Pyramid Solitaire Guide: Clear All 28 Cards
How to clear a pyramid: the pairs that make 13, which card to take when two match, keeping the bottom rows even, using the stock passes wisely, and kings.
Pyramid Solitaire lays 28 cards in a pyramid of seven rows and keeps 24 in the stock. Remove free cards in pairs that add up to 13 (ace counts 1, jack 11, queen 12) and kings on their own, until the pyramid is gone. A card is free when nothing covers it from the row below. Each daily deal is checked by a solver, so the pyramid can always be cleared; the skill is choosing which pairs to take and when.
The pairs to know
| Card | Partner |
|---|---|
| Ace | Queen |
| 2 | Jack |
| 3 | 10 |
| 4 | 9 |
| 5 | 8 |
| 6 | 7 |
| King | Removed alone |
Say them until they are automatic: "ace-queen, two-jack, three-ten, four-nine, five-eight, six-seven". The game is fast once the pairs are reflex and slow while you are adding.
Which card to take when two match
Often two free cards of the same rank could pair with the one you hold. Take the one whose removal uncovers more. A card in the bottom row covers two cards above it; removing one of a pair of adjacent bottom cards frees nothing, but removing both frees the card above them. So look at pairs of neighbours: taking both of two adjacent cards is worth more than taking two cards far apart.
Work the pyramid from the bottom up and from the outside in, keeping the rows roughly level. A pyramid cleared evenly keeps the most cards free at any time; a pyramid with one deep hole has few free cards and depends on the stock.
Choosing the better nine
You hold a four from the waste, and nines are free in the bottom row at positions 2 and 6. Position 2's neighbour at position 1 is a king you can remove any time; taking the nine at 2 and then the king frees the card above them. Position 6's neighbours are a seven and a three, both of which need partners that are not free yet. Take the nine at position 2.
Kings
A king goes on its own, so a free king is a free move and should be removed whenever it is uncovering something. A king in the stock is also a free move onto nothing: tap it away when it appears to reveal the next stock card.
The stock and the passes
The stock turns one card at a time onto the waste, and the top waste card can pair with a free pyramid card. Easy days allow unlimited passes through the stock; medium days three; hard days two. On limited-pass days, the pass is a resource:
- Before turning a stock card, check the pyramid for any pair you can make without it.
- When a waste card has no partner now but will have one soon (its partner is one layer down), consider turning past it so that it reappears on a later pass when the partner is free.
- Count the cards left in the stock near the end of a pass and decide what the next pass needs to find.
On easy days, play the pyramid first and use the stock as a steady supply; there is no rush. Even so, the order of pairs still matters on easy days, because a pyramid cleared unevenly can leave two cards that need each other with one covering the other, and no number of passes will fix that.
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Planning the endgame
The last six or seven pyramid cards are where deals are won. Before you are down to them, look at what they are and which stock cards they need. If two cards in the top rows are both fives and only one eight remains anywhere, one five must pair with an eight from... nowhere, so the deal needs the other five to be removed in a different way, which it cannot. That situation means an earlier pair was taken wrongly; in a solver-checked deal it never has to arise, but you only avoid it by looking ahead. Keep count of how many of each rank have gone. A simple habit: whenever you remove a pair, glance at the pyramid for the remaining cards of those two ranks and ask whether each still has a reachable partner. If one does not, the stock must supply it, so note it before you turn the next card.
Common mistakes
- Pairing the first match you see. Choose the match that uncovers more.
- Digging one hole. Clear the bottom rows evenly.
- Leaving kings in place. A free king is a free uncovering.
- Burning passes on medium and hard days. Check the pyramid before every stock card.
- Not counting ranks. Four of each rank; when three are gone, the fourth's partner matters.
Glossary
- Free card: a pyramid card with nothing covering it from the row below.
- Pass: one trip through the stock.
- Waste: the face-up pile the stock turns onto; only its top card can pair.
- Covering: the two cards in the row below that sit on a card.
Play it now
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Questions and answers
Which pairs add up to 13?
Ace and queen, two and jack, three and ten, four and nine, five and eight, six and seven. A king is 13 by itself and is removed alone.
When is a pyramid card free?
When both cards overlapping it from the row below are gone. The bottom row is free from the start.
How many times can I go through the stock?
As often as you like on easy days, three times on medium days and twice on hard days.
Can every pyramid be cleared?
Every daily deal can: a solver checks it before publication. If you get stuck, an earlier pair was the wrong choice.
Written by the DailyGameClub team from the rules as DailyGameClub plays them. Updated October 15, 2026. New to a word? See the glossary. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.