Tri Peaks is an exposure puzzle disguised as a streak game.

History and background

Tri Peaks Solitaire was designed by Robert Hogue and introduced by Microsoft in 1994 as part of its entertainment software. The game builds on the same rank-adjacency removal mechanic as Golf Solitaire but replaces the seven-column tableau with three overlapping pyramids whose bases share a common row of ten cards.

The shared base row is the defining structural feature of Tri Peaks. Cards in that row can be covered by more than one pyramid card, meaning that clearing one card from a pyramid can uncover multiple base-row cards simultaneously. This cross-peak exposure mechanic is what separates Tri Peaks strategy from Golf strategy.

Tri Peaks is included in Microsoft Solitaire Collection and is one of the most played patience variants in the world. It is also available in many mobile implementations with a scoring system based on streak length.

How the game is set up

The layout consists of three overlapping pyramids and a shared base row:

• Three pyramid peaks — Each peak has three rows. The top card of each peak is face-up. Cards below each peak card are face-down until the card covering them is removed.
• Shared base row — Ten face-up cards across the bottom are shared among the three peaks. Each base card may be covered by one or two pyramid cards from the peaks above it.
• Stock and waste — The remaining 24 cards form the stock. One card at a time is flipped to the waste to change the active rank.
• Removal rule — The top face-up card of any available tableau position can be removed if it is one rank above or below the current waste-pile top. Suits are irrelevant. Kings and Aces typically wrap (Ace plays on a King and vice versa), making Tri Peaks more flexible than standard Golf.

The game is won when all tableau cards have been removed.

Peak access order

One of the first strategic decisions in Tri Peaks is which peak to open first. In general, focus your early moves on the peak whose cards will uncover the most base-row cards and therefore give you the most new available options.

The three peaks share the base row but have different relationships to it. The middle peak covers more base-row cards than either side peak. Opening the middle peak early tends to unlock more base cards simultaneously, giving you more rank diversity for chain building.

That said, if one peak has cards in an ideal rank sequence that matches your current waste-pile top, following that chain is often better than switching to a different peak mid-chain.

Streak building vs. board opening

Mobile versions of Tri Peaks reward long streaks with bonus points. Even in non-scored versions, long removal chains are how you clear most of the tableau before the stock runs out.

However, streak building and board opening are sometimes in tension. A streak might extend by playing a base-row card that does not uncover anything, while an adjacent card in the pyramid would have revealed two face-down cards.

Bridge ranks and the wraparound rule

Tri Peaks typically allows wraparound (Ace plays on King, King plays on Ace), which eliminates the King-stopper problem that makes Golf harder. This makes chains far more likely to continue — but it also means bridge ranks are even more central to strategy, since there are effectively no chain-breaking ranks.

Bridge ranks (6, 7, 8, 9) can extend chains in both directions. An 8 on top of a column can be reached from a 7 chain or a 9 chain. Using an 8 on a two-card chain when it could have anchored a six-card chain through adjacent cards is the classic Tri Peaks waste.

Stock timing

The stock in Tri Peaks serves the same role as in Golf — it resets the active rank when chains break. Unlike Golf, the Tri Peaks stock typically allows no recycling once exhausted, making each draw a one-time resource.

Before drawing from stock, always scan the full tableau for any card adjacent to the current waste top. With three pyramids and a base row, it is easy to miss a valid removal in a far column. A missed removal followed by a stock draw wastes a stock card that could have extended a chain.

The best time to draw from stock is when:

• No removal is available with the current waste top, OR
• The only available removal leads to a rank with no further continuations, while a stock draw might produce a rank with many continuations across the three peaks.

Common mistakes

• Over-focusing on one peak.Clearing one peak entirely before touching another leaves two peaks largely locked until the cleared peak’s chain exhausts. Broad, parallel exposure across all three peaks gives more rank diversity.
• Playing base-row cards before their pyramid cards are cleared.Base-row cards are already exposed and will not reveal anything new. Pyramid cards, when removed, uncover face-down cards. Prioritizing pyramid progress over base-row card-clearing is almost always right.
• Spending bridge ranks on isolated chains. An 8 played to extend a chain from 7→8→7 (two moves, then stuck) is worse than saving that 8 for a longer chain that passes through 8 en route to other ranks.
• Drawing stock when a tableau removal was available. With three peaks and a base row, the tableau is wide. Slow down before drawing to verify no valid removal exists.