How to Play TriPeaks Solitaire
In TriPeaks, each card you remove changes the rank you can play next. Clear the 3 peaks by moving exposed cards that are one rank above or below the waste top. Suits do not matter, and Kings connect with Aces. Planning a chain before drawing helps the 23-card stock last until the peaks are cleared.
Clearing all 3 peaks
Remove all 28 cards from the 3 peaks to win. Each removed card becomes the new waste top. The stock does not need to be empty when you finish. It is there to give you a new rank to build from when none of the open peak cards fit.
Three peaks over a shared base row
The 3 peaks hold 28 cards: 3 at the tips, 6 in the row below, then 9, with a shared bottom row of 10. Only the 10 cards in the bottom row start face up. Every other card turns over once both cards covering it are gone. One more card starts the waste and the remaining 23 cards form the stock.
Playing from the peaks to the waste
The 10 bottom-row cards are available at the start. A card higher up turns face up and becomes playable when both cards covering it have gone. An exposed 7 can go on a waste 6 or 8, regardless of suit. It then becomes the waste top, allowing an exposed 6 or 8 to follow.
This version wraps between King and Ace. On an Ace you may play a 2 or a King, and on a King you may play a Queen or an Ace. You can reverse direction whenever an exposed card fits, so a chain does not have to keep rising or keep falling.
The stock
When nothing on the peaks matches the waste card, you turn one card from the stock. It lands on the waste, hands you a fresh rank to build from and often springs the board open again. The stock holds 23 cards and it is dealt once through. Once it runs out there is no scooping up the waste to go around a second time.
Runs and how to plan them
A run consists of consecutive peak removals without a stock draw. For example, starting on a waste 6, you could play 7, 8, 7, 6 and 5 if those cards are exposed in that order. Each removal may uncover another card that continues the chain. Look at the cards a move will reveal as well as those already free. A shorter chain that opens the next row can beat a longer one that leaves the other peaks blocked.
Scoring
Each card you clear from the peaks scores 10 points, and turning a card from the stock costs nothing, so a full board is worth 280. Some other versions of TriPeaks pay a growing bonus for long runs. This one does not, which means the score simply counts how many of the 28 peak cards you cleared.
Winning play
Use these checks when several exposed cards fit the waste.
Trace the run before you start it
Look at the cards that are already face up and follow a chain in your head before committing to it. Look for the move that sets up another, and that one a third, instead of grabbing the first legal card and hoping the rest appears.
Bring the peaks down together
Tearing one peak apart while the other two stand full height leaves you short of choices. Spreading your removals across all 3 keeps more cards exposed at any moment, and more exposed cards means more ways to keep a run going.
Free the cards that open the most
Clearing some cards exposes 2 fresh ones above, while clearing others opens nothing at all. The first kind is worth more, so when you can choose, take the card that widens the board over the one tucked at a dead end.
Keep the stock in reserve
Every draw you hold back is a move saved for later, when the easy chains are spent and you need one particular card. Draw to launch a new run when the table is genuinely stuck, and check the peaks once more before you do.
Kings and Aces connect
The loop from King to Ace is the easiest rule to forget, and plenty of missed runs hide there. When you stall on a King or an Ace, check the far end of the sequence before you give up and draw.
Common questions
What does one rank above or below mean in TriPeaks?
Play an exposed card one rank higher or lower than the waste. A 7 accepts a 6 or 8. An Ace accepts a 2 or King because this version wraps the rank sequence.
Is TriPeaks Solitaire hard?
The movement rule is straightforward, but choosing between several legal cards takes planning. Only uncovered peak cards are playable, and the stock has no redeal. Start by following short chains and checking which cards each removal exposes.
Can you win every game of TriPeaks?
No. On a random shuffle the stock can run out before the ranks you need turn up, however well you play. Every Winnable deal on the site has a known solution, so a stuck game usually means an earlier choice went wrong. How we check that a deal can be won.
How is TriPeaks different from Pyramid?
Pyramid removes exposed pairs totaling 13, and Kings are removed on their own. TriPeaks removes cards individually onto the waste by adjacent rank. Both use overlapping layouts, but the card you remove in TriPeaks also determines the next playable rank.