Solitaire (Windows)

Solitaire A component of Microsoft Windows
Details
Included with	Windows 3.0 and up
Related components
Spider Solitaire Chess Titans, FreeCell, Hearts, Mahjong Titans, Minesweeper, Purble Place

Solitaire is a computer card game that is included in Microsoft Windows. It is a version of Klondike.

History

Microsoft has included the game as part of the Windows operating system since Windows 3.0, starting from 1990.^[1] The game was developed in 1989 by then intern Wes Cherry,^[2] who famously received no royalties from his work. The card deck itself was designed by Macintosh pioneer Susan Kare.^{[citation needed]}

Microsoft intended Windows 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]

Lost business productivity by employees playing Solitaire has become a common concern since it became standard on Microsoft Windows.^[3] In 2006, a New York City worker was fired after Mayor Michael Bloomberg saw the Solitaire game on the man's office computer.^[4]

Features

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.

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.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Josh Levin: Solitaire-y Confinement: Why we can't stop playing a computerized card game. - Slate.com, May 16, 2008
2. ^ Interview with Wes Cherry - B3TA.com 2008
3. ^ "Quarterly Business Report: Do Computers Really Save Money?". Time. October 12, 1998. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989274-4,00.html. Retrieved May 23, 2010. 
4. ^ Solitaire Costs Man His City Job After Bloomberg Sees Computer - New York Times

External links

• Solitaire at MobyGames