How to Play Pyramid Patience

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Pyramid Patience is a single-player card game in which 28 cards are laid out face-up in a seven-row pyramid, and the remaining 24 form a stock. The object is to discard every card by pairing them so that each pair totals 13, with Kings discarded singly. The game is compact, quick to set up, and demands enough thought to stay interesting without becoming laborious.

Players love it because it sits at the satisfying intersection of luck and judgement: the deal determines whether a win is possible, but poor decisions can squander a winnable hand. It needs only a flat surface and a standard deck, making it a perennial choice for kitchen tables, commutes, and quiet evenings at home.

A little history

Pyramid Patience belongs to the broad family of solitaire card games that became widely popular in Europe during the nineteenth century, when patience games were fashionable parlour pastimes. Its specific origins are unclear, and no definitive first publication has been firmly established by card-game historians. It appears under the name "Pyramid" in several early twentieth-century patience compendiums published in Britain and North America, and has remained in print in game collections ever since.

Setting up

1. Shuffle the full 52-card deck thoroughly.
2. Deal one card face-up to start row 1 (the apex).
3. Deal two cards face-up, overlapping the first card, to form row 2.
4. Continue dealing rows of 3, 4, 5, 6, and finally 7 cards, each row overlapping the row above. You will have dealt 28 cards in total.
5. A card is considered "exposed" only when neither card in the row below is still covering it.
6. Place the remaining 24 cards face-down in a single pile beside the pyramid. This is the stock.
7. Leave space for a face-up waste pile next to the stock.

How to play

1. On your turn, scan the pyramid for any two exposed cards whose face values add up to 13. Valid combinations are: Ace (1) + Queen (12); 2 + Jack (11); 3 + 10; 4 + 9; 5 + 8; 6 + 7. A King (13) is removed alone without a partner.
2. Remove all valid pairs or Kings you can find among the currently exposed cards. Suits are irrelevant; only face value matters.
3. When no further moves are available among the exposed pyramid cards, turn the top card of the stock face-up onto the waste pile.
4. The top card of the waste pile is always available. It may be paired with any exposed pyramid card that brings the total to 13, or with the card you just drew from the stock if that also totals 13.
5. If the newly available card creates a valid pair with an exposed pyramid card, or with itself and another waste card is not in play (only the top waste card is live), remove the pair and check again before drawing further.
6. Continue drawing from the stock one card at a time when play on the pyramid stalls.
7. Two cards from the stock or waste pile cannot be paired with each other; at least one card of every pair must come from the pyramid, except that the freshly drawn stock card may be paired with the current top of the waste pile if they total 13.
8. The game ends either when you clear all cards from both the pyramid and the stock (a win) or when the stock is exhausted and no valid moves remain (a loss).
9. Standard rules allow only one pass through the stock. Some players allow two or three redeals; agree the rule before play begins.

Winning and scoring

You win by removing every single card: all 28 pyramid cards and all 24 stock cards must be discarded. Because the apex card is the last pyramid card to become exposed, clearing it feels like the decisive moment, but you must also exhaust the stock entirely for a complete win. There is no point-scoring system in the standard game; the result is simply a win or a loss. Some players award themselves a score based on how many cards remain in the pyramid at the end, keeping a running log to track improvement over time.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns which cards count as exposed. A card is only exposed when both cards overlapping it in the next row have been removed. A card that is only half-covered is still blocked; you must remove both covering cards before the one beneath is live. This matters most in the lower rows where a single remaining card can block a column above it.

A second regular point of confusion is the stock-and-waste interaction. Only the single top card of the waste pile is ever available; you cannot dig into the waste pile to retrieve an earlier card. Additionally, two waste or stock cards cannot be paired with each other in most standard rulings: every pair must involve at least one pyramid card, with the sole exception that a card drawn from the stock may be matched immediately against the top card of the waste pile before it is placed down, if they total 13. If you forget to take that pairing opportunity before placing the drawn card on the waste, the moment has passed under strict rules.

How to win more often

• Before touching any cards, scan the full pyramid for Kings. An exposed King is a free removal, and clearing it may uncover new pairs below; prioritise Kings whenever they appear.
• Do not rush to clear low rows. Removing a pair from row 6 may permanently block a card in row 7 if the only card that could pair with it was one you just discarded. Look two moves ahead before committing.
• Treat the stock with care on a single-redeal game. Draw as few cards as possible early on, since every card you bury in the waste pile reduces your future options. Use the pyramid fully before drawing.
• When you have a choice between two different pairs that both free the same card, choose the pair that also exposes the most new cards deeper in the pyramid rather than the one that is simply available.
• Keep a mental note of which values you still need. If you have drawn three Aces and only one Queen remains in the pyramid, that Ace-Queen pairing is precious; do not discard a Queen carelessly against a different card if you still have unmatched Aces in the stock.

Variations

Relaxed Pyramid (Three Passes)

The most popular relaxed variant allows the player to turn the waste pile over and pass through the stock up to three times in total. This substantially increases the win rate and suits beginners or players who prefer a calmer experience. All other rules remain identical to the standard game.

Double Pyramid

Two full 52-card decks are shuffled together to make a 104-card pack. A larger pyramid of nine rows is dealt (45 cards), with the remaining 59 forming the stock. Pairs still total 13, and Kings are still removed singly. The game is considerably longer and the win rate drops sharply, making it a stiff challenge for experienced players.

Tut's Tomb

In this scored variant, the player counts the number of cards remaining in the pyramid at the end of the game and subtracts it from 28. A perfect score of 28 means a full clear. Players record their scores across a set number of deals and compete against their own personal best, giving Pyramid a quasi-competitive dimension that suits solo sessions over several evenings.

Relaxed Pairing (Waste-to-Waste Allowed)

Some house rules permit the top two cards of the waste pile to be paired with each other if they total 13, in addition to the standard pyramid pairings. This loosens the game considerably and is best used when teaching children or new players, as it removes one of the trickier rule distinctions to remember.

Pyramid Patience: frequently asked questions