TriPeaks Solitaire

TSBy The Strategy Desk·Published March 27, 2026

TriPeaks Solitaire (also known as Tri Peaks or Triple Peaks) is a fast-paced solitaire card game where the goal is to clear three overlapping peaks of cards. Unlike Pyramid Solitaire which pairs cards to 13, TriPeaks lets you remove any available card that is one rank higher or lower than the current waste pile card — and ranks wrap around, so Kings connect to Aces.

How It Works

A standard 52-card deck is dealt into three peaks. The peaks share a base row of 10 face-up cards. Above the base, 18 cards are dealt face-down in three pyramid formations. Cards flip face-up when both cards covering them are removed. The remaining cards form the stock pile, with one card drawn to start the waste pile.

Click any available face-up card that is exactly one rank higher or lower than the waste pile top to play it. If no moves are available, click the stock to draw a new card. The game ends when all peaks are cleared (you win) or when no moves remain and the stock is empty.

Scoring & Streaks

TriPeaks features a streak-based scoring system. Each consecutive card you play without drawing from the stock increases your streak multiplier. The first card in a streak earns 1 point, the second earns 2, the third earns 3, and so on. Drawing from the stock resets the streak to zero. Building long chains of consecutive plays is the key to achieving high scores.

Tips for Winning

• Plan runs of cards to build long streaks for maximum points
• Prioritize uncovering peak tops — clearing a peak opens many cards
• Look for paths that alternate up and down through available cards
• Save stock draws for when you truly have no playable cards
• Remember that Kings and Aces connect — use wrapping to extend streaks

History & Origins

TriPeaks is one of the few widely-played solitaire variants with a known designer and birth year. Robert Hogue created it in 1989 for US Gold, and it entered mainstream computing when Microsoft bundled it with the Entertainment Pack series in the early 1990s. That bundle was the first time millions of office workers encountered a solitaire game that was not Klondike, and the streak-scoring hook made TriPeaks stick. Structurally, it borrows the peak-and-base silhouette from Pyramid and the ±1 sequencing rule from Golf Solitaire, then adds face-down tiers that flip as their covering cards are removed. That hybrid pedigree — a visible Golf-style discard rule married to Pyramid-style positional blocking and a point multiplier — is what distinguishes it from every older patience game, and explains why it feels faster and more arcade-like than its siblings.

Strategic Principles

Good TriPeaks play is chain-construction, not card-matching. We are not chasing individual removals — we are building the longest streak the board will allow. The principles we apply each game:

• Build long descending (or ascending) ladders. A 5-6-7-8-9 chain that runs across the base row scores 1+2+3+4+5 = 15, versus five separate single-card plays worth 5. We mentally scan for ladders before drawing stock.
• Track what the stock still owes us. Twenty-four cards will pass through the waste over the course of the game. Knowing which ranks are already gone tells us which ladders are still reachable and which are dead.
• Sacrifice short chains that block long ones. A two-card chain that forces us to draw stock is often worse than pausing, drawing once, and starting a five-card chain from a better anchor rank.
• Clear the middle peak early. The centre peak sits on base cards shared with both outer peaks. Removing its tier-one cards unlocks two or three covered cards on the flanks, multiplying downstream options.
• Respect the base row as a bridge. The ten base cards connect the peaks laterally. They are the only cards that can enable a chain that walks across all three peaks, so we try to leave at least one playable base card in reserve.
• Use wrap-around deliberately. King-to-Ace and Ace-to-King are the most-missed connections because they feel unnatural. We keep them on the mental menu alongside the normal ±1 options.
• Reserve the final stock draws. The last two stock cards often decide the game. We avoid burning them on low-value chains when a partially-cleared peak still has options we have not explored.

Difficulty & Win Rate

TriPeaks is a forgiving solitaire. Published estimates put the win rate between roughly 45% and 60% with competent play — meaning most deals are clearable, and the game's skill ceiling sits mostly in how high a score we post rather than whether we finish. Hobbyist analyses on solitairelaboratory.com and card-game databases such as Pagat generally cluster in the same range, with wrap-around rules nudging the rate upward because they double the number of legal neighbours for Kings and Aces. The skill-to-luck balance is genuinely even: luck determines which face-down cards sit under which peaks, but skill determines whether we convert a 6-card ladder into a 14-card streak and whether we spot the wrap-around that keeps a chain alive. High-score play has a much lower effective win rate — clearing all 28 cards with a single streak is rare and depends heavily on deal quality.

Common Mistakes

• Clearing peaks in the wrong order. New players finish one outer peak completely before touching the middle. That often strands base cards and kills lateral chains. Work across peaks, not down one at a time.
• Hoarding short chains. Taking a two-card streak just because it is available burns a playable card that could have anchored a longer sequence after one more stock draw.
• Drawing without a plan. Stock draws should end chains we have already extracted full value from. Drawing “to see what comes next” resets our multiplier for no reason.
• Forgetting to peek ahead. Many versions show the next stock card. Ignoring that preview leaves guaranteed plays on the table.
• Treating wrap-around as an afterthought. The King-Ace bridge is where the longest streaks get built. Skipping it ends chains at 11 or 12 cards when 14+ was reachable.
• Ignoring peak symmetry. Each peak tip has two parent cards. Clearing them unevenly can strand the tip card under a single blocker and waste stock reveals.

How This Game Compares

TriPeaks and Golf Solitaire share the same removal rule — any ±1 rank from the waste — but differ in layout and pacing. TriPeaks stacks 28 cards across three peaks with 18 face-down tier cards, creating positional blocking and surprise reveals. Golf lays out all 35 cards face-up in a flat 7-column rectangle, removing the discovery element and rewarding whole-board planning. Both games use streak scoring, but TriPeaks tends to produce longer chains because of the shared base row that bridges the three peaks. Compared to Pyramid, TriPeaks shares a visual family (pyramid shapes, overlapping tiers) but plays completely differently: Pyramid pairs to 13, TriPeaks sequences by ±1. TriPeaks is closer in feel to Golf than to Pyramid despite sharing Pyramid's silhouette. If we enjoy TriPeaks for its chain-building, we typically enjoy Golf and Monte Carlo for similar reasons; if we enjoy it for the peak-reveal element, we tend to gravitate toward Pyramid and TriPeaks's own five-peak extensions.

Variant Notes

A handful of TriPeaks variants have become common in digital implementations:

• Standard 3-Peak. 28 cards, 18 face-down, wrap-around on. The default everywhere.
• 5-Peak Extended. Five peaks, 50+ cards, requires near-continuous streaks for a full clear. Popular in mobile implementations because it doubles session length.
• No-wrap TriPeaks. Removes the King↔Ace bridge. Shortens most streaks by 10–20% and lowers win rate noticeably.
• Redeal variants. Some versions let us reshuffle unused stock once or twice, pushing win rates higher but devaluing careful stock management.
• Power-card versions. Casino-app TriPeaks typically adds wild cards and boosters that change the scoring economy dramatically without altering the core removal rule.

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn More

• How to Play TriPeaks Solitaire — Complete rules and setup guide
• Play Pyramid Solitaire — Pair cards that sum to 13
• Play Klondike Solitaire — The classic solitaire game
• Play Spider Solitaire — Another popular solitaire variant
• Types of Solitaire — Explore 20+ solitaire variants