Pyramid Thirteen, deal #18

About this deal

This is one of the harder deals of Pyramid Thirteen: only 1% of the quick simulated games won it, and the solver had to search for a while before finding the way.

The bottom row starts with 7 of Spades, 3 of Diamonds, Ace of Hearts, King of Hearts, Queen of Spades, 5 of Hearts and Ace of Clubs, and the 6 of Hearts sits at the very top.

2 pairs are ready straight away among the bottom cards – choose the order with care, since some of them compete for the same card.

2 Kings lie in the pyramid; each one leaves on its own as soon as nothing rests on it.

14 times a card lies across one of its own partners, so those two cards can never leave together and need other partners.

The most crowded value is 3 with 3 cards in the layout, while only 1 of its partners (10) are in the layout too; the rest come from the stock.

The solver's winning line has 74 moves.

Deal facts

Difficulty

Hard

Solver's winning line

74 moves, 51 of them stock turns

Quick simulated games won

2 of 200 (1%)

Card at the top

6 of Hearts

Cards in the layout

28

Cards in the stock

24

Pairs ready at the start

2

Locked pairs

14

How to approach it

• Start by naming a partner for each locked card. If both partners of a locked card are also in the pyramid, free them first; otherwise wait for one from the stock.
• With several pairs on offer, take first the one that frees cards in the row above; keep the others for when the waste needs a partner.
• This is a hard deal: use undo to test an idea, and the hint button if you are completely stuck.

A winning start

These are the first moves of the solver's winning line. Open them only if you want a nudge.