TriPeaks Solitaire Classic

TriPeaks Solitaire is a card-removal game built around rank chains. Select an exposed card exactly one rank higher or lower than the current waste card, then continue from the card just removed. Long clears depend on reading ahead and unlocking shared layers between the three peaks.

What is TriPeaks Solitaire?

The tableau is arranged as three connected peaks. Cards near the bottom begin available, while cards higher in the peaks remain covered until every overlapping blocker below them is removed. The usual objective is to clear the entire tableau before the stock is exhausted.

The waste card is a moving reference: every removal changes the ranks that can be selected next.

The one-rank-higher-or-lower rule

1. Turn a stock card face up to establish the current waste rank.
2. Select an exposed tableau card exactly one rank higher or lower.
3. The selected card becomes the new waste card.
4. Continue selecting adjacent ranks for as long as a legal exposed card exists.
5. Draw a new stock card only when the chain cannot continue.

From a 7, an exposed 6 or 8 is legal. After selecting 8, the next rank must be 7 or 9. Suit and color normally do not matter.

Do King and Ace connect?

Whether the rank sequence wraps between King and Ace is a common implementation difference. Queen normally connects to King, and Ace normally connects to 2. Some games also permit King–Ace movement, while others stop the chain at each end.

This behavior is not confirmed for the embedded title. Test the player’s selection behavior before relying on a King–Ace wrap.

How to plan a longer chain

When two cards are legal, compare the next two or three ranks. From a 7, a 6 leading to 5 and 4 is stronger than an 8 with no visible 7 or 9 afterward.

Chains can reverse direction. A route such as 7–8–9–8–7 can collect several cards, and duplicate ranks may provide the turn needed to reach another branch.

Which cards should be uncovered first?

If two chains are equal, prefer the one exposing more face-down cards. Removing blockers from opposite sides of a shared section can open the middle faster than clearing one outer edge.

The peaks are connected. A card between them may unlock both directions and be more valuable than one on an outside edge.

Five ways to conserve the stock

1. Scan the full tableau before drawing. Legal cards near the edges and between peaks are easy to miss.
2. Compare the continuation behind each choice. Count the ranks that follow, not only the first legal card.
3. Look for reversals. Duplicate ranks can let a chain move upward and then back downward.
4. Prefer moves that expose cards. Newly available ranks can extend the current chain without using stock.
5. Be cautious with Kings and Aces. If the implementation does not wrap, each rank has only one direction of continuation.

The stock is limited. Drawing while a tableau move remains wastes a free removal and leaves fewer recovery cards for the final peak.

What to review when no move appears

• Scan every exposed card for exactly one rank above or below the waste.
• Check newly uncovered cards before drawing again.
• Do not assume King and Ace connect until the player accepts the move.
• If an earlier fork existed, compare whether the opposite branch creates a longer return chain.

Scoring, saved progress, hints, undo, difficulty, and exact stock behavior are not verified in the active game and are not guaranteed here.

TriPeaks compared with Golf and Pyramid

Golf uses the same adjacent-rank idea in seven columns. Pyramid removes pairs totaling 13, while Klondike builds tableau sequences. Compare them on the all-games page.

Frequently asked questions

Do suit and color matter in TriPeaks?

Not in the common rule. A move is based on being one rank higher or lower than the current waste card.

Can I select another card of the same rank?

No. The card must differ by exactly one rank; another card of the same rank does not continue the chain.

Can an Ace follow a King?

It depends on the implementation. Some TriPeaks games wrap between King and Ace, while others connect King only to Queen and Ace only to 2.

Does a stopped chain mean the game is over?

No. If stock cards remain, draw a new reference card and continue. The challenge is clearing the tableau before that stock supply is exhausted.