Pyramid

Overview

Relaxed Pyramid variant, with two buybacks: remove pairs of exposed cards that add up to 13 until you dismantle the entire pyramid. It is not necessary to remove what is left in the pile and discard.

Preparation

• 28 cards form a pyramid of 7 ranks (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 cards), all face up.
• The remaining 24 cards form the pile, with the top exposed. The top of the pile and the top of the discard can be used, even in a pair with each other.

Table at the beginning of the game

Assemble and Dispose

Stock24 cards

Discard

How to play

• A pyramid card is only "free" to play when the two cards covering it (in the row below) have already been removed — or if it is already in the bottom row.

Covered card and free cards

covered by the bottom two

free

free

The bottom row is free from the beginning. The 9♣ only becomes free after the 4♥ and 8♠ are removed.

• Remove a King alone (worth 13).

King alone

King

is worth 13

goes out alone, without a date.

• Remove pairs of free cards (pyramid, top of the discard or drawn card) whose sum is 13: Queen+Ace, Jack+2, 10+3, 9+4, 8+5, 7+6.

Pairs that add up to 13

Queen + Ace and Jack + 2

12

1

= 13

11

2

= 13

10 + 3 and 9 + 4

10

3

= 13

9

4

= 13

8 + 5 and 7 + 6

8

5

= 13

7

6

= 13

The Ace is worth 1, the Jack is 11, the Queen is 12 and the King is 13.

• Next card transfers the top of the pile to the discard and reveals the next one. When the pile runs out, you can recycle the waste twice, without shuffling: up to three passes. You can also advance even if there is a pair available.

Draw

Assemble and Dispose

Stock23 cards

Discard

The card turned over in the discard can also form a pair with a free card from the pyramid.

Victory and defeat

• You win by removing 28 cards from the pyramid.
• You lose if there are no cards left in the pile, no usable buybacks, no possible removals and the pyramid is not clean.

Sources: Relaxed Pyramid, PySolFC and heap layout and usage, Semicolon Software. The goal of this variant is to clear the pyramid, without the multiple match leaderboards of other editions.