Pyramid Thirteen, deal #25

About this deal

This is one of the harder deals of Pyramid Thirteen: only 18% 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 8 of Hearts, Jack of Hearts, 3 of Spades, 7 of Diamonds, 8 of Diamonds, 5 of Clubs and 10 of Spades, and the Queen of Hearts sits at the very top.

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

One King lies in the pyramid; it leaves on its own as soon as nothing rests on it.

12 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 8 with 4 cards in the layout, while only 3 of its partners (5) are in the layout too; the rest come from the stock.

The solver's winning line has 72 moves.

Deal facts

Difficulty

Hard

Solver's winning line

72 moves, 49 of them stock turns

Quick simulated games won

36 of 200 (18%)

Card at the top

Queen of Hearts

Cards in the layout

28

Cards in the stock

24

Pairs ready at the start

3

Locked pairs

12

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.