About TriPeaks Solitaire
TriPeaks deals 28 cards into three overlapping peaks, four rows deep. The ten cards along the bottom face up; the 18 above them stay face down until both cards covering them are gone. Play any face-up card that is one rank above or below the card on the waste pile, whatever its suit: a 7 or a 9 on an 8. Ranks wrap round, so an ace and a king are neighbours. When nothing fits, turn the next stock card onto the waste; the stock goes through once. Cards played in a row build a streak worth 1, 2, 3 points and up, a peak top adds 15, and clearing all three peaks adds 5 for every stock card left.
Klondike is the solitaire most people mean when they say "solitaire": seven columns, a stock to draw from and four foundations to fill from ace to king. Build down in alternating colours, turn over the hidden cards, and get all 52 cards home. Play draw one for a relaxed game or draw three for a real challenge, with unlimited undo and hints that look ahead.
Also called: patience, klondike, spider solitaire, freecell.
How to play Solitaire
- The deal gives you seven columns: the first has one card, the last has seven, and only the bottom card of each faces up. The other 24 cards are the stock.
- Build down in alternating colours on the columns: a red 6 on a black 7, a black 5 on that red 6. You can move a whole face-up run at once as long as it stays in order.
- When you move the last face-up card off a column, the card under it turns over. Freeing those hidden cards is the heart of the game.
- Only a king (or a run headed by a king) can go into an empty column.
- Tap the stock to turn cards onto the waste pile, one or three at a time. The top waste card is always in play. When the stock runs out, tap it again to turn the waste back over; there is no limit on passes.
- Build the four foundations up by suit, from ace to king. Tap or double-click a card to send it to its best spot, or drag it where you want it. Fill all four foundations to win; once every card is face up, the game finishes itself.
Rules
- Columns build down by one rank in alternating colours (red on black, black on red). Foundations build up by one rank in a single suit, starting with the ace.
- Any face-up run that is in sequence can move as a unit. Only kings may fill an empty column.
- Draw 1 turns one stock card at a time; draw 3 turns three, and only the top one of those can be played. Passes through the stock are unlimited in both.
- A card on a foundation can be moved back down onto a column if it fits there.
- Undo is unlimited. The timer starts with your first move, and a game counts in your stats once you have made a move.
Solitaire tips and strategy
- Turn over hidden cards first. A move that reveals a face-down card is almost always better than one that doesn't, and the column with the most hidden cards is usually the one to work on.
- Don't empty a column unless you have a king ready to fill it. An empty column you can't use is wasted.
- Aces and twos can go home straight away. Be slower with higher cards: a red 6 on its foundation can no longer hold a black 5 you might need to move.
- In draw 3, count the stock. Playing one card from the waste changes which cards show up on the next pass, which can open a card you couldn't reach before.
- When choosing which of two black jacks to move onto a red queen, pick the one that frees more hidden cards or the one whose column you want to empty.
- Stuck? The hint button runs a solver on draw 1 games, so it points at a move that leads towards a win when it can find one.
Solitaire questions
Is every game of Klondike winnable?
No. With every card known, around eight or nine in ten draw-one deals can be won, but you can't see the hidden cards, so real players win fewer. Draw three is harder. The daily deal is checked by a solver before it's served, so that one can always be won.
What is the difference between draw 1 and draw 3?
Draw 1 turns one card from the stock at a time, so you can reach every card on every pass. Draw 3 turns three and only the top one plays, so some cards stay buried until the order shifts. Draw 3 is the classic harder version.
How many times can I go through the stock?
As many times as you like, in both draw 1 and draw 3. Pyramid is different: it gives you three passes. In TriPeaks and Golf the stock goes through once, one card at a time, and Scorpion's three stock cards are dealt in one go. Yukon has no stock at all.
Can I undo moves?
Yes, as many as you want, right back to the deal. Press the undo button, or Z on a keyboard. An undo also takes back anything the game did by itself after your move, such as cards sent home automatically.
Is my game saved if I close the tab?
Yes. Every move is saved in your browser, for each variant separately, so a reload puts you back where you were, clock included. Nothing is sent to a server and there is no sign-up.
In TriPeaks, can I play an ace on a king?
Yes. In TriPeaks the ranks wrap round, so an ace and a king are one apart: an ace can go on a king and a king on an ace, as well as the usual queen on a king or two on an ace. Golf is different: nothing wraps there, and nothing at all can be played on a king.
How is TriPeaks scored?
In streaks. Each card you play from the peaks scores one point more than the one before, so a run of five scores 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15. Turning a card from the stock ends the streak and the next card scores 1 again. Clearing the top card of a peak is worth 15 extra, and if you clear all three peaks, every card still in the stock is worth 5 more. Your best score is kept for each variant.
How is Golf scored?
Like golf: lower is better. Your score is the number of cards still in the seven columns when the round ends. Clear every column and the cards left in the stock count below zero, so a clear with three stock cards to spare scores -3.
What is the difference between Yukon and Klondike?
Yukon uses the Klondike columns but deals every card onto the table, with four extra face-up cards on six of the columns, so there is no stock. The big change is how cards move: any face-up card can be picked up with everything on top of it, even if those cards are out of order, as long as the card you pick up goes on a card one higher in the other colour. That makes Yukon a game of pure planning, and careful play wins a good share of deals.
Why can't I move a card in Scorpion?
In Scorpion a card can only go on the next-higher card of its own suit, the six of hearts on the seven of hearts, and only if that card is at the bottom of a column. Only a king can go into an empty column. Each card has exactly one place it can go, so if its parent is buried, dig for the parent first.
How does the daily solitaire work?
Everyone gets the same Klondike draw-one deal each day, reset at 00:00 UTC. You get one attempt; undo and hints are allowed, and your result card shows your time, your moves and whether you used hints, without giving the deal away.
Is Solitaire free to play?
Yes. Solitaire on Kultured Arcade is completely free: no download, no account and nothing to buy. It runs in any modern browser on a phone, tablet or computer.
Do I need to download Solitaire?
No. It opens instantly in your browser and saves your progress on your device, so there is nothing to install and no sign-up.
Can I play Solitaire on my phone?
Yes. The game fits your screen and works with touch as well as a mouse and keyboard, on iPhone, Android, tablets and computers.