tile in from every edge of the one below.
The rules are the standard ones. Take off two matching tiles at a time, as long as both are free: nothing lies on top of them and their left or right side is open. Clear the board to win. With 140 tiles one group of four matching faces is left out of the set, chosen at random for each deal, so every face still comes in whole pairs.
Every terrace is a solid block, so inside a row only the two end tiles can be free. Each terrace has to be worked inwards from its left and right edges, and the base comes free only as the terraces above it shrink.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Mahjong Solitaire | Pyramid layout |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Standard Mahjong SolitaireThe Turtle: a broad block of tiles that rises in steps towards the middle. | Pyramid layoutThe Pyramid: four solid terraces of 9 by 8, 7 by 6, 5 by 4 and 3 by 2 tiles. |
| Tiles | Standard Mahjong SolitaireAll 144 tiles of the set. | Pyramid layout140 tiles: 35 of the set's 36 groups of four matching tiles, a different group left out each deal. |
| Layers | Standard Mahjong SolitaireFour layers: 82, 40, 18 and 4 tiles. | Pyramid layoutFour layers: 72, 42, 20 and 6 tiles. |
| Free tiles at the start | Standard Mahjong Solitaire32 of the 144 tiles. | Pyramid layout40 of the 140 tiles. |
| Other options | Standard Mahjong SolitaireShuffles, a time limit and the random deal can be added in the setup. | Pyramid layoutThe same options work on the Pyramid: shuffles, a time limit and the random deal. |
History
Mahjong Solitaire began on a computer: Brodie Lockard wrote it for a university computer system in 1981, and a commercial version made it widely known in 1986 with a single layout, the Turtle, itself a stepped mound of tiles.
David Norris wrote a version of the game in 1990, and the documentation of a later release lists the extra layouts that came with the program, and the first of them is the Pyramid. Pyramid layouts have been common ever since, but each program builds its own, and there is no standard one. The Pyramid here is our own design.