The History of Solitaire Card Games
By Rajat Agarwal, Founder of Play Solitaire Gaming
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From Napoleon's exile to Microsoft Windows, solitaire has a rich history spanning over 200 years. Discover how this solitary card game became the world's most played game.
Origins in 18th Century Europe
The earliest known references to solitaire card games date to the late 18th century in Northern Europe, particularly Scandinavia and Germany. The games were originally called "patience" — a name still used in British English today.
One popular legend credits Napoleon Bonaparte with inventing solitaire during his exile on St. Helena (1815-1821), but this is almost certainly a myth. Written references to patience games predate Napoleon's exile by several decades.
Card-game historian David Parlett, who has researched the game's origins in detail, traces the earliest safely-dated reference to around 1758, mentioned in a biography of German composer Carl Friedrich Fasch written in 1801 by his friend Carl Friedrich Zelter. The game's first appearance in a published games anthology was in an edition of the German book Das neue Königliche L'Hombre-Spiel, where it was called both "Patience" and "Cabale." Early patience games were simpler than modern Klondike, often involving just sorting cards into piles by suit.
The Rise of Klondike
Klondike Solitaire — the game most people simply call "Solitaire" — likely originated in the mid-19th century. Its exact origins are unclear, but the name "Klondike" may reference the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896-1899 in Canada's Yukon Territory.
By the early 20th century, Klondike had become the most popular solitaire variant in North America. Books of card game rules from this era almost always featured Klondike prominently.
Other classic variants developed during this period too. Spider Solitaire's origins trace to 1949, with its name coming from the eight foundation piles a winning game requires — a spider's eight legs. FreeCell's roots go back to Martin Gardner's June 1968 "Mathematical Games" column in Scientific American, which described "Baker's Game" (named for C.L. Baker, who learned it from his father); Paul Alfille later modified it to build tableau columns by alternating color rather than suit, creating FreeCell, and computerized it in 1978 for the PLATO educational computer system. Pyramid (also called Tut's Tomb) has roots dating back to the early 1900s.
Microsoft Solitaire Changes Everything
The pivotal moment in solitaire's history came in 1990 when Microsoft included Solitaire (Klondike) in Windows 3.0. The game was created by Wes Cherry, a Microsoft intern, and was originally intended to help users learn mouse drag-and-drop operations.
The strategy worked beyond anyone's expectations. Microsoft Solitaire became arguably the most-played computer game in history. By its 30th anniversary in 2020, Microsoft estimated the game still had 35 million active monthly players and more than 100 million games played daily.
FreeCell followed in Windows 95 (1995), and Spider Solitaire debuted in the Microsoft Plus! 98 add-on pack for Windows 98 (1998). These inclusions cemented all three variants as household names.
In 2012, Microsoft replaced the classic Solitaire with the Microsoft Solitaire Collection, which bundles Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid, and TriPeaks in a single app.
Solitaire in the Digital Age
Today, solitaire is played by hundreds of millions of people worldwide across computers, phones, tablets, and browsers. The game has successfully transitioned from physical cards to digital formats.
Browser-based solitaire games have become particularly popular because they require no downloads and work on any device. Modern web technologies allow for smooth animations, drag-and-drop interactions, and responsive layouts that adapt to any screen size.
The core appeal of solitaire has not changed in over 200 years: it is a relaxing, mentally engaging game that can be played alone, at your own pace, requiring nothing more than a deck of cards — or now, a web browser.
Sources
- David Parlett, "Patience / Solitaire," Historic Card Games
- Wikipedia, "Patience (game)," citing D. Parlett, A History of Card Games (Oxford University Press, 1991)
- Wikipedia, "FreeCell"
- Wikipedia, "Spider (solitaire)" and "Microsoft Spider Solitaire"
- Wikipedia, "Microsoft Solitaire"
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