Solitaire (Windows)

Solitaire

A component of Microsoft Windows
Solitaire in Windows 7
Details
Included with	Windows 3.0 up to Windows 7
Replaced by	Microsoft Solitaire Collection (Windows 10)
Related components
FreeCell, Hearts, Spider Solitaire

Microsoft Solitaire is a computer game included with Microsoft Windows, based on a card game of the same name, also known as Klondike.

Microsoft has included the game as part its Windows product line since Windows 3.0, starting from 1990. The game was developed in 1989 by then intern Wes Cherry. The card deck itself was designed by Macintosh pioneer Susan Kare.

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.

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

In October 2012, along with the release of the Windows 8 operating system, Microsoft released a new version of Solitaire called Microsoft Solitaire Collection. This version, designed by Microsoft Studios and developed by Arkadium, is advertisement supported, and introduced many new features to the game.

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.Jimmy Fallon discussed this event on The Tonight Show and created a parody video joking about how Microsoft was trying to make Solitaire sound cooler than it really is.