Solitaire (Windows)
Solitaire A component of Microsoft Windows |
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| Details | |
| Included with | Windows 3.0 and up |
| Related components | |
| Spider Solitaire Chess Titans, FreeCell, Hearts, Mahjong Titans, Minesweeper, Purble Place |
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Solitaire is a computer card game that is included in Microsoft Windows. It is a version of Klondike.
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[edit] 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]
[edit] 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.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Josh Levin: Solitaire-y Confinement: Why we can't stop playing a computerized card game. - Slate.com, May 16, 2008
- ^ Interview with Wes Cherry - B3TA.com 2008
- ^ "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.
- ^ Solitaire Costs Man His City Job After Bloomberg Sees Computer - New York Times
