Video games have been included in versions of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting from Windows 1.0x, all published by Microsoft. Some games that have appeared in Microsoft Entertainment Pack and Microsoft Plus! have been included in subsequent versions of Windows as well. Microsoft Solitaire has been included in every version of Windows since Windows 3.0, except Windows 8 and 8.1. The latest version of Windows, Windows 11, includes Microsoft Solitaire Collection and Surf .
Microsoft planned to include games when developing Windows 1.0 in 1983–1984. Pre-release versions of Windows 1.0 initially included another game, Puzzle, but it was scrapped in favor of Reversi, based on the board game of the same name. [1] Reversi was included in Windows versions up to Windows 3.1. Solitaire was developed in 1988 by the intern Wes Cherry. [2] [3] [4] The card deck itself was designed by Susan Kare, who was known for her work on icon designs for the original Macintosh. [5]
Microsoft intended Solitaire to "soothe people intimidated by the operating system," and at a time where many users were still unfamiliar with graphical user interfaces, it proved useful in familiarizing them with the use of a mouse, such as the drag-and-drop technique required for moving cards. [6] According to Microsoft telemetry, Solitaire was among the three most-used Windows programs and FreeCell was seventh, ahead of productivity-based applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel. [7] [7] Lost business productivity by employees playing Solitaire became a common concern since the game was included in Windows by default. [8]
The Microsoft Hearts Network was included with Windows for Workgroups 3.1, as a showcase of NetDDE technology by enabling multiple players to play simultaneously across a computer network. [9] The Microsoft Hearts Network would later be renamed Internet Hearts, and included in Windows Me and XP, alongside other online multiplayer-based titles. [10] 3D Pinball for Windows – Space Cadet is a version of the "Space Cadet" pinball table from the 1995 video game Full Tilt! Pinball . [11]
In Minesweeper for Windows Vista and 7, the game comes with an alternate "Flower Garden" style, alongside the default "Minesweeper" style. [12] This is due to controversy over the original land mine theme of the game being potentially insensitive, and the "Flower Garden" style was used as the default theme in "sensitive areas". [13]
Support for Internet games for Windows Me and XP ended on July 31, 2019, and for Windows 7 on January 22, 2020. [10]
Several third party games, such as Candy Crush Saga and Disney Magic Kingdoms , have been included as advertisements on the Start menu in Windows 10, and may also be automatically installed by the operating system. [14] [15] Windows 11 includes the Xbox app, which allows users to access the PC Game Pass video game subscription service. [16] [17] Additionally, versions of the Microsoft Edge browser from 2020 onwards (bundled with Windows 10 and 11) include the Surf game. [18]
Starting from 2012 onwards, with the release of Windows 8, updated versions of previously bundled games are now under the brand Microsoft Casual Games, in addition to several brand new games. With the exception of Solitaire Collection being included in Windows 10 and 11, these games are not included with Windows, and are instead available as ad-supported free downloads in Microsoft Store. [19] [20]
Premium monthly and annual subscriptions are available, which removes advertisements and offers several gameplay benefits, a move that has been criticized by reviewers as a way to "nickel and dime" users, since previous versions of Solitaire and previously bundled games did not include any advertisements or paid subscriptions. [21] [22] There are five Windows games under the Microsoft Casual Games banner: [23]
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(December 2023) |
| Games included with Microsoft Windows releases | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0x | 2.0x and 2.1x | 3.0 | 3.1 [24] | NT 3.1 , NT 3.5 and NT 3.51 | 95 | NT 4.0 | 98 | 2000 | Me | XP | Vista [25] | 7 [26] | 8 and 8.1 | 10 [19] | 11 | |
| Reversi |  | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Solitaire | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | [lower-alpha 1] | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Minesweeper | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hearts | | | |  [lower-alpha 2] | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| FreeCell | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | [lower-alpha 1] | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Hover! | | | | | | [lower-alpha 3] | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3D Pinball for Windows – Space Cadet | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Spider Solitaire | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | [lower-alpha 1] | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Internet Hearts | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Internet Backgammon | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Internet Checkers | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Internet Reversi | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Internet Spades | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Inkball | | | | | | | | | | | [lower-alpha 4] | [lower-alpha 5] | | | | |
| Purble Place | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mahjong Titans | | | | | | | | | | | | [lower-alpha 5] | [lower-alpha 6] | | | |
| Chess Titans | | | | | | | | | | | | [lower-alpha 5] | [lower-alpha 6] | | | |
| Tinker | | | | | | | | | | | | [lower-alpha 7] | | | | |
| Hold 'Em | | | | | | | | | | | | [lower-alpha 7] | | | | |
| Solitaire Collection | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Surf | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | [lower-alpha 8] | [lower-alpha 9] |
Microsoft Windows was announced by Bill Gates on November 10, 1983, 2 years before it was first released. Microsoft introduced Windows as a graphical user interface for MS-DOS, which had been introduced two years earlier, on August 12, 1981. The product line evolved in the 1990s from an operating environment into a fully complete, modern operating system over two lines of development, each with their own separate codebase.
Microsoft Windows is a product line of proprietary graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and sub-families that cater to particular sectors of the computing industry – Windows (unqualified) for a consumer or corporate workstation, Windows Server for a server and Windows IoT for an embedded system. Defunct families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and Windows Embedded Compact.
A boss key, or boss button, is a special keyboard shortcut used in PC games or other programs to hide the program quickly, possibly displaying a special screen that appears to be a normal productivity program. One of the earliest implementations was by Friendlyware, a suite of entertainment and general interest programs written in BASIC and sold with the original IBM AT and XT computers from 1982 to 1985. When activated, an ASCII bar graph with generic "Productivity" and "Time" labels appeared. Pressing F10 again would return to the Friendlyware application.
Full Tilt! Pinball, known as Pinball 95 in Europe, is a pinball video game developed by Cinematronics and published by Maxis in 1995. It features pre-rendered 3D graphics and three tables: Space Cadet, Skulduggery, and Dragon's Keep. On each table, side display show the player score, ball number, player number, various other information, and a table-specific image. A sequel called Full Tilt! Pinball 2 was released in 1996.
Microsoft Plus! is a discontinued commercial operating system enhancement product by Microsoft. The last edition is the Plus! SuperPack, which includes an assortment of screensavers, themes, and games, as well as multimedia applications. The Microsoft Plus! product was first announced on January 31, 1994, under the internal codename "Frosting". The first edition was an enhancement for Windows 95, Windows 95 Plus!
Hearts, also known as Microsoft Hearts, and The Microsoft Hearts Network prior to Windows XP, is a computer game included with Microsoft Windows, based on a card game with the same name. It was first introduced in Windows 3.1 in 1992, and was included in every version of Windows up to Windows 7. Despite the name, the game rules correspond to those of Black Lady in which the queen of spades is a penalty card, in addition to the cards of the heart suit that are the only penalty cards in the traditional card game of Hearts. An online version, named Internet Hearts was included in Me and XP.
A casual game is a video game targeted at a mass market audience, as opposed to a hardcore game, which is targeted at hobbyist gamers. Casual games may exhibit any type of gameplay and genre. They generally involve simpler rules, shorter sessions, and require less learned skill. They do not expect familiarity with a standard set of mechanics, controls, and tropes.
There were various games and applications available in Windows Live Messenger that could be accessed via the conversation window by clicking the games icon and challenging a "buddy".
Microsoft Mahjong is a computer game version of mahjong solitaire published by Microsoft. The version titled Mahjong Titans was developed by Oberon Games and included in Windows Vista and Windows 7. It takes advantage of the new graphical user interface (GUI) of Windows Vista, and includes features such as tile set and background choices. The game did not make it to Windows 8; however, a standalone version, developed by Arkadium and published by Microsoft Studios, can be downloaded from the Windows Store free of charge and played without download on the web.
Spider Solitaire, also known as Microsoft Spider Solitaire, is a solitaire (NA)/patience (EU) card game that is included in Microsoft Windows. It is a version of Spider. As of 2005, it was the most played game on Windows PCs, surpassing the shorter and less challenging Klondike-based Windows Solitaire.
Solitaire is a computer game included with Microsoft Windows, based on a card game of the same name, also known as Klondike. Its original version was programmed by Wes Cherry, and the cards were designed by Susan Kare.
Microsoft Minesweeper is a minesweeper-type video game created by Curt Johnson, originally for IBM's OS/2, that was ported to Microsoft Windows by Robert Donner, both Microsoft employees at the time. First released as part of the Microsoft Entertainment Pack 1 in 1990, it was first included in the standard install of Windows 3.1 in 1992, replacing Reversi from Windows 3.0. Microsoft Minesweeper was included without major changes in all subsequent Windows releases until Windows Vista, at which time an updated version by Oberon Media replaced it. In Windows 8 and later the game is not included with a fresh Windows install, but Microsoft Studios has published an updated version of it, developed by Arkadium, on Microsoft Store.
FreeCell, also known as Microsoft FreeCell, is a computer game included in Microsoft Windows, based on a card game with the same name.
Microsoft Entertainment Pack, also known as Windows Entertainment Pack or simply WEP, is a collection of 16-bit casual computer games for Windows. There were four Entertainment Packs released between 1990 and 1992. These games were somewhat unusual for the time, in that they would not run under MS-DOS. In 1994, a compilation of the previous four Entertainment Packs were released called The Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack. A Game Boy Color version was released in 2001.
Windows 3.1 is a major release of Microsoft Windows. It was released to manufacturing on April 6, 1992, as a successor to Windows 3.0.
Microsoft Edge is a proprietary cross-platform web browser created by Microsoft. Released in 2015 along with both Windows 10 and Xbox One, it was initially built with Microsoft's own proprietary browser engine, EdgeHTML, and their Chakra JavaScript engine. Later on, it was ported to Android and iOS as a fork of Google's Chromium open-source project. In late 2018, Microsoft announced it would completely rebuild Edge as a Chromium-based browser with Blink and V8 engines, which allowed the browser to be ported to macOS. The new Edge was publicly released in January 2020, and on Xbox platforms in 2021. Microsoft has since terminated security support for the original browser. Edge is also available on older Windows versions until early 2023, as well as Linux.
Microsoft Solitaire Collection is a video game developed by Microsoft Casual Games and published by Xbox Game Studios for Microsoft Windows. It combines the Solitaire, FreeCell and Spider Solitaire titles that were included with previous versions of Windows. It also introduces Pyramid and TriPeaks to Windows for the first time, as well as new daily challenges and themes. Unlike the games included in Windows 7 and earlier versions, Microsoft Solitaire Collection is freemium adware with Xbox Live integration.
Surf is a browser game developed by Microsoft that is shipped with the Microsoft Edge web browser. In the game, the player must control a surfer as they move across a body of water while also collecting power-ups and evading obstacles and a kraken. The game features three game modes, has character customization, and supports keyboard, mouse, touch and gamepad controls. Players can also zoom out using the browser settings to cheat in the game.
