4 years ago
Microsoft’s Solitaire,with 35 million players, turns 30
Microsoft’s popular card game, Solitaire, originally played on a computer, which has now evolved and can also be played in Android and iOS devices, turns 30 years old today,May 22.
Microsoft claims that 35 million people still play Solitaire monthly, with more than 100 million hands played daily around the world. Solitaire was first included in Microsoft’s version 3.0 in 1990.
The main purpose of the game was to make people comfortable with the use of the mouse,which was a pretty new device then.
It aimed to teach people the drag and drop feature, as users were required to grab the cards and put them in specific places in the game.
It was originally known as Windows Solitaire and is still one of the most played games in the world as it was shipped in every version of Windows until the release of Windows 8 in 2012.
Designed by Microsoft’s intern, Wes Cherry, was the one who initially programmed the game.Design of the original card deck was done by pixel art and Mac GUI pioneer Susan Kare.
The original design of the game also featured a “boss mode” , with a fake spreadsheet designed to fool bosses and coworkers. However, Cherry was asked to remove that feature by Microsoft before its release.
Owing to its wide appeal, it was even inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame last year. Microsoft has localized the game into 65 languages, and it’s played in more than 200 markets.
Microsoft Solitaire only got its first major update back in 2012, coinciding with its removal from Windows 8 into a standalone app. The new app included five new game modes, daily challenges, competitive events, Xbox Live integration, and even the ability to choose a difficulty.
This standalone app also led to Solitaire returning as part of Windows 10 back in 2015. It’s also now available across every major OS platform.
