TriPeaks Solitaire Beginner Tips: Chains, Free Cards, Streak Scoring and When to Draw (2026)

Last updated: October 5, 2026 · Tested on Playnesta's TriPeaks Solitaire build (MIT ES-module engine by muzsor @ 13ce580c) · Goal: clear all 28 cards of the three peaks

Method: every rule and number below was read from this site's playable build and then re-checked in a headless browser. From the shipped code: one 52-card deck is dealt into 28 cards over three peaks — a bottom row of 10, then rows of 9, 6 and 3 — plus 1 card face-up in the waste and a 23-card stock; a card is free only when the two cards diagonally below it are gone, so exactly ten cards are free at the start; a legal play is a free card one rank above or one below the waste top, suits never matter, and A and K are adjacent; consecutive clears pay a rising streak — 1, then 2, then 3, and so on; drawing a card costs 5 points and resets the streak; a finished peak pays 15 points and the third and last peak pays 30; undo is kept for up to 500 steps in the session, hints highlight a legal card, and there is no loss screen (a stuck board is answered with undo or a new deal). The headless run passed 27/27 checks: a clean start with zero console errors and zero external requests, 28 one-card peak slots with the bottom row of 10 free and 23 in the stock, one face-up waste card, a real mouse click clearing a rank-next-to-the-waste card for +1 with the streak at 1, the real Undo button restoring it, consecutive clears scoring 1 then 3, a real stock draw moving one card and resetting the streak for -5, a hint highlighting a legal card, clearing all three peaks firing the win modal, a 390px viewport with no horizontal scroll where all 52 cards stay on screen and a real touch tap clears a card, and the same-origin iframe bridge emitting load / start / win / restart / 60s.

1. Read the peaks before you tap

Twenty-eight cards make the three peaks, and only ten of them are free at the start: the whole bottom row. Nothing above can be taken yet, because a peak card only becomes free once both cards diagonally below it are gone. That is the same unlocking rule the other patience games use, but here it produces a different feeling — the board is not a pyramid you take apart row by row, it is a chain that starts at the bottom and climbs.

So the first move is a scan, not a tap. Look at the waste top (the single face-up card at the side), then read the ten free cards and pick the one that leads somewhere. Because every card you clear becomes the new waste top, a starting card is only worth taking if the card it exposes, one rank away, also has a partner. A free card that matches but unlocks nothing is often the worst first move on the board.

2. The waste top is your only target — chains are the whole game

There is no selection and no destination: you tap a free card that is one rank above or one below the current waste top and it goes onto the waste immediately. Suits never matter, and the card you just played becomes the next waste top, so the game is one long chain. A run that starts on a 5 can go 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4 — the direction is free and can reverse at any step.

That is why a card's rank matters more than its position. Two cards of the same rank are interchangeable as chain links, so a rank that appears three or four times across the free cards is a junction you can pass through in either direction. A rank that appears exactly once is a bottleneck: if you spend it early on a chain that dead-ends, the card waiting on it may stay buried for the rest of the deal.

3. Ranks wrap: A and K are neighbours

The adjacency rule is rank ±1 with A and K treated as adjacent, exactly as the rules text states. So on a King you may play a Queen or an Ace; on an Ace, a King or a 2. This is the single rule players forget most often, and forgetting it usually means wasting a draw at the wrong moment: the card that would have continued your chain is sitting on the board and you never looked at it because it 'looked' far away.

The practical habit is to check the two extremes first on every draw. When a King is the waste top, an Ace is a legal play and an Ace is a card people leave alone; the same in reverse. On a board where the chain has stalled, the move that restarts it is very often this wrap.

4. Streak scoring: the order you clear in is worth points

Every consecutive clear pays more than the last: the first card 1 point, the second 2, the third 3, and so on, with no cap. So a chain of ten straight clears pays 1+2+…+10 = 55 points, while the same ten cards cleared in five chains of two pay only 5×(1+2) = 15. The board is the same; only the order is different.

Two consequences. First, prefer the continuation over the shortcut: if two free cards both match the waste top, take the one that keeps a further card matchable, because the streak is worth more than clearing the "safer" card. Second, do not break a chain for tidiness. The score never punishes a card that stays on the board — it punishes a needless draw, because drawing resets the streak to zero and every point you had accumulated stops there.

5. Drawing is a tool, and it costs five points

When no free card matches the waste top, draw one card from the 23-card stock. The draw is the only way to change the waste top when the board is stuck, but it is not free: it costs 5 points and resets the streak. On a long chain, breaking it to draw can cost far more than the 5 that is shown — the streak you gave up is the real price.

So treat drawing as a deliberate trade, not a reflex. Before you draw, check the wrap in section 3, check whether a rank you dismissed is actually adjacent, and only then spend a card. After the draw you have a brand-new top, so the best play is to check the free cards again before another draw: two draws in a row may be unavoidable, but they are the most expensive thing in the game.

6. Finish the peaks: the last three cards pay the most

A peak is finished when its top card — the single card on the third row — is cleared, and the build pays 15 points for each of the first two peaks and 30 for the last one. Since only three cards sit on that row, the endgame is exactly three clears, and they are worth more than any streak earlier in the deal.

That changes the last third of the game. Once the bottom row is mostly gone, plan backwards from the three top cards: which of them can still be reached, and what rank each one needs on the waste when it is finally free? A top card is only playable when both cards under it are gone, so clearing the last blocker in front of a peak is worth doing even if it breaks a streak. And the very last peak pays 30 on its own, so a chain that reaches it is the best ending the board allows.

If the stock runs out and no free card matches, the board is stuck. There is no redeal here — unlike pyramid, the TriPeaks stock is a single 23-card pass — and there is no loss screen either. Undo (up to 500 steps) or a new deal are the honest exits, and the undo button is the fastest way to answer "was that draw really necessary?".

FAQ

How do you play TriPeaks Solitaire?

Deal a 52-card deck into 28 cards over three peaks, with one face-up card in the waste and 23 cards in the stock. Tap any free card whose rank is one above or one below the waste top; it goes onto the waste and becomes the new target. Suits do not matter and A and K are adjacent. When nothing matches, draw a card from the stock. Clear all 28 peak cards to win.

What cards can you play in TriPeaks?

A free card one rank above or one below the top card of the waste pile — for example a 6 or an 8 on a 7. Suits never matter, so a 6 of hearts plays on an 8 of spades exactly as well as on an 8 of hearts. Aces and Kings are adjacent to each other.

What is a free card in TriPeaks Solitaire?

A peak card with no cards resting on it. Concretely: a card is free only when both cards diagonally below it have already been removed. At the start that is exactly the ten cards of the bottom row. Upper cards flip face-up automatically as the cards under them clear.

Does an Ace count as next to a King?

Yes. The game treats ranks as a loop, so a King may be followed by a Queen or an Ace, and an Ace by a King or a 2. This wrap is part of the rules text and part of the shipped code, and it is the move players miss most often.

How does scoring work in TriPeaks?

Each consecutive clear pays one more than the previous: 1, then 2, then 3, and so on. Drawing a card from the stock costs 5 and resets the streak to zero. Finishing a peak pays 15, and the third and final peak pays 30. Undoing a clear takes its points back and restores the board.

Can you redeal in TriPeaks Solitaire?

No. The stock is a single pass of 23 cards and cannot be dealt back into. That is the main rule difference from pyramid solitaire, where the waste can be recycled up to a chosen limit. Here, when the stock is empty and nothing matches, the board is stuck and undo or a new deal is the way out.

Is every TriPeaks deal winnable?

No, and this build does not pretend otherwise. A deal can strand a needed rank under two blockers that only clear together, and with a single stock pass that can genuinely end the board. That is why there is no loss screen: the game lets you undo or start a new deal instead of ending the session.

Does it work on a phone, and does it save my progress?

Yes to the phone: the peaks are drawn to fit a 390px screen with no sideways scrolling, all 52 cards stay visible, and a tap runs the same code path as a mouse click. The deal itself is not saved between visits: every time you open the page you get a fresh 52-card deal. Undo history lasts for the session, so keep the tab open if you want to step back through your moves.

Where can I play it?

Right on this site's tripeaks-solitaire page. It is built on the MIT-licensed ES-module solitaire collection by muzsor (commit 13ce580c); the cards are DOM elements and Unicode suit symbols rather than image files, and the license and attribution are listed under the game.