Play Double Pyramid — Nine Rows, Two Decks, One Hundred and Four Cards

Double Pyramid is the classic pyramid game scaled up: two decks, a triangle nine rows deep instead of seven, and a much larger stock behind it. Forty-five cards are dealt face-up in rows of one, two, three and so on up to nine, each card covering two below it, and the remaining fifty-nine form a stock that turns one card at a time to a waste. Two available cards leave together when their values add up to thirteen, and a king is thirteen on its own. The stock may be recycled twice, and the win is the strict one: every one of the hundred and four cards must reach the discard. Free in your browser, no sign-up, and it works offline once the page has loaded.

How Do You Play Double Pyramid?

Goal: Play Double Pyramid Solitaire free online. A nine-row, 45-card triangle built from two decks, cleared by pairing cards that add up to thirteen.

Setup

• Two decks: 104 cards in all.
• Board: 45 cards face-up in a nine-row triangle, each card covering two below it.
• Stock: 58 cards, with one card already turned to the waste.
• Redeals: two — the waste returns under the stock twice.

Rules

• Card values are ace 1, pip cards their face value, jack 11, queen 12, king 13.
• Click two available cards whose values add up to thirteen: A+Q, 2+J, 3+10, 4+9, 5+8 and 6+7.
• A king is thirteen by itself. One click removes it — and with two decks there are eight.
• A card is available only when both cards covering it have gone. Covered cards are dimmed.
• The stock's top card is face up and playable, and so is the waste's top.
• Click the stock to turn its next card to the waste.
• When the stock empties you may recycle the waste back under it, twice.
• You win only when all 104 cards have gone — the triangle alone is not enough.
• You lose when no pair, no king, no deal and no redeal remains.

What's the Best Double Pyramid Strategy?

• The bottom row of nine is a wide front. Unlike the seven-row game you can usually find several pairs at once, so choose the one that opens the deepest column rather than the first you see.
• Eight kings, not four. They cost nothing and each unblocks two cards. With two decks they turn up often enough to be a reliable way of opening the board — take every one.
• Duplicates cut both ways. Every value now has eight copies, so a partner is far easier to find than in the single-deck game. The catch is that the win needs all of them, so a value you leave stranded costs you twice.
• The deep stock is the real resource. Fifty-eight cards and two redeals is a lot of material, and it is what makes the larger board playable at all. Work through it steadily rather than hunting only for board pairs.
• Expect to clear the triangle and still not win. The strict rule means the last few stock cards decide the game. Keep an eye on which values are running short in the discard long before you get there.

A Short History

Double Pyramid is Pyramid with the dial turned up, and its whole definition in the source is a single line: build the triangle nine rows deep instead of seven, and use two decks. That is enough to change the feel of the game considerably. Nine cards across the bottom means several pairs are usually available at once, and eight of every value rather than four means a partner is rarely far away — so the digging is easier than in the single-deck game. What is not easier is finishing. The win condition is Pyramid's own and unrelaxed: all hundred and four cards must reach the discard, not merely the forty-five in the triangle. Measured on this implementation, an automatic player following the hints cleared all but two cards of the triangle on average and still won none of 120 deals, which is a fair picture of the game: the board comes apart readily and the last handful of stock cards is where it is won or lost. Players who prefer the digging to the finishing may enjoy Relaxed Pyramid or King Tut, where clearing the triangle is the whole goal.

About This Version

This Double Pyramid 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.

Other Solitaire Games to Try

• Relaxed Pyramid — seven rows, and winning needs only the triangle
• Pyramid — the single-deck original
• King Tut — an endless stock, dealt three at a time
• Triangle — the pyramid stood on its point