Pyramid (Modern) — Rules
layout
- One deck, 52 cards
- Tableau piles: 28
- Clicking the stock deals 1 card to the waste
- The top card of the stock is face up and plays in pairs
- Total passes through the stock: 3
- Remove pairs of cards totalling 13 (ace = 1, jack = 11, queen = 12); kings are removed alone
goal & play
goal
Clear all 52 cards from the table — the 28-card pyramid and the whole stock. An empty pyramid is not enough: while a card is left in the stock or the waste, the game goes on.
Every card here has to find a partner — the 28 in the pyramid and the 24 in the stock; only a king leaves alone. A pair is two cards adding up to 13: ace (1) with queen (12), 2 with jack (11), 3 with 10, and so on to 6 with 7. Only a card nothing covers is available: at the start, the bottom row of seven. The top card of the stock plays straight from the stock and pairs both with the pyramid and with the top of the waste. A king that comes free the helper takes away by itself, and an empty waste draws from the stock. Tapping a card highlights its partners, tapping one removes the pair.
nuances
The stock is gone through three times: once it runs out, the waste turns back — twice. After the third pass whatever is left stays for good.
tactics
Don't rush to pair the pyramid with itself: a card coming off the stock has nothing to pair with except the table, so one pyramid-with-pyramid pair too many leaves that stock card with no partner at all.
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