Pyramid

Pyramid is a game you can play alone or with a partner.  We like this game because you can play it two different ways.  You can either focus on combinations of 10 by removing the face cards, or combinations of 13 if you leave the face cards but remove the jokers.  Aces are 1. If you are playing Pyramid 13, a Jack is 11, a Queen is 12 and a King is 13.  To play:

• Decide on which version and remove the appropriate cards to create your deck.  Shuffle and then create your pyramid by starting your top row with one card, the next row contains two cards  which overlap the first card, the next row will contain 3 cards and so on until your last row, which will contain 7 cards.  See the first picture.

• The remaining cards are set face down to create a draw pile.

• You can only remove EXPOSED cards, that means no other cards are overlapping them.  The 6, Ace, Queen, 3 and Jack are examples of exposed cards in the 2nd picture.

• Play begins on the bottom row of 7.  If playing Pyramid 10, you can remove a ten or 2 cards that total 10.  If playing Pyramid 13, you can remove a King or two cards that total 13.  We're playing Pyramid 13 in the examples.

• Players take turns trying to make a combination.  When you can't make a combination from the pyramid, you turn over one card from the draw pile and see if you can make a combination.  You can only turn over one card at a time (covering the previous card, you cannot go back to it) and keep playing until you run out of cards in your draw pile.

• Play ends when you run out of moves.  The player with the most combinations wins. 

This game is a great way to reinforce combinations of 10 or 13.  Mrs. Giles played this game as a child to help her know the combinations of 13, a tricky number for her.