Quick take: Solitaire is our tribute to Solitaire, the Klondike patience game that Microsoft bundled with Windows in 1990 and, in doing so, turned into possibly the most-played video game ever made.
Solitaire is our tribute to Solitaire, the Klondike patience game that Microsoft bundled with Windows in 1990 and, in doing so, turned into possibly the most-played video game ever made.
The card game itself traces back to the 1800s gold-rush era, but it was Wes Cherry's Windows version - added partly to teach a nervous public how to drag and drop with a mouse - that put it on hundreds of millions of desktops.
Solitaire Fast Facts
| Original title | Solitaire (Klondike) |
|---|---|
| Debuted | 1990, bundled with Windows |
| Created by | Wes Cherry (Microsoft) |
| Genre | Patience / card solitaire |
| Origins | 1800s gold-rush-era card game |
| Hidden purpose | Teach mouse drag-and-drop |
| Our tribute | Solitaire |
Why Solitaire Mattered
- The Klondike patience layout dates to the 1800s gold-rush era, long before any computer existed to deal it.
- Wes Cherry coded the version bundled with Windows in 1990, giving the old card game its most famous digital home.
- Was included partly to teach a public new to graphical computers how to drag and drop with a mouse - practising the motion one card at a time.
- Shipped on so many machines that it became, by many measures, one of the most-played video games in history.
- Kept the classic goal intact: build all four suits up from ace to king on the foundations by carefully working the tableau and stock.
- Grew into a cultural touchstone of office computing, synonymous with the very idea of a quick game at the desk.
Solitaire Timeline
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1800s | Klondike patience takes shape in the gold-rush era of card play. |
| 1990 | Wes Cherry's Solitaire ships bundled with Windows, teaching mouse drag-and-drop. |
| 1995 | It reaches vast new audiences as Windows spreads to homes and offices. |
| 2012 | The bundled game is reimagined as a dedicated Solitaire Collection. |
| 2019 | Microsoft Solitaire is inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame. |
Why Solitaire Still Matters
Few games have been dealt more times, and the reason is timeless - it is just you, the deck, and the quiet math of the tableau. Our Solitaire keeps the classic Klondike build-up from ace to king, then adds a daily seeded deal every player shares and a global leaderboard, so the same hand can be raced by the whole world at once.
