How to Play Tri Peaks Solitaire
The Goal
Clear all 30 cards that make up the three peaks. Remove every card and the game is won.
Setup
- Each peak is a four-row pyramid: one card on top, then a row of two, then three, then a base row of four. Three peaks together use 30 cards.
- The peaks are stacked vertically down the screen and overlap slightly where they meet. Only the four-card base row of each peak is dealt face-up; everything above starts face-down. A face-down card flips up only once nothing overlaps it — and that includes cards from the neighbouring peak.
- The remaining 22 cards form the stock. One card is turned over to start the waste pile.
Gameplay
Playing cards: Only uncovered cards — the ones with nothing overlapping them — can be played. Move an uncovered card onto the waste pile if it is exactly one rank higher or one rank lower than the card showing there. Suit does not matter.
Wrapping: Rank wraps around the corner. You can play an Ace on a King or a 2, and a King on an Ace or a Queen.
Uncovering: Removing a card frees the cards behind it. A face-down card flips up once both cards covering it are gone.
Stock: When you run out of moves, turn one card from the stock onto the waste and keep going. There is no reshuffle — once the stock is empty, that is all you get.
Scoring
Cards cleared in a row without touching the stock build a streak, and a longer streak is worth more. Turning a card from the stock breaks the streak and you start the next chain from scratch. Clearing a full peak is worth a bonus.
About Tri Peaks Solitaire
Tri Peaks (also spelled TriPeaks) is a fast solitaire game from the early 1990s. It borrows the up-or-down play of Golf Solitaire and lays it out over three stacked, overlapping pyramids.
It plays nothing like Klondike. There are no foundations and nothing to sort by suit — you just keep the chain going and try to peel the peaks apart before the stock runs out. Roughly half of all deals can be won with careful play.
Tips & Strategies
- Open the face-down cards first. A card that uncovers two others is usually a better play than one that just extends your streak by a point.
- Look before you draw. Drawing from the stock is permanent and breaks your streak, so clear everything you can off the peaks first.
- Plan long chains. Scan for runs like 7-8-9-10 across the board before you start playing them, so you don't strand a card you needed.
- Watch the wrap. Aces and Kings connect, so a stuck position can sometimes be opened by playing around the corner.
- Save the stock. Cards left in the stock are wasted at the end. Use them only when the board is genuinely stuck.
- Use undo to test. If a move doesn't open anything new, take it back and look for one that does.
Why Play Tri Peaks Solitaire?
Quick games: A round takes a couple of minutes. Good for a short break without committing to a long game.
Good for focus: Spotting the next card in a chain keeps you scanning the whole board. It gets easier with practice.
Easy to pick up: No downloads, no account. Open the page and play.