Pyramid Solitaire - My brain just 'sploded.

Pyramid Solitaire at iWon is very simple. And addictive. Very very addictive. ^_^

The pyramid is made with 7 rows of cards. 

Once the pyramid is out, you get three more cards in front of you. They are in the "waste" piles. Undealt cards are in the "stack."

The goal of this game is to get rid of ALL 52 cards. (28 in the pyramid and 24 in the "stack.") You remove cards by finding pairs that add up to 13.  Here are the pairs to look for!

• Ace(1) + Queen(12)
• 2 + Jack(11)
• 3 +10
• 4 + 9
• 5 + 8
• 6 + 7
• King = 13

You probably noticed that the King isn't exactly a pair. ^_^ Since that card counts as 13 already, you just have to click it and it will go bye-bye. Freebie!

One last rule. A card is "free" to click ONLY if there are no other cards on top of it. If it's covered even a tiny bit by another card, you can't use it. Oh, and you get just one chance to go through the stack. ^_^

Sounds pretty easy, doesn't it? Well, get used to seeing screens like this.

Crap.

Pyramid Solitaire is one of the most challenging games I've played in a while. It's a true puzzle because you have to look at everything and plan your moves carefully! There is no "undo" or "erase" button. Luckily it isn't timed, so you aren't racing a clock. ^_^

Here are some tips to help you get started.


1. Look for the impossible.

Not every game of Pyramid Solitaire is solvable. It's annoying, but true. :( So before you start your game, take a good, hard look at the pyramid. Focus on the tip-top rows. If you see a 3 at the top, you know you'll need a 10 to match it. If all four 10's are also in the pyramid, then you have an unwinnable game. You will never be able to free up that 3 because it's pinned down by the cards it needs.

In the picture below, the reverse happened. The 3 was in a lower row, but all of the 10's were trapped above it.

Well that sucks.

It's up to you whether you want to play an impossible game or not. If you don't want to play, click the GIVE UP button at the top. The game will end and you can try again. NOTE: Giving up means you won't win any coins or jackpot spins, even if you already made a few matches.


2. Write stuff down!!

After my hundredth loss, I decided that something had to change. I read several guides, but none of them gave me any new information. As a last resort I grabbed some scrap paper and decided to write down what cards I flipped over. After the 5th failed game, I finally saw this:

It's about time!

Mere words cannot express the joy I felt. ^_^ Winning adds 100 points to your score, and then you get another pyramid to try. My 2nd one was impossible. (Boooo!)

But hey! I won one!! ^_^

The method that *finally* worked for me was to write down all 3 cards I flipped. Whenever I used a card I struck a line through it. Then I'd write down the next three cards, and so on. This list helped me remember what cards were buried in the waste piles and in what order. VERY useful!


3. Look for possibilities

This one combines the two tips above. ^_^ When I look for impossibilities, I also look to see what I will need to finish the game. Specifically, I look at the 3 topmost cards on the pyramid and I make a note of what will match them. As I flip cards over I think about the 3 cards I need, and I try to make sure they're on the bottom of the waste stacks.

If I'm lucky and get a card where I need it in a waste pile, I'll circle it on my list. This is a Big Flag for my stupid-brain, so I won't accidentally match that card up with something else.

Even with all this planning, sometimes you just can't win.

So close!!! GAH!

The last two cards were stacked on top of each other. I'm better at planning now, but sometimes that still happens. Dangit! :(


Fake Coins & Real Coins

The coin payout isn't very high with Pyramid Solitaire. It's far better than A New Leaf, but not by much. On an average game I pick up between 700-1000 iWon coins.

Pyramid Solitaire has a progressive jackpot, with a max pot of $2,000. On an average game I earned 4 spins, and only hit 10 spins when I won a hand.

The odds of winning the jackpot on iWon's Pyramid Solitaire are "no worse than" 1 in 60,000,000.
The odds of having an emergency-room worthy accident involving a pen or pencil are 1 in 13,300.


Final Rating

Pyramid Solitaire is VERY addicting! I had a hard time writing this review because I didn't want to stop playing! (I lamented that fact on Twitter too. ^_^)

The graphics are simple, but honestly, you don't need anything flashy here. The game is a solid challenge and I really like that. As an added plus, everyone in the chat room was friendly and encouraging! Awesome place to hang out. ^_^

5 out of 5 stars!