Pyramid Solitaire Instructions
Overview
Note: Due to an inconsistency in the way Java 1.0
handles overlapping, some older browsers might display the pyramid incorrectly.
If the bottom halves of the cards are visible with only the top card seen in its
entirety, click on the Options button, then click the checkbox labeled reverse
layering and then click OK to layer the cards in the pyramid correctly.
The goal of Pyramid solitaire is to eliminate the entire deck by finding
pairs of cards which total thirteen (Kings are eliminated singly). At the start
of the game, only the cards in bottom row of the pyramid are available. The
other rows in the pyramid become accessible as the cards below them are removed.
The cards which are not in the pyramid are cycled throught one at a time.
Layout
There are three areas of the screen:
- Pyramid The pyramid initially contains 28 cards arranged in seven
rows. A card cannot be removed from the pyramid if it is covered by another
card. Two cards must be removed to access the cards in the upper rows in the
middle of the pyramid, but the cards in the sides of the pyramid only need one
removal to become available.
- Stock/Waste Pile The stock is located in the upper left corner of
the screen with the waste pile below it. Rightclicking anywhere on the screen
or clicking twice on the stock will move the card on top of the stock to the
waste pile and display the next card in the stock. The card on top of the
waste pile is available.
- Discard Pile The discard pile is located on the right side of the
screen below the button panel. Pairs of cards which total 13 (and kings) are
moved to this stack. The game is won when all 52 cards are in this pile.
Game Play
The following actions represent valid moves:
- Clicking on a king (rank == 13) will move it to the discard pile.
- To remove a pair of cards whose rank totals 13, click on the first card,
then the second card and both cards will be moved to the discard pile. (Jacks
have a rank of 11, Queens 12).
- Rightclicking anywhere on the screen or clicking twice on the stock will
move the card currently on top of the stock to the waste pile. If the stock is
empty, the cards in the waste pile will be transferred to the stock and
another pass through the cards will be made if a redeal is available.
Options
Click on the button labeled options to
bring up a dialog box with the following settings:
Number of
Redeals
This option determines the number of times the cards
outside the pyramid and discard pile can be cycled through after the intial
pass. A redeal occurs when the stock is empty and all the cards in the waste
pile are moved to the stock, beginning another pass through the cards. The
default is no redeals.
Reverse Layering
This checkbox does
not affect gameplay but is used to fix a problem which might be encountered in
older browsers as explained in the note above. This option should not be set
if the pyramid is displayed properly.
Click here for information about common options
and buttons
History
Version 1.0 (2000/03/17) First public release