How to play TriPeaks Solitaire
To play TriPeaks Solitaire, clear the three peaks of cards by moving them onto the pile below, one at a time: each card you play must be one higher or one lower than the card on top of the pile, whatever its suit, and a King and an Ace go on each other. When no card fits, turn the next card from the stock onto the pile. The full rules, with tips.
- The peaks. 28 cards in three peaks over a bottom row of ten. Only the bottom row starts face up; a card turns over as soon as the two cards covering it have been played.
- Up or down. On a 7 you can play a 6 or an 8, then carry on up or down: long runs clear the peaks fastest. A King goes on an Ace, and an Ace on a King.
- The stock holds 23 cards and is turned once, one card at a time. The game ends when all three peaks are gone, or when the stock is used up and nothing fits.
Controls
Tap or click a face-up card to play it onto the pile, or drag it there. Tap the stock to turn a card. With a keyboard, Tab moves between the cards you can play and Enter plays one. D turns the stock, H asks for a hint, U undoes and N starts a new deal.
Every deal can be won
With a shuffled pack, some TriPeaks deals cannot be cleared however well you play, and you cannot tell which, because most of the cards start face down. Here, every deal is played through by the computer before you see it, and only deals it has cleared are dealt. So the way to clear all three peaks is always there: undo a few cards and try another run, or press Hint, which shows the next card to play and says why.
Tri Peaks, the quick one
TriPeaks, also written Tri Peaks, was made by Robert Hogue in 1989, a close cousin of the older game of Golf, and it became a favourite on computers and phones because a game takes only a few minutes. It asks for a little planning and gives a lot of luck in return: the face-down cards keep each deal a surprise until the end.
Large, clear cards
The cards grow to fill your screen, and every card shows its rank and suit in large print in its top corner. On a phone the bottom cards overlap a little, but the corner stays clear. Big cards, at the top of the table, makes them larger still. Hearts and diamonds are red, spades and clubs are black, and the table is a calm green.
A few tips
- Play the card that turns another one over: a face-down card is a card you cannot plan with yet.
- When two cards fit, pick the one that keeps the run going longest.
- Work on all three peaks, not just one: the last cards of a peak are often the hardest to reach.
- Before turning the stock, check every face-up card once more, including the King-on-Ace and Ace-on-King plays.
For the older game with every card face up, try Golf Solitaire. Fancy something different? Try Klondike Solitaire, Yukon or Pyramid Solitaire.