Play Triangle Solitaire Online for Free (Inverted Pyramid Solitaire)
Triangle Solitaire flips Pyramid Solitaire upside down, literally. Instead of a base row of seven at the bottom and a single apex at the top, Triangle places seven fully-exposed cards across the top row and tucks the single apex card at the very bottom. Cards in lower rows are blocked by the cards in the rows above them, reversing the entire exposure dynamic. It is the hardest mainstream Pyramid variant, with a win rate around 12%. Play free, no download required.
What is Triangle Solitaire?
Triangle Solitaire is an inverted-pyramid pairing patience game played with one standard 52-card deck. The layout mirrors standard Pyramid Solitaire in structure but reverses it vertically: the widest row (seven cards) sits at the top and is fully exposed from the start, while the layout narrows downward to a single apex card at the bottom. The remaining 24 cards form a face-down stock, drawn one card at a time to a single waste pile.
The pairing mechanic is identical to all Pyramid games: remove cards in pairs summing to 13, or remove Kings alone. But the exposure logic is reversed. In Triangle, a card in a lower row is blocked by the cards in the row directly above it. A card becomes exposed only when both of the cards overlapping it from the row above have been removed. The apex card at the bottom of the triangle can only be reached after all six rows above it are completely cleared.
Triangle Solitaire history
The inverted pyramid concept appears in early 20th-century patience literature as an occasional curiosity, noted for its counterintuitive feel compared to the standard Pyramid layout. The game gained wider recognition through digital solitaire collections that sought to offer the full range of Pyramid family variants. Triangle Solitaire's difficulty made it a natural fit for players who had mastered standard Pyramid and wanted a harder challenge within the familiar pair-to-13 framework. Card historians recognize it as a structural inverse of Pyramid rather than a wholly independent game, since the rules governing exposure, pairing, and stock interaction are otherwise identical. Some digital implementations call it Inverted Pyramid Solitaire or Reverse Pyramid to make the spatial relationship to standard Pyramid explicit.
How to Play Triangle Solitaire
The setup and mechanics are closely related to standard Pyramid, but the direction of card exposure is fundamentally different. Here are the steps:
- Deal 28 cards into an inverted seven-row triangle. The top row holds seven cards, all fully exposed. The second row holds six cards, blocked by the row above. Each subsequent row is one card narrower, ending with a single card at the very bottom (the apex).
- Place the remaining 24 cards face-down as the stock pile.
- A triangle card in any row below the top is exposed only when both cards directly above it and overlapping it from the row above have been removed.
- Tap two exposed cards (triangle cards or the waste top) that sum to 13 to remove both. Valid pairs: A+Q, 2+J, 3+10, 4+9, 5+8, 6+7.
- Tap an exposed King to remove it alone.
- Tap the stock to draw one card to the waste pile. The waste top is always available for pairing.
- When the stock is exhausted and no further pairs are possible, the game is lost.
- Win by removing all 28 triangle cards. The stock need not be empty to win.
Strategies to win Triangle Solitaire
Triangle Solitaire's inverted structure demands a completely different strategic approach than standard Pyramid. The following tactics are specific to the top-down exposure dynamic.
- Treat the top row as both an asset and a constraint. All seven top-row cards are immediately available, but pairing them carelessly can leave second-row cards stranded with no accessible complement in the top row. Survey all seven top-row ranks before making any move.
- Look for vertical chains downward. Removing a top-row pair can expose a second-row card, which can pair with another second-row card to expose a third-row card, and so on. Look for these downward chains at the start rather than picking off isolated pairs.
- Track the apex card from move one. The apex can only be reached after all 27 cards above it are removed. Identify its rank immediately and ensure its complement remains accessible throughout the game. If the apex is a 7 and no 6 is accessible in the top rows or stock, the game may already be unwinnable.
- Do not exhaust the stock recklessly. Unlike standard Pyramid which offers no redeals, Triangle Solitaire also permits none. Every stock draw is a one-time opportunity. Draw only when the triangle layout offers no pairs on its own.
- Manage rank symmetry in the top row. If the top row contains two cards of the same rank and their complement is in short supply, you may not be able to pair both. Decide early which of the two duplicates to sacrifice to the stock cycle and which to pair with a pyramid card.
Triangle Solitaire rules and objective
The objective is to remove all 28 triangle cards. Cards are removed as pairs summing to 13 or as solo Kings. The exposure rule is the key distinction: a card is playable only when both cards in the row directly above it and overlapping it have been removed. The top row (seven cards) is always fully exposed at the start. The waste top is always exposed and pairs freely with any exposed triangle card. The stock is drawn one card at a time with no redeals permitted.
Game setup
Shuffle a 52-card deck. Deal seven cards face-up in a horizontal row (the widest row, at top). Below that, deal six cards in a row, offset so that each card sits between two cards in the row above and is overlapped by them. Continue with five, four, three, two, and finally one card at the very bottom. Each card from rows 2 through 7 is blocked by two cards in the row above it. Place the remaining 24 cards face-down as the stock.
Triangle Solitaire variants and similar games
Triangle Solitaire is the hardest in the Pyramid family. Here is how it fits among all the variants by structural approach and difficulty:
| Variant | Layout orientation | Exposure direction | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triangle (this game) | Inverted: 7 at top, 1 at bottom | Top-down (above blocks below) | ~12% |
| Standard Pyramid | Normal: 1 at top, 7 at bottom | Bottom-up (below blocks above) | ~5 to 8% |
| Relaxed Pyramid | Normal: 1 at top, 7 at bottom | Relaxed bottom-up | ~28% |
| Giza | Normal pyramid + grid | Both zones, all open | ~20% |
| Tut's Tomb | Normal: 1 at top, 7 at bottom | Bottom-up; unlimited redeals | ~55% |
How difficult is Triangle Solitaire?
Triangle Solitaire is the most demanding variant in the Pyramid family for most players. The inverted layout concentrates all your starting moves in the top row, which is both a gift and a trap: you have seven cards available immediately, but every pairing decision you make in that row determines what becomes accessible in row two, which determines row three, and so on. There is almost no margin for error. A single misjudged pairing in the top row can lock the second and third rows into a dependency that no amount of clever stock management can resolve. Unlike standard Pyramid, where the stock provides fresh options throughout the game, Triangle's 24-card stock runs out quickly against the 28-card inverted triangle, and no redeals soften the blow.
What is Triangle Solitaire's win percentage?
Triangle Solitaire has a win rate of approximately 12% under optimal play. This is actually slightly higher than standard Pyramid's 5 to 8% because the fully-exposed top row gives players more initial choices and reduces the number of deals where the opening position is instantly dead. However, the absence of redeals and the rigid top-down exposure chain mean the vast majority of deals cannot be completed. The 12% figure requires near-perfect sequencing of top-row removals combined with precise stock draw timing.
What is the difference between Triangle Solitaire and standard Pyramid Solitaire?
The structural difference between Triangle Solitaire and standard Pyramid Solitaire is the orientation of the triangle. In standard Pyramid, the single apex card sits at the top and the seven-card base sits at the bottom. Cards in higher rows are blocked by cards in the rows below them, so the bottom row starts fully accessible and rows are cleared upward. In Triangle Solitaire, the seven-card row is at the top and the single apex is at the bottom. Cards in lower rows are blocked by cards in the rows above them, so the top row starts fully accessible and exposure progresses downward.
This inversion changes the strategy entirely. Standard Pyramid players focus on clearing the base row to open access upward toward the apex. Triangle Solitaire players must manage which top-row cards to pair first in order to unlock exposure cascades downward toward the apex. The win rates are both low, but Triangle's 12% is marginally higher than standard Pyramid's 5 to 8% because the seven immediately available cards offer more initial pair combinations.
Triangle Solitaire FAQ
What does an inverted pyramid layout mean in Triangle Solitaire?
An inverted pyramid means the widest part of the triangle is at the top and the layout narrows toward the bottom, ending with a single card at the very bottom apex. In standard Pyramid, the shape is a normal triangle: one card at the top (apex) and seven at the bottom. Triangle Solitaire rotates this shape 180 degrees, so row 1 has seven cards across the top, row 2 has six, row 3 has five, and so on until row 7 holds just the single apex card at the bottom. The seven top-row cards are fully exposed from the start, while the apex at the bottom is the last card reachable.
Why is Triangle Solitaire considered harder than standard Pyramid Solitaire?
Triangle Solitaire is harder because top-row pairing decisions have irreversible cascading consequences. With seven cards immediately available, you have many choices on move one, but each choice removes a card that was blocking two cards in row two. If you pair the wrong top-row cards, the row-two exposures may fail to produce any pairs, and row three becomes unreachable. In standard Pyramid, the bottom-up structure means mistakes at the base row still leave five more rows of potential pairs above; in Triangle, a mistake at the top row propagates all the way to the bottom with no recovery path. The difficulty is concentrated in the first several moves, where the margin for error is essentially zero.
How are cards exposed in Triangle Solitaire and what counts as playable?
In Triangle Solitaire, a card is exposed (playable) when both of the cards in the row directly above it that physically overlap it have been removed. The top row of seven cards needs no blockers removed; all seven are available from the first move. A row-two card becomes exposed only after its two immediate upper neighbors are gone. A row-three card becomes exposed only after both its upper neighbors are gone, which in turn requires their own upper blockers to have been removed first. This creates a top-to-bottom exposure chain where clearing each row is a prerequisite for accessing the row below it.
Where does the apex card end up in Triangle Solitaire and why is it significant?
In Triangle Solitaire, the apex card is the single card in row 7 at the very bottom of the inverted layout. It is the last card accessible in the entire triangle because all six rows above it must be completely cleared before it becomes exposed. The apex is significant because it is the final obstacle to winning: every strategic decision in the game ultimately exists to create a path down to the apex. If the apex card is, for example, a 5, its complement is an 8. If all four 8s have already been removed without being paired with that 5, the game is unwinnable even if all other cards have been cleared. Identifying the apex rank and tracking its complements is essential strategy in every Triangle Solitaire game.
What is the best opening move in Triangle Solitaire?
The best opening move in Triangle Solitaire is the one that creates the longest exposure chain downward. Begin by surveying all seven top-row cards and looking for pairs among them. If two top-row cards sum to 13, removing them exposes two second-row cards. Check whether those newly-exposed second-row cards can immediately pair with each other or with remaining top-row cards. A first move that triggers a cascade of two or three automatic follow-up pairs is worth far more than removing a top-row pair that leaves second-row cards with no available complement. If no top-row pair exists, draw from the stock to add the waste top as an additional pairing candidate before choosing.