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Pyramid Solitaire

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How to play

Find pairs worth thirteen

Remove two exposed cards whose ranks add to thirteen. Ace counts as one, Jack as eleven and Queen as twelve. A King is thirteen by itself and can be removed alone. The bottom row starts exposed. A higher card becomes available only when both cards covering it from below are gone.

Use the waste top

Draw turns one stock card onto the waste. Only its top card is available; it can pair with an exposed pyramid card. Two waste cards cannot be paired because they are not available together. There are twenty-four stock cards alongside the twenty-eight in the pyramid.

Clear the triangle

Clear every pyramid card to win, even if stock cards remain. Recycle returns the waste to the empty stock without drawing. Two recycles allow at most three passes. Select a card then its partner, or select a King alone. Tab and Enter or Space reach the cards and Draw. Undo reverses a removal, draw or recycle; New deal starts fresh. Escape clears selection. Switching away pauses the deal; Resume continues it.

Strategy

Compare the opening beneath

When several pairs fit, prefer the one that exposes useful cards above them. Removing two cards from different parts of the base may leave both parents blocked; clearing the two beneath one parent opens a new choice.

Notice the rank you need

A Queen needs an Ace; a Jack needs a two. Keep those relationships in mind as stock cards appear. Do not assume a useful rank will return after all your recycling passes have been used.

About the game

A triangle of dependencies

The layered triangle makes access part of each thirteen-point pair. This version’s draw-one stock and three passes provide a limited supply of extra partners.