The Windows solitaire, also known as Microsoft Solitaire or Microsoft Solitaire in English, he just has turned 30 and, according to what the company said in a celebratory post, it can still boast about 35 million players every month. In addition, over 100 million hands are played every day worldwide.
Solitary has been released in 1990 as part of Windows 3.0 and is probably one of the most played titles of all time. The purpose, as revealed in past years, was to teach the use of the mouse in the era when this was an innovative input tool, and get users used to the new drag & drop modes to replace command lines.
The most successful game in terms of using the story was created by a bored intern, Wes Cherry, while it was Susan Kare who designed the original deck. One was also included in the original game "boss mode", with a fake spreadsheet that could be launched quickly if a danger was spotted in the office (bosses or colleagues approaching). Boss mode was removed by Microsoft's will prior to its release to the public.
30 years have passed since then, but its charm has not subsided to such an extent that Microsoft's Solitaire has also been introduced into the World Video Game Hall of Fame, along with Doom, Tetris, Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda. The game has been localized in 65 languages over the years, is played in over 200 markets, and received its first major update only in 2012, when it was removed from Windows 8 and turned into a standalone app.
Five new game modes, competitive challenges and events, integration with Xbox Live and the ability to choose a difficulty level have been added with the new version. The new version was reintroduced natively in 2015 on Windows 10, and can be installed on all major platforms, even competitors. 30 years after its debut, Microsoft Solitaire can be played not only on Windows, but also on iOS, Android and even on the Web.
