Pyramid Solitaire isn’t a hard game at all.
The only really tricky thing in learning how to play it is making sure you know what the pip value of each card is.
That’s just a fancy way of saying: how much is each card worth in Pyramid Solitaire?
The numbered cards are worth their face value (two = 2). The face cards are different. Jack is 11, Queen is 12, and King is 13. The Ace is only worth 1. Kings don’t have to have a match in order to be taken off the field.
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Table of Contents
How Much Is The ACE Worth In Solitaire Pyramid?
In Solitaire Pyramid, the Ace is worth 1. In order to get off the field, it needs to match with the Queen, which is worth 12 points. Adding them up together gets to the magic 13 needed to take the cards off the board.
How Much Are The Face Cards Worth In Pyramid Solitaire?
Face cards are worth different amounts you’ll have to remember on your own in Pyramid Solitaire. The Jack is worth 11 and needs to pair with the 2. The Queen is worth 12 and needs to pair with the Ace. The Kings are worth 13 on their own. It doesn’t need to pair with anything!
Card Matches In Pyramid Solitaire
In this game, it’s all about adding up values to 13. When they do, you can pair them (or single them, in the King’s case) and move them off the field.
As such, you’ll need to learn to recognize the matches quickly and clearly.
Use this chart to help you figure out if you struggle with adding them up.
| Original Card | Its Match (Adding to 13) |
|---|---|
| Ace (1) | Queen (12) |
| Two | Jack (11) |
| Three | Ten |
| Four | Nine |
| Five | Eight |
| Six | Seven |
| Seven | Six |
| Eight | Five |
| Nine | Four |
| Ten | Three |
| Jack (11) | Two |
| Queen (12) | Ace (1) |
| King (13) | No match needed! |
Is Pyramid Solitaire Always Winnable?
No, there are times there is no path to victory.
The exact odds of having a solvable game is unknown, and it depends on the mode you’re playing with.
What are the winning conditions? Either:
- Clearing out the Pyramid cards
- Clearing out the Pyramid card AND the cards in your deck
Obviously, the second one is much harder.
The other night I played Pyramid Solitaire while waiting for my kids to do their gymnastics class. (Yes, I’m a nerd, and yes, I always have a deck of cards on me.)
I played five games. In those five games, I was stuck once as not being able to clear out the Pyramid. This one I know wasn’t possible (too many matched stuck underneath their pairs).
The other four I “won” by clearing out the Pyramid. But there were four cards left in the deck three times and eight cards left in the deck once.
According to the hard rules, I didn’t win. According to the easy one, I did.
Either way, it’s not always winnable, but both ways of winning are possible.
Read more about the possibilities of winning Pyramid Solitaire.
How Does The Pyramid Game Work?
Here’s how to play the game in a nutshell.
All you’ll need is a single deck of cards and a place to lay your cards out.
Shuffle the cards. Lay cards one at a time face-up in a pyramid shape starting with the top of the pyramid.
The first row has one card. The next has two, half overlapped on the first.
Continue making each row one longer than the other until you reach the seventh row.
Place the rest of the cards in a stock pile off to the side.
Flip over cards one at a time. Either match cards on the pyramid to another or to the stock pile.
One card stays flipped over on the stock pile, while the other flips up. So you can match one flipped-up stock card with another. BUT you can’t change the order.
So if you flip a Queen, then an Ace, you can match them and move them off.
But if you flip a Queen, two, and then an Ace, you can’t.
Once matched, move the cards off to a foundation pile on the side. They are now removed from play.
Read more about scoring points in Pyramid Solitaire.
