Conquering the Pyramid

by mimbear

If you haven't tried the new game, Pyramids, you're missing out on a lot of fun and Neopoints! It is one of the many features of the newly discovered Lost Desert, which is located south of the Haunted Woods. Pyramids would be the same as the well-known game of Solitaire, except it is built up in a unique triangular shape and is a hundred times more exciting! It only costs 50 NP to play and you can easily win 4 times as much in one round. The best thing about playing Pyramids is that your hi-score is your total amount of winnings rather than the score from your best game… so the numbers can only go up!

The game itself is not very difficult to play. Your goal is simply to remove all of the cards from the pyramid to the draw pile. You can do so by choosing any one of the face up cards that is either one higher or one lower than the target card. A face down card can be revealed once the two cards on top of it are used. If you can't make a move, click on the draw pile to get a new target card.

Pyramids may be a simple game to play; it is not easy to conquer. Although you receive NPs whether or not you clear the pyramid, it is a good idea to keep in mind a few tricks that will help you beat the game and earn more Neopoints You may find these three hints helpful:

1. The Long Way Home. In this game, the shortcut isn't necessarily the best road to take. In fact, the longer you can keep playing your cards the more points you will receive. So before you start clicking away, take a close look at the different kinds of cards that are facing up. Count how many steps it will take before you need to call up a new target card and choose the approach with the most cards involved. Keep in mind that if you reveal face down cards that can be incorporated into your strategy, you may need to revise your plan. Planning takes time, but there's no need to rush since there isn't a penalty for speed or, better yet, lack of speed.

2. Two is Company. There are times in the game where you have to make a choice between two cards. Perhaps playing one card will uncover one face down card while playing the other will uncover two. If this is the case, your best bet is to choose the card that will reveal two face down cards. Why? Simple. You have one chance more of revealing a card that can be played or you will have one card extra that you can choose from to play on top of the next target card. Remember, there is a limited number of cards in the draw pile before it runs out. Having a large number of cards to select from will help secure your chances of winning.

3. Variety is the Spice of Life. Let me give you a scenario. Your target card is a 6 and you have an ace, two 5's, a 7 and a 10 facing up in your pyramid. Which card do you choose? Obviously the ace and the 10 are out of the question so the choice is left between one of the two 5's and the 7. Well, I say go for the 5. The reasoning is simple. If the next target card is a 4 and then you can use your other 5. But what if the next card is an 8 and you had already used your 7? If you had saved it, you would still be left with the same 4 choices as you had before. But by using the 7 you went from having four choices to three. Try to keep a variety of cards at hand so that you won't be caught without.

Since Pyramids is a game of logic you will need to play more than a couple of rounds to uncover even more tricks than the three listed above. You will also need to combine the methods or make a decision between which one you should use under different conditions. For example, what if you were under the same circumstances given earlier where you had to make a choice between one of the two 5's or the 7 except by picking any one of the 5's you will only reveal one face down card while by choosing the 7 you will uncover 2? That could call for a round of eenie-meenie-minie-mo! I think I'll leave you to ponder about that situation. Meanwhile, keep practising. I'll be checking over the next couple of weeks to make sure the hi-scores list is overflowing with winners, winners, and more winners!!!