Pyramid Thirteen, deal #5

About this deal

This is one of the harder deals of Pyramid Thirteen: only 0% 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 Queen of Spades, Ace of Diamonds, 4 of Diamonds, 8 of Hearts, 9 of Hearts, 6 of Hearts and 3 of Spades, and the 2 of Diamonds 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.

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

16 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 Queen with 4 cards in the layout, while only 3 of its partners (Ace) are in the layout too; the rest come from the stock.

The solver's winning line has 70 moves.

Deal facts

Difficulty

Hard

Solver's winning line

70 moves, 49 of them stock turns

Quick simulated games won

0 of 200 (0%)

Card at the top

2 of Diamonds

Cards in the layout

28

Cards in the stock

24

Pairs ready at the start

2

Locked pairs

16

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.