TriPeaks Rules — How This Version Plays

TriPeaks Solitaire (also known as Tri Towers, Three Peaks, or Triple Peaks) is a solitaire card game that combines a three-peak layout with fast-paced, streak-based play. This page covers how our version plays specifically — the three difficulty rule-sets, the controls, and the tools — after a short primer on the shared mechanic. For the general reference rules, see the Card Game Rules hub linked at the foot of this page. The mechanic comes from the Golf Solitaire family: you remove cards one rank higher or lower than the current foundation card. TriPeaks adds the overlapping card structure from Pyramid Solitaire, and a streak mechanic where consecutive plays build up bonus points. (The game was devised by Robert Hogue in 1989 and spread through computer implementations.)

Our version ships three difficulty settings, and they change two rules — the deal and King-Ace wrapping: Easy: all 28 cards are dealt face-up (full information), AND King-Ace wrapping is on, so sequences can loop ...Q, K, A, 2, 3... This is the most forgiving setting. Medium: all 28 cards are dealt face-up, but wrapping is off — Kings and Aces are sequence endpoints. Hard: the classic face-down deal — the 18 covered cards in rows 1-3 start face-down and flip only when both cards covering them are removed — and wrapping is off. So the classic hidden-card deal exists only on Hard, and wrapping exists only on Easy; Medium sits in between with everything face-up but no wrap. Controls & tools on this site: play is click-to-play — click any exposed card that is one rank above or below the foundation to send it there. You get unlimited undo and redo, a move counter and timer, and win/loss statistics tracked on your own device. Nothing to download and no account — the game runs in the browser and your stats stay local.

TriPeaks uses 28 cards arranged in three overlapping peaks, plus a stock pile and a foundation pile. The three peaks each start with a single card at their apex, and the cards fan outward below. Each peak consists of 6 cards arranged in 3 rows — though the bottom cards are shared between adjacent peaks, creating the overlapping structure. Specifically, the layout looks like this: Row 1 (top): 3 cards — one at the top of each peak. Row 2: 6 cards — two under each peak card. Row 3: 9 cards — three rows that form the lower edges, some shared between peaks. Row 4 (bottom): 10 cards — fully exposed and face-up from the start. In the classic deal, the 18 cards in rows 1-3 start face-down and flip face-up when both cards covering them are removed. Our version uses that classic face-down deal on Hard difficulty; on Easy and Medium all 28 cards are dealt face-up, so you play with full information (covered cards are still locked until uncovered). The 10 cards in row 4 are exposed and immediately playable on every difficulty. The remaining 24 cards (52 - 28 = 24) form the stock pile. One card from the stock is dealt face-up to start the foundation pile (sometimes called the waste pile), leaving 23 cards in the stock.

The goal of TriPeaks is to remove all 28 cards from the three peaks. You do not need to use up the stock pile — only the peak cards must be cleared for victory. Cards are removed by playing them to the foundation pile. A card can be played if its rank is exactly one higher or one lower than the current top card of the foundation. For example, if the foundation shows a 7, you can play a 6 or an 8 from the peaks. If you play a 6, then the next card must be a 5 or a 7, and so on. The challenge is that you can only play exposed cards (cards not covered by other cards in the peak structure), and you must carefully plan which cards to remove and in what order to maximize your chances of clearing all three peaks.

The gameplay loop in TriPeaks is simple but strategic: 1. Look at the top card of the foundation pile and note its rank. 2. Scan the exposed peak cards for any card that is exactly one rank higher or lower. 3. Click that card to play it to the foundation. It becomes the new foundation card. 4. Repeat — look for cards that are +1 or -1 from the new foundation card. 5. When no exposed peak cards can be played, draw a card from the stock pile to the foundation. 6. Continue until all peak cards are cleared (you win) or the stock runs out with no valid moves (you lose). The beauty of TriPeaks is how sequences develop. Playing one card often exposes another card that can also be played, which exposes another, and so on. These "chain reactions" are the heart of the game and create exciting moments of rapid play.

An important rule variation in TriPeaks is whether Ace-King wrapping is allowed. With wrapping: An Ace can be played on a King, and a King can be played on an Ace. This creates a continuous cycle where sequences can loop around: ...Q, K, A, 2... or ...3, 2, A, K, Q... Without wrapping: Kings and Aces are endpoints. A King can only connect to a Queen, and an Ace can only connect to a 2. This makes Kings and Aces sequence blockers. Many online versions of TriPeaks allow wrapping, as it makes the game more fluid and increases the win rate. In our version, wrapping is enabled on Easy difficulty only — Medium and Hard play the stricter no-wrap rule, where Kings and Aces are sequence endpoints. Wrapping reduces the frustration of getting stuck on a King or Ace and adds strategic depth — you can plan sequences that loop through the rank boundaries. Without wrapping, the win rate drops significantly and games feel more restrictive. The choice between wrapping and non-wrapping is the most significant rule variation in TriPeaks.

The stock pile contains 23 cards (24 minus the initial foundation card). When no exposed peak cards match the foundation, you draw from the stock to get a new foundation card. Each stock draw resets the foundation to a new rank, opening up different pairing possibilities. However, the stock is a limited resource — once it is empty, you can no longer change the foundation card. In most TriPeaks versions, the stock cannot be recycled. Once all 23 stock cards are drawn, any remaining peak cards must be clearable using only the current foundation sequence. If they cannot be cleared, the game is lost. Drawing from the stock also resets any active streak bonus (in scored versions), which adds a strategic consideration: is it worth drawing to continue playing, or would it be better to accept the streak reset and save stock cards for later?

On this site the goal is simply to clear all 28 peak cards; we track your wins, games played, moves, and time rather than a point score. Streaks still matter, though — a streak is a run of consecutive peak cards played without drawing from the stock, and long streaks are how you demolish the peaks quickly. For context, the traditional TriPeaks point system rewards streaks on a rising scale: the first card scores a base value, each consecutive card without a stock draw scores more (2, 3, 4...), and drawing from the stock resets the run. A 5-card streak would score 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15 points, with peak-clear and completion bonuses on top. Because that curve is triangular, one long streak is worth far more than several short ones — which is why, points or not, chaining is the core skill. See the Odds & Streak Math page linked below for the run-length probabilities.

You win TriPeaks when all 28 peak cards have been removed. The game can be won even with stock cards remaining — what matters is clearing the peaks, not using every card. A typical TriPeaks game lasts 2-5 minutes, making it one of the faster solitaire variants. The win rate with good play is approximately 20-30%, depending on whether wrapping is allowed. Games can be won quickly through long streaks — a skilled player who spots a long sequence might clear 15-20 cards in rapid succession, demolishing the peaks in under a minute. Games are lost when the stock runs out and no exposed peak card matches the foundation. As you play, keep an eye on the stock count. If you have many peak cards remaining and few stock cards, you need your next sequence to be a long one. The game tracks your wins and games played, so you can watch your win rate improve over time. Landing a 10+ card run in a single chain is rare and immensely satisfying.