Play Tri Peaks Solitaire free online in your browser. Clear three peaks of cards by playing them one rank higher or lower than the waste card, and string long runs together for big scores. Tap or drag to play, with hints, unlimited undo, winnable deals and a new daily deal every day.
How to play Tri Peaks Solitaire
Tri Peaks Solitaire is a quick, cheerful card game for one player, also known as TriPeaks, Three Peaks or Tri Towers. You use one standard 52-card deck, and the goal is to clear every card from three mountain-shaped peaks. There's no adding up and no suits to follow: a card can be played whenever it is one rank higher or lower than the card on the waste pile.
The layout
- The peaks are 28 cards dealt in four rows of 3, 6, 9 and 10. The top three rows form three separate peaks, and the bottom row of ten runs underneath all of them. Each card is partly covered by the two cards just below it.
- Face-down cards. At the start only the ten cards in the bottom row are face up. The 18 cards above them are face down.
- The stock is the face-down pile of 23 cards left over after the deal.
- The waste sits beside the stock. One card is turned over to start it, and every card you play lands on top of it.
Playing cards
- Play a face-up card that is one rank away from the waste card. On a 7 you can play a 6 or an 8. Suits and colors don't matter, so a 6♣ is as good as a 6♥.
- Keep going. The card you just played becomes the new waste card, so you can follow it with a card one rank away from that. On an 8 you might play a 9, then a 10, then a 9 again, then an 8. A string of cards played this way is called a run.
- King and Ace connect. With the usual rule, the ranks wrap around: an Ace can go on a King or a 2, and a King on a Queen or an Ace. You can switch this off in Settings.
- Watch the hidden cards turn over. A face-down card turns face up as soon as both cards covering it are gone. Then it can be played too.
- Turn the stock when nothing fits. Tap the stock to turn its top card onto the waste. That card becomes the one to play on. It also ends your run.
Winning and losing
You win the moment the last card leaves the peaks, even if cards are still in the stock. There is only one trip through the stock. Once it is empty and no face-up card fits the waste, the game is over. You can undo a few moves to try another path, or deal a new game.
Playing on BieGames
Tap a face-up card to play it, or drag it onto the waste. If it doesn't fit, it gives a little shake and tells you which ranks would. Tap the stock to turn over a new card. The Run counter at the top and the badge on the waste show how long your current run is. On a keyboard, Tab and the arrow keys move between cards, Enter or Space plays the card in focus, D turns over the stock, H shows a hint and Ctrl+Z (⌘Z on a Mac) undoes. Your game saves itself as you play.
Tri Peaks scoring
Tri Peaks rewards long runs. Every card you play from the peaks is worth more than the one before it, until you turn over a stock card and the count starts again. This is the system BieGames uses:
| What you do | Points |
|---|---|
| Play a card from the peaks | 10 × its place in the run: 10 for the 1st card, 20 for the 2nd, 30 for the 3rd, and so on |
| Clear a peak (play its top card) | +250 |
| Clear all three peaks | +500 |
| Each card still in the stock when you win | +50 |
| Turn over a stock card | No points, and the run starts over |
The run bonus adds up fast. A run of 3 cards is worth 10 + 20 + 30 = 60 points, a run of 5 is worth 150, and a run of 10 is worth 550. Ten cards played as two runs of five would only be worth 300, so it pays to look for the longest line before you start.
The bonuses reward clean, quick wins. Every win includes 750 points for the three peaks and 500 for clearing them, and finishing with eight cards still in the stock adds another 400. Points are never taken away, and if you undo a move, the points it earned go with it. BieGames keeps your best time, top score and longest run, with and without King–Ace wrap, and the Stats button shows your wins, win rate and streaks.
Tri Peaks strategy tips
- Plan the whole run before the first card. When the waste is an 8 and you can see a 7 and a 9, follow each one in your head. If the 9 leads on to a 10 and a Jack while the 7 leads nowhere, start with the 9.
- Pick the card that turns something over. When two cards of the same rank both fit, play the one that sits on a face-down card. A newly turned card might keep your run going, and it is one less mystery in the peaks.
- Turn over hidden cards early in a run. If a run can include a card that uncovers a face-down card, try to play it near the start. The new card might fit the waste right away and stretch the run further.
- Don't neglect the top of the peaks. The cards in the upper rows are the hardest to reach, because two cards cover each one. Clearing the bottom row evenly is good, but keep an eye on the peak that still has the most face-down cards.
- Play everything you can before you turn the stock. Each stock card you turn is one fewer chance later on, and any card still in the stock when you win is worth 50 points.
- Count the cards that are gone. There are only four of each rank. If three 6s are already on the waste and you still need a 6 or an 8 for a stranded 7, that 7 may have to wait a long time.
- Be careful with Kings and Aces when wrap is off. Without wrap, an Ace can only go on a 2 and a King only on a Queen, so they have half as many chances. Play them when you can.
- Use Hint and Undo to learn. Hint looks only at the cards you can see, just as you do. It suggests the play that gives the longest run and turns over the most hidden cards, or points to the stock when nothing fits. Undo is unlimited, so try an idea and step back if it doesn't work.
King–Ace wrap, winnable deals and other versions
King–Ace wrap
Most Tri Peaks games let the ranks wrap around, so an Ace can go on a King and a King on an Ace. That's the default here. Turn wrap off in Settings for a tougher game. Kings and Aces then have only one neighbor each, and more deals end with a card or two stuck in the peaks.
Winnable deals
Some deals can't be won however well you play: the stock simply doesn't bring the cards you need. With Winnable deals only turned on (the default), BieGames runs a solver on each shuffle before you see it and only deals games that can be cleared. When we tested it on random deals, it proved about nine in ten winnable with wrap, and well over half without. The solver can see every card, though, and you can't, so you will still lose some games. Switch to Any deal if you like the luck of a real shuffle.
The daily deal
Each day brings one daily deal. Everyone who plays it with the same wrap setting gets the same cards, and it is always winnable. Win it to build a daily streak, then come back tomorrow for a new one.
Other versions you may meet
- All cards face up: every card in the peaks is dealt face up, so you can plan the whole game. It's more of a puzzle and less of a gamble.
- Betting-style scoring: some computer versions score in dollars. The first card of a run earns $1, the next $2 and so on, each stock card costs $5, and clearing peaks pays a bonus. A game can end with a loss even when you clear cards.
- Wild cards: a few versions add wild cards that can go on anything, which makes the peaks easier to clear.
- Golf: the game whose rule Tri Peaks borrows. Golf uses the same one-up-or-down play but deals seven face-up columns of five cards, and in its strict form there is no wrap.
If you enjoy clearing a pyramid of cards, try Pyramid Solitaire, where you pair cards that add up to 13 instead. For a longer game, classic Klondike Solitaire and Spider Solitaire are a click away.
Where Tri Peaks comes from
Tri Peaks belongs to the Golf family of solitaire games, where you clear a layout by playing cards one rank up or down onto a single pile. It keeps Golf's way of playing but swaps its open columns for three overlapping peaks with hidden cards. The game is credited to Robert Hogue. It was included in one of Microsoft's Windows Entertainment Packs and, later, in Microsoft Solitaire Collection.
Its appeal is easy to see. The rules fit in one sentence, a game takes only a few minutes, and the run bonus makes every deal feel like a small puzzle: how many cards can you play before you have to touch the stock?
Want every detail, with examples and the common house rules? Read our complete Tri Peaks Solitaire rules guide.
Tri Peaks Solitaire FAQ
How do you play Tri Peaks Solitaire?
Play face-up cards from the three peaks onto the waste pile, one at a time, whenever a card is one rank higher or lower than the waste card. Suits don’t matter. When nothing fits, turn the next stock card onto the waste. You win by clearing all 28 cards from the peaks before you run out of moves.
Can you put an Ace on a King in Tri Peaks?
Usually, yes. Most versions let King and Ace wrap around, so an Ace goes on a King or a 2, and a King on a Queen or an Ace. That is the default on BieGames, and you can turn it off in Settings for a harder game.
Do suits or colors matter in Tri Peaks?
No. Only the rank counts. A 9 of any suit can go on any 8 or 10.
When do the face-down cards turn over?
A face-down card turns face up as soon as both cards that overlap it from the row below are gone. Removing just one of them isn’t enough.
Can you go through the stock more than once?
No. In standard Tri Peaks you turn the stock over one card at a time, and there is no redeal. When the stock is empty and nothing fits the waste card, the game is over.
How is Tri Peaks scored?
On BieGames, each card you play scores 10 times its place in the current run, so 10, 20, 30 and so on. Turning a stock card starts the count again. Clearing a peak earns 250 points, clearing all three earns 500 more, and each card left in the stock when you win adds 50.
Is every game of Tri Peaks winnable?
No. Some deals can’t be cleared because the stock never brings up the cards you need. BieGames offers Winnable deals only, which checks every deal with a solver before you play it, and the daily deal is always winnable too.
Is Tri Peaks the same as Tri Towers or Three Peaks?
Yes. Tri Peaks, TriPeaks, Three Peaks and Tri Towers are all names for the same game: three peaks of overlapping cards, played one rank up or down onto a waste pile.
What is the difference between Tri Peaks and Pyramid Solitaire?
Both clear cards from a pyramid-shaped layout. In Pyramid Solitaire you remove pairs of cards that add up to 13, and every card starts face up. In Tri Peaks you play cards one rank up or down onto the waste, and most of the peak cards start face down.
Can I play Tri Peaks Solitaire on my phone?
Yes. It works in any modern browser on phones, tablets and computers, with nothing to download and no sign-up. Your game saves automatically, so you can close the page and pick up where you left off.