Play Pyramid Solitaire Online for Free
Starting Your Game
Click the blue and white button on the game welcome screen to start your game. This will bring up a brief tutorial which you can scroll through using the left and right arrows on the screen, or you can click the play button again to start the game.
Our Pyramid Solitaire game automatically deals your cards to the Tableau. If you do not like a deal, or you are stuck on a game, you can click the restart button near the top right of the screen.
The timer on our game begins before the deal is complete and you can begin to make plays at 5 seconds.
Game Features
Your current score is shown on the bottom left. The time is shown at the top, in the center. The number of deals left is shown at the bottom of the screen. This game has a control menu on the top right. The options are Help, Restart and Quit game.
Compete Against Other Players!
Expand Your Play
This game saves your high score on your local computer. We also offer multiple other versions of Pyramid Solitaire where you can submit your score to the high score board and see how well you rank among millions of players around the world!
More Free Online Pyramid Solitaire Games
- Alien Pyramid - unique interpretation of the core game. You still add cards to 13, but the game has 3 difficulty levels, Jokers, and 30 creative level designs.
- Ancient Wonders - simple 7-level timed game. Includes a free cell & you may shuffle through the draw pile an unlimited number of times.
- Circus - timed 10-level game with hopeful upbeat music and a circus or carnival theme.
- Egypt Pyramid - Timed 40-level game with wild cards & unique level designs.
- Freecell Giza - timed 5-level game similar to Giza Pyramid, except it starts the first level with 4 free cells & one free cell is removed for each subsequent level.
- Giza Pyramid - variation of pyramid where the reserve pile is face up in columns of 3 at the bottom of the screen.
- Glacier - 40-round timed gme where you add 2 or more cards to 11. This game contains Jokers and a crucial bonus round at the end of each level.
- Jungle - like regular pyramid except it includes a free cell, the reserve stack can only be used once, and the reserves are laid 3 at a time. We also offer a second version of Jungle Pyramid with a darker aesthetic design.
- Maya Pyramid - sum 2 or more cards to 11, contains Jokers.
- Planet - single-level Pyramid game where the reserves are dealt across the bottom of the screen in 8 columns of 3.
- Pyramid Klondike - 5-level timed game where the tableau is organized across 7 columns that do not overlap like a traditional game of Klondike.
- Pyramid Mountains - a nature themed reskin of the above Pyramid Klondike game.
- Pyramid of Love - Timed 40-level game with wild cards & unique level designs.
- Pyramid Solitaire - Timed 10-level game with standard pyramid design, however the cards from the reserves are dealt 3 at a time to 3 stacks & the game has a free cell.
- Totem - timed 32-level game with a free cell and vastly different level designs compared to most pyramid styled games.
- Wild West Pyramid - sum 2 cards to 13. Timed 10-level game.
The above games allow you to submit your high score.
Game Design
The playing field is organized into a pyramid, with a row of one card, followed by a row of two cards, and so on, down to a final row of seven cards. The pyramid will consist of twenty eight cards in total, shown face-up. The 24 remaining cards are in the draw pile, from which you can move across 1 at a time into the waste pile.
Game Scoring
- Each match of two different values is five points.
- Kings are five points.
- Each row you remove from the pyramid is also worth additional points:
- The bottom row is 25 points.
- The second row is 50 points.
- The third row is 75 points.
- The fourth row is 100 points.
- The fifth row is 150 points.
- The sixth row is 250 points.
- The seventh row is 500 points.
- The maximum card score you can get if you use all cards in the draw pile is 1,255
- Finishing the game quickly can also score bonus points.
- In this game the max time score is set to 999 and then it subtracts a point for each second. So if you beat the game in 8 minutes and 21 seconds it would subtract 501 points (for 501 seconds) and award you 498 time-based bonus points.
- In this game configuration the theoretical max score is 2,254, though that presumes you beat the game in no time at all.
Layout
The pyramid is in the center.
The draw or stock pile is located under the pyramid on the left side.
The waste pile is to the right of the draw.
Guide To Pyramid Solitaire
If you've played traditional Classic Solitaire, and looking to play one of the fun variations, you might want to take a look at Pyramid Solitaire.
Pyramid Solitaire differs from Classic Solitaire in that the cards are arranged in a pyramid layout. The object of the game is to remove pairs of cards that add up to a total of thirteen from a pyramid arrangement of twenty eight cards.
In this article, we'll look at:
- the history of Pyramid Solitaire
- how to play advice for beginners
- advanced strategy
- alternative versions of the game
The History Of Pyramid Solitaire
Solitaire, in its original form, emerged in the 1700s in northern Europe and was widely known as “Patience”. The game didn't make its way across the Atlantic to the USA until 1870 where it became known as “Klondike Solitaire”, then just “Solitaire”.
A variation of the game was released by Microsoft called Tut's Tomb. The cards were arranged as a pyramid, differing from Classic Solitaire where they are laid out in rows and columns. The game is now more widely known as Pyramid Solitaire.
How To Play
The defining feature of this version of the game is the pyramid layout.
Deal cards to form a pyramid, starting with a row of one card, followed by a row of two cards, and so on, down to a final row of seven cards. The pyramid will consist of twenty eight cards in total shown face-up. Each row should overlap the previous one.
The remaining cards are set down at the bottom of the pyramid. This is the draw pile. These cards are arranged face-down. There is also a waste pile for cards that are passed from the draw pile.
Pyramid Solitaire is “open” in that the cards are dealt face up at the start of the game.
The object of the game is to remove all cards from the pyramid. Cards are removed in pairs and these pairs must add up to thirteen. For example, a ten and a three can be removed together, as they add up to a total of thirteen.
Pyramid Solitaire Rules
The rules of Pyramid Solitaire are:
- The game is played with one 52 card deck.
- Deal cards to form a pyramid, starting with a row of one card, followed by a row of two cards, and so on, down to a final row of seven cards.
- The pyramid will consist of twenty eight cards in total shown face-up.
- Pair cards to total thirteen. These pairs are moved from play.
- Kings can be removed without pairing, as Kings are worth thirteen points.
- Only open cards can be paired.
- When you can't make another move, from the pyramid or from the draw and waste pile, and you have no more deals left, the game is lost.
- The game is won when all cards are removed from the pyramid.
Pyramid Solitaire Strategy
Play Kings immediately. As a King needs no other match, you can remove it and free up other options.
Carefully consider your options. Sometimes, passing rather than making a match is the right thing to do, depending on what cards you need to free up.
Remove the pyramid evenly on both sides, if you can. If, towards the end of the game, you are five-deep you'll need to flip five specific cards in order to win.
Always give yourself the most options. For example, always choose to eliminate a card that exposes another card in the pyramid.
If a pyramid has three of the same cards – Queens, for instance – try not to play the fourth card from the draw pile. Try to play it from the pyramid. For example, if you have a Queen that needs matching, try to match it with one of the Aces in your pyramid rather than an Ace from the draw pile. This gives you more options later in the game.
Pyramid Solitaire FAQs
What Values Do The Cards Have In Pyramid Solitaire?
- Aces have a value of one.
- Numerical cards have their face value.
- Jacks have a value of eleven.
- Queens have a value of twelve.
- Kings have a value of thirteen. Kings can be removed without the need to match.
What happens to paired cards?
Paired cards are moved to a discard pile.
How do you use the draw pile?
Cards can be turned over on the draw pile to use as potential matches. For example, you might have a ten card in the pyramid and you turn up a three. These two cards can be matched and removed from play.
What cards can be paired?
Only open cards can be paired. An open card is a card that doesn't have another card on top of it.
What happens if a draw pile card can't be matched?
The card is then moved to a waste pile. It is placed face up.
Keep drawing cards from the draw pile until you can make a match, or there are no cards left in the draw pile. You can replace the empty draw pile with the waste pile up to three times.
Can the waste pile card and draw pile card be matched?
Yes, they can. If they add up to thirteen, both cards can be matched.
The top card of the waste pile can also be paired with an open pyramid card.
Can you skip a move?
Yes. You don't have to make a match if you don't want to. You might do this if you need to clear another card that is more strategically important but you're currently blocked from doing so because it isn't open.
What happens when the draw pile is empty?
You can reset the draw pile by turning over the waste card pile and shifting it to the draw pile position. The waste pile now becomes the draw pile. You can only do this three times.
How do you win Pyramid Solitaire?
When all cards are removed from the pyramid, the game is won.
What are alternative versions of Pyramid Solitaire?
There are a few different versions of Pyramid Solitaire. Other names and versions include:
- Tut's Tomb: This game involves dealing three cards at a time. The King of Spades is laid down first, and represents King Tutankhamen atop a pyramid.
- Apophis: Same as Pyramid Solitaire, but uses three waste piles instead of one.
- Relaxed Pyramid: Only the cards from the pyramid must be moved, so the game can be won with cards still left in the draw pile or waste pile.
- Triangle: This game uses an inverted pyramid. Triangle is very similar to Pyramid Solitaire in other respects.
We offer over a dozen different Pyramid Solitaire games on our site.
- Alien Pyramid - unique interpretation of the core game. You still add cards to 13, but the game has 3 difficulty levels, Jokers, and 30 creative level designs.
- Ancient Wonders - simple 7-level timed game. Includes a free cell & you may shuffle through the draw pile an unlimited number of times.
- Circus - timed 10-level game with hopeful upbeat music and a circus or carnival theme.
- Egypt Pyramid - Timed 40-level game with wild cards & unique level designs.
- Freecell Giza - timed 5-level game similar to Giza Pyramid, except it starts the first level with 4 free cells & one free cell is removed for each subsequent level.
- Giza Pyramid - variation of pyramid where the reserve pile is face up in columns of 3 at the bottom of the screen.
- Glacier - 40-round timed gme where you add 2 or more cards to 11. This game contains Jokers and a crucial bonus round at the end of each level.
- Jungle - like regular pyramid except it includes a free cell, the reserve stack can only be used once, and the reserves are laid 3 at a time. We also offer a second version of Jungle Pyramid with a darker aesthetic design.
- Maya Pyramid - sum 2 or more cards to 11, contains Jokers.
- Planet - single-level Pyramid game where the reserves are dealt across the bottom of the screen in 8 columns of 3.
- Pyramid Klondike - 5-level timed game where the tableau is organized across 7 columns that do not overlap like a traditional game of Klondike.
- Pyramid Mountains - a nature themed reskin of the above Pyramid Klondike game.
- Pyramid of Love - Timed 40-level game with wild cards & unique level designs.
- Pyramid Solitaire - Timed 10-level game with standard pyramid design, however the cards from the reserves are dealt 3 at a time to 3 stacks & the game has a free cell.
- Totem - timed 32-level game with a free cell and vastly different level designs compared to most pyramid styled games.
- Wild West Pyramid - sum 2 cards to 13. Timed 10-level game.
