What is Apophis?
Apophis is a Pyramid Solitaire variant named after the ancient Egyptian serpent of chaos. It uses the same pairing rule as Pyramid — remove pairs of available cards that total 13, Kings removed alone — but on a larger layout with three waste lanes instead of one. Where standard Pyramid deals from stock into a single waste pile, Apophis spreads the stock across three simultaneous waste lanes, giving you three active waste-card choices at once. Managing which lane to advance and which to preserve is the central tactical challenge.
Full rules
A standard 52-card deck is used. The pyramid is dealt as in standard Pyramid — seven rows, one card at the apex through seven at the base — with the same blocking structure (each card is blocked by the two cards overlapping it from above). The remaining cards are dealt into three separate waste piles, which grow as the player deals from the stock.
Available cards are any uncovered pyramid card plus the current top of each of the three waste lanes. Pairs totaling 13 are removed; Kings are removed alone. Win by clearing all cards from both the pyramid and the three waste lanes.
How Apophis differs from Pyramid
Standard Pyramid: one waste pile, one active waste card at a time, cards seen in strict sequence. Apophis: three waste lanes, three active waste cards simultaneously. The additional flexibility means more pairing options per turn, but also more decisions and more risk of burying a needed card under the wrong lane.
Spending a waste lane to pair a pyramid card is usually correct — it removes a blocker from the pyramid while cycling the spent lane to its next card. The harder judgment is which lane to spend when multiple waste cards could pair with the same pyramid card.
Read the Apophis strategy guide →