A Bored Intern Changed Everything
In 1988, a 25-year-old intern named Wes Cherry sat at his desk at Microsoft, bored. He wasn't working on anything particularly exciting, so he decided to teach himself the company's programming tools by building something simple: a card game.
He never got paid a cent in royalties. Today, he grows apples for a cider company on an island west of Seattle.
The game he built? Microsoft Solitaire. It shipped with Windows 3.0 in 1990 and became the most played computer game in history. Not because Microsoft marketed it-but because it was there, on every computer, when people had 10 minutes to kill.
That's the modern origin story. But solitaire itself is much older.
The 18th Century: Cards and Fortune-Telling
Solitaire first appeared in written records in 1783, in a German book called Das Neue Königliche L'Hombre-Spiel ("The New Royal L'Hombre"). But the game almost certainly predates that reference.
| Era | Development |
|---|---|
| 1780s | First written references in Germany |
| Late 1700s | Spread throughout Europe, linked to fortune-telling |
| 1826 | First known collection of patience games published in Russia |
| 1870s | Lady Adelaide Cadogan publishes rules in English |
| 1990 | Microsoft Solitaire launches with Windows 3.0 |
| 2019 | Inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame |
The game likely originated in the Baltic region of Europe-possibly France, Germany, or Scandinavia. No one knows exactly where. What we do know: the words "solitaire" and "patience" are French, and most of the terminology (tableau, foundation, stock) comes from French as well.
Was It Invented for Fortune-Telling?
Here's a detail most people miss: early solitaire wasn't always played for fun.
In the late 1700s, interest in cartomancy (fortune-telling with cards) surged across Europe. Playing a game of solitaire became a way to divine the future-if you won, your wish would come true. If you lost, bad luck ahead.
The word "cabale" (secret knowledge) was commonly used in early solitaire descriptions, hinting at its mystical origins. The game was less about strategy and more about fate.
The French Connection (And Why Napoleon Probably Didn't Invent It)
You'll read everywhere that Napoleon Bonaparte invented solitaire during his exile on the island of St. Helena (1815-1821). It makes a great story: the fallen emperor, alone on a rock in the Atlantic, passing time with cards.
But historians have a problem with this: there's no actual evidence.
Researchers Ross and Healey studied Napoleon's exile in detail and found no record of him playing solitaire. The timing also doesn't work-solitaire existed for decades before Napoleon's exile.
What Napoleon did contribute: his name. Several solitaire variations are named after him:
- Napoleon at St. Helena (also called "Forty Thieves")
- Napoleon's Square
- Emperor
These games were created later and named in his honor, not by him.
The Victorian Boom
Solitaire exploded in popularity during the Victorian era (1837-1901). Upper-class Europeans had time to kill and playing cards were everywhere.
In the 1870s, Lady Adelaide Cadogan published Illustrated Games of Patience, the first major English-language rulebook. She wrote it for Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (Queen Victoria's son). The book documented dozens of solitaire variations and helped standardize the rules.
This era gave us most of the games we still play today:
- Klondike (the "classic" solitaire)
- Spider Solitaire
- FreeCell
- Pyramid
1990: The Year Solitaire Went Mainstream
Back to Wes Cherry.
Microsoft didn't include Solitaire in Windows to entertain people. They had a practical problem: most users had never used a mouse before.
In 1990, computer users were accustomed to typing commands. Dragging and dropping with a mouse felt alien. So Microsoft included Solitaire because:
- It taught drag-and-drop. Moving cards required the exact same motion as moving files.
- It was non-threatening. A card game felt safe, not like "serious computer stuff."
- It was already built. Cherry had made it; it cost nothing to include.
The card artwork was designed by Susan Kare, the legendary designer who also created the original Macintosh icons (including the trash can and smiley face).
Cherry wanted to add a "Boss Key" that would instantly switch the game to a fake Excel spreadsheet. Microsoft made him remove it before launch.
35 Million Daily Players (And Counting)
Today, over 35 million people play Microsoft Solitaire every day. Globally, more than 300 million people play some version of solitaire daily.
In 2019, Microsoft Solitaire was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame, joining Tetris, Pac-Man, and Doom. The Museum of Play recognized its role in:
- Teaching computer literacy to millions
- Becoming the default "break" activity in offices worldwide
- Proving that simple games can have massive cultural impact
From Pixels to Multiplayer
For decades, solitaire was a solo experience. You against the cards. No one else involved.
That's changing.
Platforms like VSolitaire now offer real-time multiplayer-you and a friend get the same deal and race to finish first. It turns a solitary game into a competitive one.
If you're curious how multiplayer works, check out our multiplayer guide. And if you want to master the basics first, our how-to-play guide covers everything from setup to winning strategy.
The Game That Taught a Generation
Solitaire didn't survive for 240+ years because it's complicated. It survived because it's perfect:
- Simple enough to play without instructions
- Deep enough to reward skill
- Short enough to fit in a coffee break
- Satisfying enough to play again immediately
Whether you're a prisoner in the French Revolution, an emperor on a lonely island, or an office worker avoiding a meeting, the appeal is the same: shuffle, deal, escape.
Ready to add your chapter to the story? Start playing now.