The last few stock cards in TriPeaks: how to play the endgame

The status line says Stock 1, and there are still cards in the peaks. Should you run your chain as far as it will go, or leave something behind for the last draw? Near the end of a TriPeaks round, "play as many cards as you can" is not always right. Here is a short routine for the last few draws.

How a round ends

In TriPeaks the stock holds 23 cards and is never recycled: Draw turns the next one onto the waste, so each stock card comes up only once. The status line shows how many stock cards are left and your current chain, the number of peak cards played in a row without drawing, along with the best chain of the round. Every draw ends the current chain.

The round is won the moment the last of the 28 peak cards goes, even with cards still in the stock, and the end message includes your longest chain. It is lost as soon as the stock is empty and no peak card can be played, with the message "No moves left". Undo only works while the round is still being played; after that, "Play this deal again" replays the same deal from the start.

Step 1: list what each stranded card needs

Ranks wrap, so every rank has exactly two neighbours:

• A King needs a Queen or an Ace.
• An Ace needs a King or a 2.
• Any other card needs the rank just above or just below it.

Write down the two ranks for every uncovered card left in the peaks. Then look for cards that are neighbours of each other, such as a 9 and a 10: they form a group, and one fitting card on the waste can often clear the whole group in a single chain if you play it in the right order. Face-down cards are unknowns, and they need the cards covering them cleared first.

Step 2: count groups against draws

When only peak tops are left, every remaining card is face up and nothing new can turn over. A chain then cannot jump from one group to another, so each separate group needs a fitting draw of its own, except for one group that the current waste card may already reach. More separate groups than chances means no order of play can save the round.

A group is also easier to reach than a single card. A lone 7 needs a 6 or an 8. A 9 and a 10 together can be started by an 8, 9, 10 or Jack: on a 9 you play the 10 and then the 9; on a 10, the 9 and then the 10.

Step 3: decide whether to cut the chain short

Only the three peak tops are left: 9♥, 10♠ and 7♣. The waste shows 8♣ and the stock holds one card.

   9♥       10♠       7♣

Waste: 8♣    Stock: 1 card

You have two choices:

• Keep the chain going: 9♥, then 10♠. That is a chain of two, but it leaves the 7♣ alone, and only a 6 or an 8 can free it.
• Cut it short: play the 7♣ and stop. That is a chain of one, and it leaves the 9♥ and 10♠ together, which an 8, 9, 10 or Jack can clear.

The short line gives the last card four winning ranks instead of two. Counting cards you have not seen, and remembering that the 8♣ is already on the waste, the long line can be rescued by at most seven cards (four 6s and three 8s), the short line by up to 13 (three 8s, three 9s, three 10s and four Jacks). If the last card turns out to be the J♦, the short line wins in four moves in all: 7♣, draw, 10♠, 9♥.

If you are chasing a long chain, keeping it going is your call. If you are playing to win, leave behind the cards that are easiest to free.

Step 4: count the helpers that are left

Call the cards of a stranded card's two neighbour ranks its helpers. You do not need to remember every card, only those few ranks. Have all four 10s gone by? Is the 8 on the waste the last one? When the waste card is the last helper a stranded card has, play that card now: it will get no other chance.

Try it

Only the three peak tops remain: 9♦, 7♠ and Q♥. The waste shows 8♣ and the stock holds two cards. You have kept count: all four 10s have gone to the waste, and the 8♣ is the last of the 8s. Which card do you play on the 8♣?

Answer: The 9♦. It needs an 8 or a 10, and the 8♣ is the last of those, so this is its only chance. Play the 7♠ instead and the 9♦ can never be cleared, whatever the stock holds. After the 9♦, the 7♠ needs a 6 and the Q♥ a Jack or King, so you win exactly when the two stock cards are a 6 and a Jack or King, in either order.

For choices in the middle of a round, read TriPeaks chains, and see the strategy page for ideas that work across our games.