Pyramid Solitaire

Pyramid is a solitaire (one player) card game which has a unique layout. Pyramid solitaire can be a challenge to win, however, with the odds being about 2% that any specific deal will result in a win. This game is also known under the name Pile of Twenty-Eight.

The game uses one standard 52 card deck. Although there is no relative ranking of the cards in the deck, each card does have a specific pip value which is used in play of the game. Kings have an equivalent pip value of 13, Queens 12, Jacks 11, the numbered cards are equal to the number as listed on that card, and Aces have an equivalent value of 1.

Example initial setup for Pyramid Solitaire

Before play, the player first shuffles the cards and then begins dealing the layout or tableau used for the game. The tableau, once fully dealt will resemble a pyramid or a filled triangle, consisting of 28 face-up overlapping cards. To begin the deal, the dealer deals one face-up card to form the top of the pyramid. He then, slightly below this card (but partly overlapping the top card) deals two more face-up cards. These cards should be dealt such that each of these cards is partly overlapping the card in the row above. He then deals the next row consisting of three cards slightly below the two cards, with each of the two cards in the row above having two cards below partially overlapping it. He continues dealing additional rows in this same way (with each row consisting of one more card than the row above), until he has a total of seven rows of such cards dealt, with the last row consisting of seven cards. The player then places the remainder of the deck face-down on the table, face-up on the table with only the top card showing, off to the side. This pile is called the stock pile.

The object of the game is to completely clear (remove) every card, both from the tableau and also the stock and waste piles. This can be done by combining two cards in the layout to a total of 13. Cards can only be removed and summed in this way if these cards are completely exposed (and not partially covered by overlapping cards). As Kings already have a pip value of 13, they can be immediately be removed from the layout, as long as they are not overlapped by any other cards. Cards that are removed from the layout should be discarded aside, out of play.

In addition to using exposed cards in the layout to help form these combinations, the current top card from the layout can also be combined with an exposed (not partially covered by any overlapping cards) from the layout. If the player cannot (or chooses not to) use the top card from the stock pile he places it in a second pile next to the stock pile called the waste pile, which will also expose the next card in the stock pile. The current top card from the stock pile and that from the waste pile can be used to combine with an exposed card from the tableau. In addition, the top card from the stock pile can be combined with that in the waste pile if the sum is 13, and these cards also removed, and placed in the out-of-play discard pile.

If the player reaches the end of the stock pile, he is permitted to then use the waste pile as a new stock pile, dealing the cards from this stock pile to a new waste pile. The player is permitted to thus re-use the stock pile two additional times, such that he is entitled to deal through the pile a total of thrice.

If the player manages, during play, to completely remove every card from the tableau, stock and waste pile, leaving no cards remaining, he is said to have won the game. However, if the player has dealt through the stock pile a total of three times and there are still cards remaining in those piles or in the layout, he has not won that particular game.

Since the game can be very difficult to win, some players prefer to also add a scoring system, in which they can then attempt to beat a previously high score. The following is one such scoring system (there are many such systems which can be adopted):

Each successful combination (including a single King) earns five points.
Each full row of the layout that is removed earns a 50 point bonus.
For clearing the entire tableau an additional 50 bonus point bonus is awarded.
Clearing out the waste and stock piles earns a 50 point bonus.
For a complete win, removing every card a 100 points bonus is earned.
For games that do not end with a full victory, two points should be subtracted for every card remaining in the tableau, stock and waste piles.

Reserve: To make the game somewhat easier, some players prefer to use an extra reserve of cards. Thus, in this version, after the initial tableau is dealt, an extra row of six face-up cards is dealt to the side or below the pyramid, not overlapping each other or any other cards. These cards are available at any time to combine with other cards (from the reserve, the tableau, the stock pile or waste pile) for removal. Use of the reserve makes the game somewhat easier to bring to a winning conclusion.

Clear the Board: Another variant rule, which also makes the game significantly easier to win is to modify the requirements for a win. In this variant, the only requirements are to completely clear the tableau (called the Board), and once (or if) the tableau is cleared the player is said to have won the game.

Smaller Tableau: Another variant decreases the size of the initial tableau. Instead of this tableau consisting of seven rows of cards (with each row having one additional card), the tableau is smaller, consisting of six total rows, with the last row consisting of exactly six cards. This variant is often played with the "Reserve" optional rule, with an additional, independent row of six reserve cards dealt which can also be used for forming combinations for removal.

One Deal: Some players, do not allow the waste pile to be re-used. Once the entire stock pile has been dealt to the waste pile, if there are no more available moves, the game is over and the player has not won the game.

Waste Pile Off Limits: Another variant rule which can make the game more difficult to win is that cards on the waste heap cannot be used to create matches. Once a card has been moved to the waste pile, that card is no longer available for removal. However, once the stock pile has been exhausted, the waste pile, as in the standard game, can be redealt two additional times (for a total of three times cycling through the stock pile). This rule is also often used with the Clear the Tableau optional rule which only requires that the tableau itself be cleared to win consider the game a win.

Reshuffle: Some players prefer to reshuffle the waste pile, rather than simply turn it over to cycle through the pile again. This rule will have little effect on the win percentage of the game but will change the ordering of the dealt cards each time through the stock pile (maximum of three runs through the stock pile).

Example initial setup for Pyramid Solitaire

Tri-Peaks: Tri-Peaks Solitaire is another solo card game which has a unique layout. It plays similar to Pyramid Solitaire, but instead of just one triangle or pyramid shaped layout, this game features three smaller pyramids. Tri-Peaks Solitaire uses one standard 52 card deck for play. The sequential ranking of the cards in the deck used for this game is as follows: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King. Since this game will consist of ascending and descending sequences of cards, it should also be noted that an Ace could be played on a King (as well as could a Queen), and the sequence could, if needed then continue from the Ace to the two, three, and so on. Similarly on an Ace, a King could be played (as could a two).

The layout used for Tri-Peaks consists of 28 cards in the form of three overlapping pyramids. The top row of each pyramid consists of exactly one face-down card. The second row consists of two such face-down cards each slightly overlapping the single card from the first row. The third row of each of the three pyramids consists of three similarly overlapping cards, however the pyramids are arranged in such a manner that each of the three cards form one contiguous row of nine cards. On top of this last row, a final row of cards is dealt consisting of 10 face-up cards partially overlapping cards from the row above.

Once the layout had been formed, the player then places the remainder of the deck face-down near the layout, forming the stock pile. The player then deals the top card from the stock pile to start a face-up waste pile beside the stock pile. This waste pile is the pile to which cards will be played from the layout over the course of the game.

Where this game differs significantly from Pyramid Solitaire is in how cards are played from the layout. Cards from the layout are thus played to the waste pile if the card in the layout is either exactly one rank higher or lower (regardless of the suit or color of the cards) than the current top card of the waste pile. A card from the layout is considered available for possible play if it has no other cards overlapping it. As face-down cards are exposed, with no overlapping cards, it may be turned over to expose it's value, and that card is available for potential plays. As noted above, these sequences can ascend past the King (to the Ace) and descend below the Ace (to a King), allowing sequential play to continue unimpeded.

If the player has no additional available moves based on the current top exposed card currently on the waste pile, and there are still additional cards to be found in the stock pile, he may then deal the next card from the top of the face-down stock, and make any available plays from the layout to this card as able and willing.

If the player manages to completely clear the layout before running out of available cards from the stock and having no more legal moves he is said to have won the game. However, if the player faces the last card from the stock pile and has no remaining moves, with cards still in the layout he is said not to have won that game.

Tri Peaks Solitaire - Face Up Layout: Some players play in such a manner that, when dealing out the layout, all cards in the layout are dealt face-up, instead of just the bottom row of cards. This minor change can have a dramatic effect, however on gameplay, as the player is able to see the value of every card that is currently part of the layout, and thus can plan moves in advance based on the cards they may want to play. Other than this change, this version is played the same as standard Tri-Peaks Solitaire as described above.