Giza Solitaire

Seven rows and eight columns

How to play Giza Solitaire

Twenty-eight cards go out as a seven-row pyramid, each card resting on two below it. The other twenty-four form eight reserve columns of three, and that is the whole deck — nothing is held back.

Remove exposed cards in pairs totalling thirteen: a queen with an ace, a nine with a four, a seven with a six. Kings are worth thirteen on their own and go without a partner. A pyramid card is exposed once nothing rests on it; a reserve card is exposed when it is at the front of its column.

There is no stock and no redeal. Clear all fifty-two and you have won.

Pairing to thirteen

Pairing across the pyramid and the reserve

Choosing which thirteen

Giza Solitaire strategy

Count what each reserve column is hiding. All twenty-four reserve cards are visible, so before making a pair you can check whether it costs you access to something you will need later.

Open the pyramid evenly. A card only becomes available when both cards above it are gone, so progress on one side of the pyramid is worth far less than progress across the whole bottom edge.

Prefer pairs that use a pyramid card. Reserve cards are a renewable-looking supply and are not; every reserve removal is one of only twenty-four you will ever get.

Take kings when they surface. They cost nothing, need no partner, and each one is blocking cards below it.

Where the board runs dry

Where a Giza board runs dry

Spending reserve fronts on easy pairs

The eight reserve columns are your steady supply, and each front card you remove exposes the next. Burning through them early on pairs you could have made inside the pyramid leaves you with a wide pyramid and nothing fresh to pair it against.

Clearing the pyramid unevenly

A pyramid card only opens when both cards resting on it are gone. Taking pairs from one side leaves a tall overhang on the other, and the cards under that overhang can stay buried for the entire deal. Work across the row, not down one flank.

Removing kings the moment they appear

A king costs nothing to remove and it is tempting to clear it on sight. But a king sitting in the pyramid is also blocking two cards beneath it, so the question is not whether to take it but when — usually as soon as it is exposed, and rarely worth delaying.

Nothing held back

Is Giza Solitaire winnable?

Not often, but more predictably than Pyramid — and the difference is information rather than odds. Everything is face up, so a deal that cannot be won can usually be recognised as such well before it ends.

The lack of a stock cuts both ways: no unhelpful draws, but also no rescue. We do not publish a win rate, though Giza is a good choice if you like Pyramid's arithmetic and dislike being at the mercy of the shuffle.

Clearing games compared

Giza among the clearing games

Four games that ask you to empty a fixed layout rather than build foundations. What separates them is how much of the deck is visible and whether anything replenishes.

Pyramid is the direct comparison — same pyramid, same thirteens. Giza takes away the stock and hands you the same cards face up instead, which is a trade of luck for planning.