TriPeaks Solitaire

How to Play TriPeaks Solitaire

What Is TriPeaks Solitaire?

TriPeaks Solitaire is a fast, friendly card game played with one standard deck of 52 cards. The table shows three small mountain peaks made of cards, and your job is to knock them down one card at a time. There is only one rule to remember: you may play any open card that is one rank higher or one rank lower than the card showing on the waste pile. Chain enough of those little steps together and the peaks melt away. Games are short, the rule is simple, and each deal plays out like a quick puzzle, which makes TriPeaks one of the easiest solitaire games to pick up and one of the hardest to put down.

The Layout

Each game begins with 28 cards dealt into a layout shaped like three small peaks standing side by side:

• The three peaks. The upper part of the layout is dealt face down in three overlapping rows: 3 cards form the tips of the peaks, 6 cards form the next row, and 9 cards form the row below that, for 18 face-down cards in all.
• The base row. A single shared row of 10 face-up cards runs along the bottom, supporting all three peaks. These are the only cards you can see, and the only ones you can play, at the start.
• The waste pile. One card is dealt face up next to the layout to start the waste. This is the card you play onto, and every card you remove from the layout lands here, becoming the new card to match against.
• The stock. The remaining 23 cards sit face down in a pile. When you have no play, clicking the stock turns its top card onto the waste.

Which Cards Are Available?

A layout card is available when nothing overlaps it. At the start, that means only the 10 face-up cards of the base row. Each card in the rows above is held down by the two cards beneath it; remove both and the card is released. The nice part is that you never have to flip anything yourself: as soon as a face-down card is uncovered, it turns face up automatically, showing you what you have earned. Clearing cards from the bottom row releases cards in the 9-card row, those release the 6-card row, and finally the three peak tips come free.

The One-Up, One-Down Rule

You may move an available layout card onto the waste pile whenever it is exactly one rank higher or one rank lower than the current top card of the waste. Suits and colors never matter; only the rank counts. A few examples make it clear:

• If the waste shows a 7, you may play any 6 or any 8.
• If the waste shows a Jack, you may play any 10 or any Queen.
• If the waste shows an Ace, you may play any 2 or any King, and if it shows a King, you may play any Queen or any Ace.

Ranks wrap around at the ends: an Ace and a King count as neighbors, so the ladder never has a dead end. Each card you play becomes the new waste card immediately, so a single lucky run can hop up and down the ranks, for example Q, K, A, 2, A, K, clearing six cards without ever touching the stock. These chains are the heart of TriPeaks.

The Stock and Your One Pass

When no available card is one rank away from the waste card, click or tap the stock to turn a new card onto the waste and look again. The stock holds 23 cards, and you get exactly one pass through it: there are no redeals in TriPeaks. Once the stock is empty, the game ends when you can no longer make a legal play. Because each stock card is precious, good players squeeze every possible play out of the layout before turning the next one.

How to Win

You win when all 28 layout cards, the three peaks and their shared base row, have been played to the waste. The stock does not need to be empty; finishing with cards still in it is perfectly fine and simply means you played efficiently. If the stock runs out while cards remain in the peaks and no legal play is left, the game is over, so plan your chains and make every card count.

Playing on This Site

The controls could not be simpler: click or tap any available card to send it to the waste, and if you prefer, dragging a card onto the waste pile works too. The buttons above the table give you a New deal, Undo, Redo, and a Hint whenever you cannot spot a play. Undo is unlimited, so you are free to take back a whole chain and try a different route through the peaks. Every deal has its own seed number, so you can replay the exact same layout later or share it with a friend and see who clears more of the peaks.

TriPeaks Solitaire Strategy & Tips

Chase the Longest Chain

TriPeaks rewards momentum. Every card played from the layout becomes the new waste card without costing you anything, so the real skill is stringing plays together. Before you touch a single card, read the whole base row and sketch the longest chain you can: a waste card of 8 with a 7, a 9, another 8, and a 6 showing might allow 7, 8, 9, or 9, 8, 7, 6, and the order changes what you are left with.

• Look for runs that go up and then back down, such as 5, 6, 7, 6, 5. Turning around at the top of a run is often worth more than a straight line.
• When two cards of the same rank are both playable, ask which one sets up the next link in the chain. Playing the wrong twin can stop a run one card short.
• Undo is unlimited, so replay a chain in a different order if the first attempt strands a card you needed.

Prefer Plays That Flip Cards

A play that uncovers a face-down card is almost always better than one that does not. Face-down cards are your hidden future; every flip shows you new information and adds new options to your next chain. When a chain offers a choice between two equal cards, take the one whose removal releases something above it. A card on the end of the base row holds down only one card, while cards in the middle hold down two, so middle cards generally do more work when they leave.

Work All Three Peaks Evenly

It is tempting to demolish one peak completely, but a lonely finished peak leaves you with fewer open cards and shorter chains. Keeping all three peaks alive means more available cards at any moment, and more available cards mean better odds that one of them is a rank away from the waste. Spread your attention: knock cards from each peak as chances arise, and save the satisfying final collapse for the endgame when the last few cards can be chained together. The exception is late in the game, when clearing a peak tip may be the only play left; by then the choice makes itself.

Guard the Stock

You get one pass through the stock and no redeals, so its 23 cards are your entire safety net. Never turn a stock card while a legal play is still on the table; that is the single most common mistake in TriPeaks.

• Before clicking the stock, scan every open card one more time. A missed play costs a stock card and a link in a possible chain.
• Think of each stock card as buying a fresh start. If a turn gives you a choice of chains, take the longer one, even if it begins with a less exciting card.
• Toward the end, count what you need. If six layout cards remain and only four stock cards are left, you need at least one decent chain, so favor plays that keep neighboring ranks available together.

Play the layout before the stock, flip face-down cards whenever you can, keep all three peaks in the game, and let long chains do the heavy lifting. Do that, and the peaks will fall far more often than they stand.

Frequently Asked Questions

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