TriPeaks Solitaire

How to play TriPeaks Solitaire

Your aim is to remove all 28 cards from the three peaks. You do not need to use every card in the draw pile. Start by looking at the face-up card below the peaks: this is the top of the waste pile, where you place the cards you remove.

1. Read the waste card. Look for a card one rank above or below it among the uncovered cards in the peaks.
2. Select a matching card. Click or tap it once to move it to the waste. There is no need to drag it.
3. Continue from the new waste card. You can remove several cards in succession without touching the stock.
4. Draw when you need a different card. Select the face-down stock below the peaks to turn up one card, then check the layout again.

One rank higher or lower

On a 6, you may play an uncovered 5 or 7. Suits and colors do not matter. Once you choose a 5, the next card must fit that 5, so look for a 4 or 6. You can change direction as often as the available cards allow. Two cards of the same rank do not match.

Waste

Either

Or

Kings and Aces connect

The rank order continues through King, Ace and 2. A Queen can lead to a King, that King to an Ace, and that Ace to a 2. The reverse direction also works.

Opening a covered card

A face-down card turns over automatically when both cards directly overlapping it have been removed. Taking away just one leaves it covered. Work upward from the bottom row to reach the three summit cards.

Removing a summit is progress, but you win only after all 28 cards have left the layout. Cards may remain in the stock when you finish.

One pass through the draw pile

The number beside the stock shows how many cards remain. Drawing places its top card on the waste and changes what you can play. You cannot choose a buried waste card or return the waste to the stock.

You may draw even when a move is available. Usually it is worth checking the visible chain first; drawing now can leave those cards waiting for another matching rank. Undo lets you reverse either a draw or a card removal.

When the stock is empty, keep checking for playable cards. If cards remain in the peaks and none fits the waste, that position has no move left. You can use Undo, restart the same deal or begin a new one.

Choosing between two playable cards

When two cards fit the waste, pause to see what each removal opens. One might uncover a new card; the other might continue a visible chain. Neither choice is always better. A newly uncovered card is still unknown until it turns over, so use the information you can see and compare alternatives with Undo if you wish.

For example, if two exposed 5s fit a waste 6, they lead to the same next rank. Their positions can still matter: one may be the last cover on a hidden card. Look at the cards behind each 5 before choosing.

Small habits that help

You can take your time over each move. The useful question is what becomes available afterward.

1. Check for another matching card after every play. The waste has changed, and a card that did not fit a moment ago may fit now.
2. Look across all three peaks before drawing. It is easy to miss a playable card at the far end of the bottom row.
3. Notice pairs of covering cards. Removing the second one reveals the card behind them; removing only the first does not.
4. Remember both neighbors of an Ace: King and 2. A chain can continue through the end of the usual rank order.
5. Keep track of the stock count. You have one pass, but an empty stock does not end the deal while cards can still be played.

Help while you play

Undo

Go back one move, including a draw. If that move uncovered a card, Undo covers it again.

Hint

See a suggested card or draw. Hints may use a quick suggestion while a deeper search runs. A hint does not promise that the deal can be won.

Restart

Open the game menu and choose Restart to try the same arrangement again.

New Game

Begin a different random deal when you want a fresh layout.

Settings

Adjust the available card, display and sound options for comfortable play.

Return to your game

Is every TriPeaks deal winnable?

No. New Game gives you a random deal, without selecting only deals known to have a solution. In our 1,000-deal solver sample, 966 deals could be cleared (96.6%) and 34 could not. These results use this version’s King–Ace connection and single pass through the stock. They describe the sampled deals, not your chance of winning any particular game.

The solver can inspect the full deal, including hidden cards. A player deciding from the visible cards has less information, and a winnable deal can still reach a position with no way to finish. Read the Solitaire win-rate study for the method and its limits.

TriPeaks Solitaire questions

Try a short chain in your game

Look at the waste and find one uncovered card that fits. Before selecting it, look for a second card that would fit afterward. Play the first, check any card it uncovers, then decide on the next move. A chain can climb, descend or change direction.

Return to your game