Cheops takes the pyramid board and throws out the arithmetic. Twenty-eight cards are dealt face-up as a seven-row triangle, each card covering two below it, with twenty-four more in a stock. Two available cards leave together when their ranks are equal or one apart — two sevens, or a seven with a six or an eight. Nothing is ever removed alone, not even a king. And the stock is dealt through exactly once: there is no redeal, so every card you turn is the only chance you get at it. That single restriction is why this is the one game in the pyramid family rated a game of skill rather than luck. Free in your browser, no sign-up, and it works offline once the page has loaded.
Goal: Play Cheops Solitaire free online. A pyramid where cards pair by equal or adjacent rank, nothing leaves alone, and the stock is dealt through only once.
Cheops is named for the pharaoh whose Great Pyramid gives the family its shape, and it is the odd one out among its relatives. Every other member of the pyramid group is built on the sum of thirteen, with the king as the card that reaches it alone. Cheops replaces the sum with adjacency — equal or neighbouring ranks — which removes the king's privilege entirely, and the source is careful about that: its foundation is rebuilt to refuse a single card, and all three of its click handlers deliberately skip the king shortcut its parent provides. The other change is the stock. Where Pyramid and its relaxed cousin give you three passes, Cheops gives one, and that turns the game from a matter of hoping the right card comes round again into a matter of deciding, now, whether to spend it. The open-source PySolFC collection, whose rules this version follows, rates Cheops as mostly skill — the only game in this family it rates that way.
This Cheops runs in your browser — free, no download, no sign-up. Install it as an app on your phone or computer; once installed it works offline. Unlimited undo, statistics, and a daily challenge that gives every player the same deal that day.
Two available cards whose ranks are equal or one apart. Two nines pair; a nine pairs with an eight or a ten. Suits are ignored.
Yes. The rule is that the difference in rank is zero or one, and zero counts. It is the most commonly missed move in the game.
No. The ranks do not wrap around, so a king pairs only with another king or a queen, and an ace only with another ace or a two.
No. Nothing is removed alone in Cheops. The lone king belongs to the pair-to-thirteen games; this one has no sum.
None. The stock is dealt through once, which is why every turn is a real decision and why the game is rated a test of skill.
No. The stock is dealt through only once, so some deals cannot be won. Taking the first pair the hints show is often a mistake; think two removals ahead, and use undo.