| id Solitaire is a fun solitaire game, with a very distinctive | | | | and you may as well redeal. |
| opening tableua in the shape of a pyramid. There is a | | | | If only three of the combination cards appear in the |
| large element of luck involved, but there are certain | | | | underneath triangle, then you have discovered a |
| strategies that can be used to dramatically increase | | | | potential impasse later on. Wherever that fourth |
| your chances of winning. | | | | combination card is, it MUST be combined with the top |
| The aim of pyramid solitaire is to remove all the cards | | | | card. So, if the fourth combination card is in the talon, |
| from the tableua and the talon. Cards are removed in | | | | you must remember this, and be careful not to use it |
| pairs, when their combined total is 13. The exception to | | | | on any card other than the top one. |
| this is with Kings, which are removed on their own. | | | | Another impasse to check for at the beginning, is to |
| Cards can only be removed when they are | | | | see if all the combination cards appear in the triangle |
| completely exposed (ie: When the whole card is visible, | | | | above a card. |
| with no cards above them) | | | | For example, suppose the deal was like this (Taken |
| The combinations of cards you can remove are: | | | | from Classic Solitaire deal 3841) |
| -Ace and Queen | | | | .. .. .. 7 .. .. .. |
| -2 and Jack | | | | .. .. . 8 . J .. .. .. |
| -3 and 10 | | | | .. .. 4 . 2 . 4 .. .. . |
| -4 and 9 | | | | .. . A . 6 . 8 . 2 .. . |
| -5 and 8 | | | | .. 8 . 5 . 9 . Q . 2 .. |
| -6 and 7 | | | | . 7 . 8 . 9 . 7 . K . 4 . |
| -King | | | | K . A . 5 . 3 . Q . 6 . 10 |
| Whilst the rules for pyramid solitaire are quite easy to | | | | All the 8's occur in the triangle above the bottom 5, so |
| understand, the game itself offers come interesting | | | | the game cannot be finished. |
| complexities. You have to plan out which cards to | | | | This last case doesn't occur very often though, so it |
| remove to maximize potential options later in the | | | | isn't worth spending too much time checking for it. Just |
| game. Sometimes you must leave a card for later in | | | | a cursory glance at the middle 3 cards on the bottom |
| the game, or you will create an impasse. And | | | | row is normally enough. |
| sometimes you have to carefully remember the order | | | | So to summarize, before we have even started |
| of the cards in the talon, or you will have cards left | | | | playing, we check to see if the game is winnable |
| over at the end. | | | | (Make sure there are no cases where the four |
| At the start of the game, scan the first four rows, | | | | combination cards occur in the triangle below or above |
| looking for any situations that will make the game | | | | a card). We also check for times when three of the |
| impossible to complete. This happens when all the | | | | combination cards appear below... as these will need |
| cards that can be combined with a card occur in the | | | | special attention, to make sure we don't waste the |
| triangle below it. | | | | fourth card and create an impasse. |
| This occurs because a card cannot be selected until all | | | | So what about general play? |
| the cards in the triangle below it are removed first. | | | | Well, to start with, always remove Kings whenever |
| For example, suppose part of the deal was like this | | | | you can. There is absolutely no reason not to remove |
| (Taken from Classic Solitaire deal 20064) | | | | the Kings, because they aren't used in combination with |
| .. . 2 .. . | | | | any other cards, so you gain nothing by waiting. |
| .. J . 8 .. | | | | Another thing to consider is that often there is no need |
| . Q . J . 8 . | | | | to rush. You can cycle through the talon three times, |
| 6 . J . 4 . J | | | | so often it will be better to wait and see what cards |
| All of the Jacks occur in the triangle below the top 2. | | | | are remaining, rather than jump in and remove a |
| So to expose the top 2, all the Jacks will have to be | | | | combination as soon as you can. |
| removed first... But that's impossible, because the Jacks | | | | Finally, try and remove cards evenly between the talon |
| can only be removed in combination with the 2's. We | | | | and the tableua. Ideally, you want to finish removing |
| will be able to remove three of the Jacks, but we cant | | | | cards from the tableua at the same time as the talon |
| ever remove the top Jack, because the 2 it needs is | | | | is used up. |
| above it. | | | | You still wont be able to win every game of pyramid |
| So if the four combination cards appear in a cards | | | | solitaire with the above strategy, but you should find |
| underneath triangle, then the game cannot be finished, | | | | your probability of winning has greatly increased. |