How to clear the pyramid in Pyramid Thirteens

Pyramid Thirteens is a patience game built on a little arithmetic. A pyramid of 28 cards is dealt, and you take it apart two cards at a time, removing pairs that add up to thirteen. Clear the whole pyramid and you win. It is a one-player game on the Cards shelf of Games by Zaweba.

It is quick to learn and surprisingly absorbing. The sums are easy, but choosing which pairs to take, and in what order, is where the game is won or lost.

Card values and pairs

To make thirteen you need to know what each card is worth. The ace is 1, the number cards are their number, the jack is 11 and the queen is 12. So a queen pairs with an ace, a jack with a two, a ten with a three, and so on down to a seven with a six.

The king is the odd one out. A king is thirteen on its own, so it goes on its own with no partner needed.

You may only remove cards that are uncovered. A card in the pyramid is free once both cards overlapping it have gone. At the start, only the bottom row is free, and each pair you take can uncover cards above.

Using the stock

Alongside the pyramid there is a stock. Turn it one card at a time onto the waste, and you can pair the top card of the waste as well as the free cards in the pyramid. You can turn the stock over twice, so you get three passes through it in all. That limit is what makes the game a puzzle rather than a formality.

Pairing with clicks or drags

Click two cards to pair them, or drag one onto the other. Click the stock to turn a card. Space also turns the stock, Z undoes your last move and H gives a hint when you are stuck.

Choosing your pairs well

Often a card can pair with more than one partner. When that happens, look at what each choice uncovers. Taking a pair from the pyramid that frees cards above is usually better than taking a pair that uses the stock, since the pyramid is what you need to clear and it only opens up from the bottom.

Pay attention to cards that block each other. If two cards that make thirteen sit one on top of the other, you can never pair them with each other, and each will need a partner from elsewhere. Spotting those early stops you using up their only possible partners on something else.

Keep count of the passes through the stock. With only two turnovers, every card that goes by without being used is a card you will see fewer times. On the last pass, be more careful about what you leave behind.

When you are unsure, try a line and use undo. It is a good way to learn which choices lead to a cleared pyramid.

A puzzle among the patience games

Pyramid Thirteens in Games by Zaweba makes a pleasant change from the column-building patience games. It feels more like a puzzle, and a single game is short enough for a tea break. Esc pauses, F1 explains the rules again, and your plays, wins and best score are kept on the game's tile in the library.