Learn Pyramid Solitaire: Tutorial

You clear the pyramid by removing cards that add up to 13.

A King counts 13 by itself, so a free King is removed on its own with a single tap. The King of Spades at the left end of the bottom row is free: tap it and it goes to the discard pile.

The King of Hearts at the top of the pyramid has to wait until every card below it is gone.

Every other card is removed in a pair of two free cards whose values add up to 13. Number cards count their number, an Ace counts 1, a Jack 11 and a Queen 12.

- Ace and Queen (1 + 12)

- 2 and Jack (2 + 11)

- 3 and 10, 4 and 9, 5 and 8, 6 and 7

Tap one card, then its partner. Here the 8 of Hearts and the 5 of Clubs in the bottom row make 13 together.

A card becomes free once both cards lying on it have gone. With the King of Spades, the 8 of Hearts and the 5 of Clubs removed, the Queen of Diamonds and the Jack of Hearts in the row above are free now.

The Queen of Diamonds makes 13 with the Ace of Clubs in the bottom row (12 + 1).

Think before you pair: removing a card can free one card or two, and a card you take now may be the partner another card needs later.

The face-up stock card and the top card of the waste pile are free too, and they pair with pyramid cards or with each other. The 4 of Spades went with the 9 of Diamonds from the stock, and the next stock card turned up.

When the stock card doesn't help, draw: it moves onto the waste and the next card comes up. Here the 5 of Hearts went to the waste and the 2 of Diamonds came up, which makes 13 with the free Jack of Hearts.

Only the top waste card can be played; the cards under it come back into play one by one as you use the cards above them.

The stock is empty: that was the first pass. You may turn the waste over to make a new stock, in the same order, and go through it again.

You have three passes in all, so you can turn the waste over twice. The game shows which pass you are on. A one-pass game is offered in the setup for a harder challenge.

Notice the two Kings that came out of the stock during this pass: a King from the stock is removed on its own, just like one in the pyramid.

The game is won as soon as all 28 pyramid cards are gone, even with cards left in the stock or the waste. Here the King of Hearts at the top was the last card, on the third pass.

With the whole deck option, every one of the 52 cards has to go before the game counts as won.

If no pair can be made and no pass is left, the game is over with a No moves left message. It also ends as soon as no card still to come can ever pair with a free card, so you never have to draw through a stock that can no longer help.

Good luck!