# Pyramid Block Calculator

Created by Krishna Nelaturu
Reviewed by Steven Wooding
Last updated: Mar 24, 2022

Welcome to our pyramid block calculator! If you're here, you probably want to build a pyramid in Minecraft, and you are wondering how many blocks you will need and what dimensions the pyramid should be. To make your life easier, this Minecraft pyramid calculator will calculate the number of blocks in the pyramid if you know the base dimensions or height of the block pyramid.

In this article, we will go over the basic mathematical rules on how to build a pyramid in Minecraft so that you can figure out what base dimensions your pyramid needs to be to reach a certain height and how many stacks of blocks you will need to build it.

## Rules for building a pyramid in Minecraft

Minecraft may be a sandbox game, but it does come with some restrictions:

1. Each Minecraft block is a 1 m3 cube, with 1 m (or 3.281 ft) side.
2. You can only place blocks next to each other or on top of one another, but not in an overlapping manner.

Due to these factors, in order to build a pyramid in Minecraft, we insist on following these rules:

1. Pyramid must have a square base – Aside from the fact that a square pyramid is easy to build, other pyramids are infeasible in Minecraft. They will leave gaps open to the sides or do not culminate in a proper pyramid apex.

2. Pyramid base must have an odd number of blocks per side – This is related to the pyramid's apex and height. Pyramids with an even number of blocks per side in their base cannot culminate in a proper pyramid apex – with one block in the center as the capstone. Instead, they will end with four blocks, giving you a flat-topped pyramid.

Also, note that the height of a block pyramid is given by:

$\qquad h =\begin{cases} \frac{n+1}{2}, & n\text{ is odd} \\ \frac{n}{2}, & n\text{ is even} \end{cases}$

where:

• $h$Height of a block pyramid; and
• $n$Number of blocks per side in the pyramid base.

For example, a $29 \times 29$ pyramid and a $30 \times 30$ pyramid will have the same height of $15$ tiers. However, a $29 \times 29$ pyramid will require fewer blocks than a $30 \times 30$ pyramid while also giving you that excellent pyramid apex.

1. The pyramid is hollow – You may want to build a pyramid to serve as your base of operations in survival mode, or you want to show off your super cool pyramid to your friends. Whatever the case, the basic pyramid you should build is hollow. Solid pyramids don't make sense in Minecraft – they require exponentially more blocks than a hollow pyramid of the same dimension, and they don't serve any purpose. Of course, you may want to build rooms and booby traps in your pyramid, but you should still start with a basic hollow pyramid.

## Minecraft pyramid dimensions, height, and total blocks required

First, let us look at a Minecraft pyramid from the top. We can see it is a square. Given that it is hollow, we can infer that this pyramid is a square with each inner layer of the square elevated to successive upper levels (or tiers) to form the pyramid. To calculate the number of blocks in the pyramid, we can calculate the area of the square base. Hence, the total number of blocks in a pyramid is given by:

$\qquad N = n^2$

where:

• $N$Total number of blocks in the pyramid.

The dimensions of a Minecraft pyramid are generally given in terms of blocks per side in the base, as $n \times n$. For example, a pyramid with $29$ blocks in its base per side is a $29 \times 29$ pyramid.

The height of a block pyramid depends on its dimensions. In terms of blocks, it is given by (when $n$ is odd):

$\qquad h = \frac{n+1}{2}$

And when $n$ is even by:

$\qquad h = \frac{n}{2}$

For example, the height of a $29 \times 29$ pyramid would be $\frac{29+1}{2} = 15$, or $15$ blocks high.

## How to use this pyramid block calculator

This Minecraft pyramid block calculator can calculate everything you need for building your pyramid:

• Enter your pyramid's desired height to calculate the number of blocks in the pyramid and base dimensions.
• Input the desired base dimensions to calculate the pyramid's height and the total number of blocks.
• Enter the total number of blocks in the pyramid to get the height and base dimensions. Note that this will not work if the value you entered is not a perfect square or an odd number since they cannot form a Minecraft pyramid, for reasons discussed in the previous sections. Instead, try the step below.
• Enter the total blocks in your inventory in the Pyramid stats from a quantity of blocks section and find out the largest pyramid you can build with these resources.

## How to build a pyramid in Minecraft

Once you've calculated all the necessary parameters using our Minecraft pyramid calculator, you can jump into Minecraft and start building your pyramid:

1. Place the blocks for the pyramid base in an $n \times n$ square frame arrangement.
2. For the next tier, place one temporary block anywhere along the inside of the base tier, then place another block on it as the starter block of the second tier.
3. Place blocks next to this starter block and continue like in step one to place the remaining blocks of this tier in an $(n-2) \times (n-2)$ square frame arrangement.
4. You can remove the temporary block after you've placed the starter block.
5. Repeat these steps until you arrive at the pyramid's apex, where you will place only one block. Note that every upper-tier will require a temporary block to initiate a starter block for that tier.

Alternatively, you can build a temporary solid tower from the ground to the apex of your would-be pyramid and then place blocks from top to bottom. Or you can create a staircase from the center of any base side to the peak of the pyramid and then place blocks in any order you want. So, no matter how you build a pyramid in Minecraft, the only "rule" here pertains to the structure's geometry: every side of the upper tier has two blocks fewer than the one below it.

And lo! You have built your first pyramid! Now you can customize it to your heart's content! or you can find out the surface area of the pyramid for an assignment. Want to add a Nether portal to your pyramid? Check out our nether portal calculator to figure out everything you need!

Krishna Nelaturu
Height (number of tiers)
Blocks in base (per side)
Total blocks needed
Blocks in nᵗʰ layer
nᵗʰ tier
Blocks per side in nᵗʰ tier
Total blocks in nᵗʰ tier
Pyramid stats from a quantity of blocks
Total blocks in inventory
People also viewed…

### BMR - Harris-Benedict equation

Harris-Benedict calculator uses one of the three most popular BMR formulas. Knowing your BMR (basal metabolic weight) may help you make important decisions about your diet and lifestyle.

### Drone flight time

Wondering how long your drone will hover in the air? Check out this drone flight time calculator!

### Pixels to print size

This pixel to print size calculator will help you solve the print size dimensions of an image file for any given pixel density.