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Answers to the most common questions about Tri-Peaks solitaire rules, scoring, strategy, and gameplay. Whether you are learning the game for the first time or looking to improve your score, you will find the answer here.
Tri-Peaks (also called Three Peaks or Tri Towers) is a single-player card game where 28 cards are arranged into three overlapping pyramid-shaped peaks with the remaining 24 cards forming a stock pile. You remove exposed tableau cards that are one rank higher or lower than the top waste pile card, regardless of suit. The goal is to clear all three peaks.
Yes. Tri-Peaks uses wrapping, which means Ace and King are considered adjacent ranks. You can play an Ace on a King and a King on an Ace. This wrapping rule is critical for maintaining long streaks and clearing difficult boards.
Each consecutive card you remove without drawing from the stock earns one more point than the previous removal. The first card scores 1 point, the second scores 2, the third scores 3, and so on. Drawing from the stock resets the streak, so the next removal scores 1 again. The first and second peaks you clear pay 15 points each, the third pays 30, and clearing all three adds a 50-point completion bonus.
Robert Hogue, who designed the modern three-peak layout in 1989, reported that over 90 percent of deals are completely solvable. That figure assumes perfect play with the Ace-King wrap this game uses, and it is his own analysis rather than an independent solver study, so treat it as a ceiling. Real play falls well short: 18 of the 28 tableau cards start face-down. We have not measured our own win rate, so we publish no number for it.
Drawing from the stock resets your streak, so avoid it when you can keep a chain going. However, there are times when drawing is correct: if the available removal would block access to more valuable cards underneath, or if you need a specific rank to unlock a peak card, drawing to find that rank may produce a higher total score in the long run.
A card is exposed when both cards that overlap it from the row below have been removed. At the start of the game only the ten base-row cards are exposed, because nothing sits below them. As you remove base-row cards, the face-down cards in the row above become uncovered, are turned face-up, and can now be selected. You work your way from the bottom of each peak toward the single card at the top.
Tri-Peaks is a mix of both. Luck determines which cards are dealt and where they are placed in the peaks. Skill comes from choosing which exposed card to remove when multiple options are available, deciding when to draw from stock versus continuing a streak, and prioritizing peak cards that uncover the most hidden cards. Expert players consistently outscore beginners on the same deals.
One of the 24 stock cards starts the waste pile, so you get 23 draws. Once they are gone, you must rely entirely on exposed tableau cards that match the current waste card. If no such card exists, the game ends immediately and you lose 5 points for every card still standing in the peaks, which often leaves the final score negative. Clearing all 28 instead pays a 50-point completion bonus.
Both games use a pyramid-shaped layout, but the mechanics differ. In Pyramid solitaire you remove pairs of exposed cards that add up to 13, regardless of the waste pile. In Tri-Peaks you remove single cards that are one rank away from the waste pile card. Tri-Peaks also has three separate peaks instead of one large pyramid and uses streak-based scoring rather than pair-matching.
The rules for undo vary by implementation. On SuitedGames you can undo your most recent move to try a different path. In traditional paper-based play there is no undo. Competitive and timed variants typically disable undo to preserve challenge. Regardless of undo rules, planning ahead before committing to a removal produces better results than relying on undo.
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