(Tri Peaks)

History & origin of Tri Peaks

Tri-Peaks has a known modern origin: it was created by Robert Hogue in 1989. He combined a peaks layout, similar to Pyramid’s, with Golf’s discard mechanic — playing cards one rank above or below the top of the waste.

Hogue even studied the game’s odds, and the mix of luck with sequencing decisions made it a hit: it is one of the most popular solitaires in computer and mobile collections.

The charm is in long runs: chaining many cards at once topples the peaks quickly and, in many versions, scores more points.

Facts about Tri Peaks

• It has a known author and date: Robert Hogue, 1989 — rare among classic solitaires.
• It combines Pyramid’s shape (the peaks) with Golf’s rules (play one above or one below).
• Here it wraps: King and Ace connect, which allows very long runs.
• There are 28 cards in the three peaks; toppling them all wins the game.

How to play Tri Peaks step by step

1. Goal: topple the three peaks by removing all 28 cards to the waste.
2. Play any free card (nothing on top of it) that is one rank above OR below the top of the waste.
3. Here it wraps: King and Ace connect.
4. Chain as many cards in a row as you can — long runs clear the peaks fast and score more.
5. Stuck? Turn a card from the stock to the waste and continue.
6. Open the way from the base: removing the lower cards frees the peak cards above.