 | |
 Solitaire in Windows 7 | |
| Original author(s) | Wes Cherry |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
| Initial release | May 22, 1990 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Platform | IA-32, x86-64 (and historically DEC Alpha, Itanium, MIPS, and PowerPC) |
| Successor | Microsoft Solitaire Collection (Windows 10) |
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 has included the game as part of its Windows product line since Windows 3.0, starting from 1990. [1] The game was developed during the summer of 1988 by the intern Wes Cherry. [2] [3] [4] The card deck itself was designed by Macintosh pioneer Susan Kare. [5] Cherry's version was to include a boss key that would have switched the game to a fake Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, but he was asked to remove this from the final release. [6]
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. [1]
According to Microsoft telemetry, Solitaire was among the three most-used Windows programs and FreeCell was seventh, ahead of Word and Microsoft Excel. [7] Lost business productivity by employees playing Solitaire has become a common concern since it became standard on Microsoft Windows. [8]
In October 2012, along with the release of the Windows 8 operating system, Microsoft released a new version of Solitaire called Microsoft Solitaire Collection. [9] This version, game designed by Microsoft Studios, with visual design led by William Bredbeck, and developed by Arkadium, is advertisement supported and introduced many new features to the game. As with the original release of the game, William Bredbeck is quoted as saying "One of the intentions of the redesign was to introduce users to the novel changes incorporated in the new Windows 8 operating system". This design is still in use through Windows 11.
Microsoft Solitaire celebrated its 25th anniversary on May 18, 2015. To celebrate this event, Microsoft hosted a Solitaire tournament on the Microsoft campus and broadcast the main event on Twitch. [10]
In 2019, The Strong National Museum of Play inducted Microsoft Solitaire to its World Video Game Hall of Fame. [11]
By its 30th anniversary in 2020, it was estimated that the game still had 35 million active monthly players and more than 100 million games played daily, according to Microsoft. [12]
When a game is won, the cards appear to fall off each stack and bounce off the screen. [6] This "victory" screen is considered a prototypical element that would become popular in casual games, compared to the use of "Ode to Joy" on winning a level of Peggle , and makes Solitaire one of the first such casual video games. [13] [14]
Since Windows 3.0, Solitaire allows selecting the design on the back of the cards, choosing whether one or three cards are drawn from the deck at a time, switching between Vegas scoring and Standard scoring, and disabling scoring entirely. The game can also be timed for additional points if the game is won. There is a cheat that will allow drawing one card at a time when 'draw three' is set.
In Windows 2000 and later versions of Solitaire, right-clicking on open spaces automatically moves available cards to the four foundations in the upper right-hand corner, as in FreeCell. If the mouse pointer is on a card, a right click will move only that card to its foundation, provided that it is a possible move. Left double-clicking will also move the card to the proper foundation.
Until the Windows XP version, the card backs were the original works designed by Susan Kare, and many were animated.
The Windows Vista and Windows 7 versions of the game save statistics on the number and percentage of games won, and allow users to save incomplete games and to choose cards with different face styles.
On Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Phone, Android and iOS, the game is issued as Microsoft Solitaire Collection , where in addition to Klondike four other game modes were featured, Spider, FreeCell (both of which had been previously featured in versions of Windows as Microsoft Spider Solitaire and Microsoft FreeCell), Pyramid, and TriPeaks (both of which were previously part of the Microsoft Entertainment Pack series, the former under the name Tut's Tomb).
Klondike, also known as Canfield, is a card game for one player and the best known and most popular version of the patience or solitaire family, as well as one of the most challenging in widespread play. It has spawned numerous variants including Batsford, Easthaven, King Albert, Thumb and Pouch, Somerset or Usk and Whitehead, as well as the American variants of the games, Agnes and Westcliff. The distinguishing feature of all variants is a triangular layout of the tableau, building in ascending sequence and packing in descending order.
FreeCell is a solitaire card game played using the standard 52-card deck. It is fundamentally different from most solitaire games in that very few deals are unsolvable, and all cards are dealt face-up from the very beginning of the game. Although software implementations vary, most versions label the hands with a number.
Susan Kare is an American artist and graphic designer, who contributed interface elements and typefaces for the first Apple Macintosh personal computer from 1983 to 1986. She was employee #10 and Creative Director at NeXT, the company formed by Steve Jobs after he left Apple in 1985. She was a design consultant for Microsoft, IBM, Sony Pictures, Facebook, and Pinterest. As of 2023 Kare was an employee of Niantic Labs. As a pioneer of pixel art and of the graphical computer interface, she has been celebrated as one of the most significant designers of modern technology.
Spider is a type of patience game, and is one of the more popular two-deck solitaire games. The game originates in 1949, and its name comes from a spider's eight legs, referencing the eight foundation piles that must be filled to win the game.
Pyramid is a patience or solitaire game of the Simple Addition family, where the object is to get all the cards from the pyramid to the foundation.
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.
Gargantua is a patience or solitaire card game that is a version of Klondike using two decks. It is also known as Double Klondike.
Eight Off is a patience or solitaire card game, named after its employment of eight cells, played with one deck of playing cards. The object of the game is to move all the cards into the foundations. It served as a partial inspiration for and is very similar to the popular solitaire game FreeCell.
Canfield (US) or Demon (UK) is a patience or solitaire card game with a very low probability of winning. It is an English game first called Demon Patience and described as "the best game for one pack that has yet been invented". It was popularised in the United States in the early 20th century as a result of a story that casino owner Richard A. Canfield had turned it into a gambling game, although it may actually have been Klondike and not Demon that was played at his casino. As a result it became known as Canfield in the United States, while continuing to be called Demon Patience in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. It is closely related to Klondike, and is one of the most popular games of its type.
Agnes is a patience or solitaire card game that emerged in England about the same time as Klondike appeared in the US. The classic version has the unusual feature of packing in colour, a feature it shares with Whitehead. By contrast, the later American variant appears to have been influenced by Klondike with packing is in alternate colours. The classic game has been described as the best single-pack patience yet invented.
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.
Double Solitaire is a two-player variant on the best-known patience or solitaire card game called Klondike. While it is mostly referred to as Double Solitaire, it is sometimes called Double Klondike. Games with more players are also possible.
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.
Soltrio Solitaire is an Xbox Live Arcade title developed by Silver Creek Entertainment for the Xbox 360, which is a bundle of 18 separate solitaire card games, which was released on May 16, 2007.
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 2000.
Mahjong solitaire is a single-player matching game that uses a set of mahjong tiles rather than cards. It is more commonly played on a computer than as a physical tabletop game.
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.
