Pairing & removal · The Bazaar
Five tableau columns hold the cards dealt from a shuffled 52-card deck. Remove pairs whose ranks sum to 13 (Queen + Ace, Jack + 2, 10 + 3, 9 + 4, 8 + 5, 7 + 6) or remove a lone King. When you run out of plays, deal a fresh row of five. The last two cards in hand become face-up grace cards at the side — available for pairing just like the tableau tops. Clear every card to win.
Baroness Solitaire is a compact pairing game in the same family as Pyramid. Like Pyramid, it removes pairs of cards totaling 13 (Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13). Unlike Pyramid, five columns sit side by side. A new row of up to five cards can be dealt from stock while cards remain. New cards cover the previous column tops.
The 52-card deck is dealt five cards face-up as the opening row. The remaining 47 cards form the stock. Available cards are the top exposed card of each column and any face-up grace cards. The stock top is not directly pairable.
Remove pairs of available cards totaling exactly 13. Kings (value 13) are removed alone. Queens pair with Aces; Jacks with Twos; Tens with Threes; and so on down to Sevens and Sixes. You may deal another row even when a pair is available. The last two stock cards become grace cards. Win by clearing all 52 cards.
Pyramid uses a triangular covering layout. Baroness uses five columns: each top is available, while cards below it remain covered. Pair selection and the timing of new row deals both affect access.
The stock deal mechanic also differs: Pyramid recycles a linear stock through a waste pile. Baroness deals new rows to columns, which means running out of stock ends the game more abruptly. Every wasted pairing opportunity in Baroness potentially costs a stock row that might have produced a better combination.
Before pairing or dealing, compare the column tops you will expose or cover. A legal pair can reveal a useful rank from beneath either source card.
Kings leave alone and reveal the next card beneath them. For other pairs, compare the visible complements and the newly exposed cards.
Baroness is part of The Bazaar · Pairing & removal.