How to play
TriPeaks is a fast, chain-building solitaire. Instead of sorting the deck into suits, you clear a mountain range of cards by playing them one at a time onto a single discard pile, always one rank up or one rank down from the card on top.
The layout. Twenty-eight cards form three overlapping peaks in four rows: 3 cards at the summits, then 6, then 9, then a full row of 10 along the bottom. Only that bottom row of 10 starts face up. Every card higher up is face down and covered by two cards below it. As soon as both of those are gone, it flips over and becomes playable. Under the peaks sit the stock (23 cards, face down) and the waste pile, which starts with one card turned up.
A turn. Look at the top card of the waste pile. Any uncovered, face-up peak card that is exactly one rank higher or lower can be played onto it, and it becomes the new top card. Then the same check runs again from the new card. Suits and colours play no part.
- A 7 on the waste takes a 6 or an 8.
- Ranks wrap around: an ace goes on a king, and a king goes on an ace. So a chain like Q, K, A, 2 is perfectly legal.
When you’re stuck, tap the stock to turn its next card onto the waste. That gives you a fresh rank to build from. The stock goes through only once: there’s no redeal, so the 23 stock cards are all the help you get.
You win by clearing all 28 peak cards. If the stock runs out and no peak card fits, the game tells you there are no moves left; you can undo or start a new deal.
Controls. Tap a card to play it. Hint points out a good move, Undo takes back moves without limit (stock turns included), and the move count, clock and score run at the top.
Scoring
The score here rewards streaks rather than speed. The first card you play after turning the stock is worth 1 point, the next 2, then 3, and so on. Turning a stock card resets the count to zero.
That means a run of five cards is worth 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15 points, while five separate single plays score only 5. A run of ten earns 55. Long chains are worth far more than the same number of cards played in short bursts, so the game quietly pushes you to look a few moves ahead.
How it differs from its cousins
TriPeaks shares the up-or-down rule with Golf Solitaire, but the two feel quite different. In Golf the cards sit in open columns, nothing is hidden, and a king ends a run because nothing can go on it. In TriPeaks, kings and aces connect, so chains can loop indefinitely, but most of the layout starts face down and each flip is a small surprise. Pyramid uses a similar triangle of covered cards but removes pairs that add up to 13 instead.
Strategy
Choose the branch that keeps going. When two cards fit, say a 6 and an 8 on a 7, check where each one leads. The 6 might allow a 5 and then a 4, while the 8 dead-ends. Pick the longer path. That’s the whole skill of the game, and it pays twice: more cards cleared and a higher streak score.
Prefer cards that uncover something. Two playable 9s are not equal if one of them sits over a face-down card. Freeing a hidden card adds options; playing a card with nothing beneath it doesn’t.
Spend the stock last. Each stock turn ends your streak and uses up one of only 23 chances. Before tapping it, make sure there really is nothing left to play.
Work the peaks evenly. If two peaks are cleared and the third is still buried, the final stretch depends on a handful of cards. Keeping all three open spreads your options.
Remember what’s in play. There are four cards of each rank. If three 5s are already gone, a chain that needs a 5 is unlikely to continue.
Use Undo to test a line. Since stock cards come up in a fixed order, undoing and trying a different branch shows you exactly how each choice plays out.
If you enjoy TriPeaks Solitaire, try Vegas Solitaire or War next.
