Play Irmgard Solitaire Online — Gypsy on a Pyramid

Irmgard deals Gypsy's two decks into a pyramid of nine columns, one card at each end rising to five in the middle, every card but the top of each face down. Columns build down in alternating colours and a packed run moves as a unit; only a king, or a run headed by one, fills a space. The stock holds seventy-nine cards and deals one to every column per click; its last seven go to the middle seven columns. Eight foundations build up in suit from the ace. Bank all 104 to win.

Setup

Shuffle two decks. Deal nine columns in a pyramid: one, two, three, four, five, four, three, two, one cards, with only the top card of each face up. The remaining seventy-nine cards form the stock: eight full rows of nine and a last row of seven.

Rules

• Foundations build up in suit from the ace; each suit has two piles.
• Columns build down in alternating colours.
• Runs travel packed. A group of cards moves as a unit only when every card in it sits one rank lower and the other colour from the card beneath; a loose tail cannot be lifted.
• Hidden cards turn face up the moment the card on them leaves.
• Only a king fills a space, alone or heading a packed run.
• The stock deals a row: one card face up to every column per click. When seven cards remain they go to the seven middle columns; the two end columns get nothing.
• Win when all eight foundations are complete.

Strategy

The pyramid puts the hidden cards in the middle and leaves the two end columns a single card each, which makes those ends the first spaces you can make and the natural homes for kings. The stock is long, nine rows, so most of the game is played under falling cards.

• Deal only when stuck. A row covers every column at once, an empty one included, and cannot be taken back except by undo. Play everything that will go before you click the stock.
• Keep runs packed. Only a packed run travels, so a card dropped out of sequence freezes everything above it until the run is rebuilt.
• Bank as you go. Foundations are one-way; a card on a foundation never blocks a column again.
• Empty the ends for kings. The first and last columns are one card each; clear them and seat kings there before the rows bury them.
• Dig the centre. The middle column hides four cards; every move that turns one is worth taking.
• Know the last deal. The final seven cards skip the end columns, so a king seated at an end stays clear.

Every game in this line runs on one clock: the stock. It never reshuffles and never comes back, so the number of rows left is the number of times the board can change on its own. Deal a row to reach a card you need only when no move can reach it, and before each deal read the tops of the columns, because those are the cards the row will bury. The hint button names a legal move; when it names the stock, nothing else is left.

Where It Sits in the Gypsy Line

Irmgard is the Gypsy line's pyramid on the Yukon engine, with the kings-only space rule that Eternal Triangle plays on an open staircase. It is the first member whose stock deals a short final row to chosen columns.

Other Games to Try

• Eternal Triangle — kings into spaces on an open staircase
• Milligan Harp — a hidden staircase, any card into a space
• Gypsy — the line's parent
• Yeast Dough — Gypsy dealt face up

About This Online Version

Irmgard runs in your browser — free, no download, no sign-up. Install it as an app on your phone or computer and it works offline. You get unlimited undo, a hint button that names a legal move, statistics that track your wins and times, and seeded deals: every game has a seed you can replay, so a board you enjoyed (or lost) can be played again exactly.