The layout
TriPeaks uses one ordinary pack of 52 cards, with no jokers. Twenty-eight cards are dealt in three peaks. Each peak has one card at the top, two below it and three below those; under all three peaks runs a bottom row of ten cards. Each card overlaps the two cards below it. The ten cards of the bottom row are face up; the 18 cards of the peaks are face down.
One card is turned face up to start the pile. The other 23 cards are the stock, face down.
The goal
Move all 28 cards of the peaks onto the pile. Cards left in the stock when the peaks are gone do not matter.
Which cards can be played
A card can be played when no card covers it. At the start that is the bottom row of ten. When both cards covering a face-down card have been played, it turns face up and can be played too. Clearing the two cards under the top of a peak frees that top card.
One higher or one lower
A card can go on the pile when it is one rank above or one rank below the pile's top card. Suits and colours do not matter. The card you play becomes the new top, so runs can climb, fall, or zig-zag: 6, 7, 8, 7, 6, 5.
- The ranks run Ace, 2, 3 up to 10, Jack, Queen, King.
- Kings and Aces go on each other, so the ranks run in a circle: Queen, King, Ace, 2 is a run. This is the usual rule in computer versions of the game; some rule books leave it out.
The stock
When no card fits, or when you would rather keep the cards that fit for later, turn the top card of the stock onto the pile. It becomes the new top card. The stock is turned once, one card at a time.
How the game ends
You win when all three peaks are gone. The game is lost when the stock is used up and no face-up card is one above or below the top of the pile. Every deal on this site can be won, so if that happens, undo a few cards and try another way.
Tips for longer runs
- Turn cards over. When two cards fit, play the one that uncovers a face-down card: it gives you more to choose from next time.
- Count ahead. Follow each possible run in your head. A run of five beats a run of two, even if the two looks tidier.
- Keep the peaks even. The top card of each peak needs two cards cleared below it. A peak left until last can leave you waiting on the stock for exactly one rank.
- Remember the circle. When a King or an Ace is on top, check for the other: a King on an Ace keeps a run alive.
- Use the stock wisely. Twenty-three stock cards is not many. Turn one only when the cards that fit would end a run too soon.
TriPeaks and Golf
TriPeaks was made by Robert Hogue in 1989. It is a close cousin of Golf Solitaire, an older game played the same way on seven columns of five cards, all face up. Golf is stricter: nothing goes on a King, and Kings and Aces do not go on each other. Its rules are in how to play Golf Solitaire.