Tyramid
Difficulty: Medium
Players: 2–4
Age: 10+
Time: 30 minutes for an 8-row pyramid
Scoring: Yes
Style: Pattern-building / spatial scoring
Before playing, make sure everyone understands TIC card “Commonness”: a Single means two cards have one property in common, a Tic means they have two properties in common, and a Nic means they have nothing in common.
Objective
Build a flat pyramid one card at a time while scoring points for the Singles and Tics created by each play.
The more useful interactions a card makes with the cards around it, the more points it can score.
When the pyramid is complete, the player with the highest total score wins.
Setup
Before starting, decide how many rows the pyramid will have.
An 8-row pyramid makes a good standard game. For a longer game, try more rows.
A pyramid is built like this:
- Row 1 has 1 card
- Row 2 has 2 cards
- Row 3 has 3 cards
- and so on
Deal 5 cards to each player.
Place the remaining deck face-down beside the playing area. Flip the top card of the deck face-up and place it on the table. This is the peak of the pyramid.
Determine who goes first by any agreed method. Play continues clockwise.
Building the Pyramid
Players play one card at a time into the growing pyramid.
The first player begins Row 2 by placing a card below and slightly to either side of the peak card in the staggered pyramid pattern.
A card may be played only if it has at least one property in common with every card it touches.
Therefore, every new card-to-card interaction must be either:
- a Single, or
- a Tic.
Nics are not allowed.
Depending on its position in the pyramid, a newly played card may touch one, two, or three existing cards. The played card must make at least a Single with every one of them.
Scoring
Score only the new interactions created by the card you just played.
Singles
Each Single = 1 point
Tics
Each Tic = 2 points “A Tic for two.”
Tic Group
Sometimes a played card creates two or three Tics that are all the same type of Tic.
This means all of the involved cards share the same two properties.
For example, three cards may all share:
- 4 + yellow, or
- crescent + violet, or
- star + red.
These are called Tic groups. First score the individual Tics at 2 points each (“A Tic for two”), then add the Tic-group bonus: 3 points for a 3 card Tic group and 4 points for a 4 card Tic group.
3 card Tic group = 7 points total (2 Tics × 2 = 4, plus +3 group bonus = 7)
4 card Tic group = 10 points total (3 Tics × 2 = 6, plus +4 group bonus = 10)
Any additional Singles or different Tics created by the same play are scored normally.
Example
Suppose a played card touches three cards.
It creates:
- 3 card Tic group = 7 points
- 1 different Tic = 2 points
Total score for the play:
9 points
Extreme Card Bonus
The two Extreme TIC cards can earn bonus points when played into the pyramid.
If the card you play is an Extreme Card and creates at least one Tic, add:
- 1-circle-violet: +1 point
- 5-star-red: +2 points
Add the Extreme Card bonus after calculating the normal score for that play.
The same Extreme Card Bonus applies when playing the Hourglass Variation.
It does not apply to the non-scoring Shedding Variation.
Playing Again
If your card creates:
- only Singles, or
- only 1 Tic,
your turn ends.
If your card creates 2 or more Tics, you immediately earn another play.
The Tics may be different Tics or form a Tic group. You may continue playing as long as each new card creates at least 2 Tics.
Do not refill your hand during a multiple-play sequence. When your turn finally ends, draw cards until you have 5 cards again if necessary.
If You Get Stuck
If none of the cards in your hand can be legally played, reveal the top 3 cards of the deck.
If one or more of those cards can be legally played:
- Choose one of the playable cards.
- Play it normally immediately
- Discard the other revealed cards to the side.
The played card scores normally.
If it creates 2 or more Tics, you earn another play as usual.
If none of the 3 revealed cards can be played:
- Choose one of them to add to your hand.
- Discard the other two.
- Your turn ends.
This rule helps keep the game moving when the pyramid becomes difficult to play on.
Starting a New Row
When a row is complete, the next player may start the new row anywhere along its available positions.
Once the first card of a new row has been played, however, all additional cards in that row must build outward from the existing chain.
You may not leave an empty gap between played cards in the same row. This prevents isolated spaces from being created that may later become impossible to fill.
Ending the Game
The game ends when the final row of the pyramid has been completed.
Each player totals all the points they scored during the game.
The player with the highest score wins.
Hourglass Variation
The same game can be played by building an hourglass instead of a single pyramid.
This variation creates more possible places to play and can reduce situations where players have difficulty finding a legal card.
It can work especially well with 3 or 4 players.
Setup
Place one face-up card in the centre of the table.
Instead of building only downward, players will build:
- one normal pyramid extending below the centre card, and
- one inverted pyramid extending above the centre card.
The starting card therefore becomes the narrow centre of the hourglass.
Before playing, decide how many rows will extend in each direction.
For example, an 11-row hourglass could consist of:
- 5 expanding rows above,
- the single centre card,
- and 5 expanding rows below.
Playing the Hourglass
All normal Tyramid rules apply.
The important difference is that there can be two active rows at the same time:
- one above the centre card, and
- one below it.
On your turn, you may play in either active row as long as the placement is legal.
Once a row has been started on either side, cards added to that row must remain connected to the existing chain. Gaps are not allowed.
Players may therefore choose whichever side of the hourglass gives them the better opportunity to score.
Scoring
Scoring is identical to standard Tyramid:
- Single = 1 point
- Tic = 2 points
- 3 card Tic group = 7 points
- 4 card Tic group = 10 points
Creating 2 or more Tics still earns another play.
The Reveal 3 rule is also used whenever a player has no legal card in their hand.
Ending the Hourglass Game
The game ends when both halves of the hourglass are complete.
The player with the highest total score wins.
Shedding Variation
Objective: Be the first player to get rid of all the cards in your hand while helping build the pyramid. There is No Scoring.
Setup
Build the game exactly like standard Tyramid.
Deal 10 cards to each player instead of 5.
Flip one card face-up to form the peak of the pyramid.
Place the remaining deck face-down nearby.
Play
Players take turns playing one card into the growing pyramid.
A played card must make at least a Single with every card it touches.
Nics are not allowed.
Extra Plays
If your card creates:
- only Singles, your turn ends;
- 1 Tic, your turn ends;
- 2 or more Tics, you may play again.
You may continue playing as long as each new card creates at least 2 Tics.
If You Cannot Play
If you have no legal card, reveal the top 3 cards of the deck.
If one or more can be played, choose one and play it. Discard the other revealed cards.
If none can be played, choose one to add to your hand, discard the other two, and end your turn.
Winning
The first player to play their final card wins.
However, your final card must be played legally into the pyramid.
If the pyramid is completed before anyone gets rid of all their cards, the player with the fewest cards remaining wins.
