Talk:Microsoft Solitaire

That "Win" Animation

DragoonWraith 05:17, 26 April 2007 (UTC): You know that animation that plays when you win, with the cards flying all over? Is it possible to completely fill the screen with the trails of the bouncing cards? I always have the upper left corner still showing green, by where the deck was. I play a lot of this stupid solitaire game, and I always let it run to see if it will fill that corner, and it never does, even though I play with the window at its smallest size. I know this is really random, but it was bugging me, so I thought I'd ask...

DragoonWraith 06:08, 11 May 2007 (UTC): In case anyone cares, I just had the bouncing animation fill the entire window. Yays, now my life is complete...

O! I KNOW I ALWAYS WAIT FOR IT TO SEE IF IT WILL! im really happy for you C: —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.23.101.147 (talk) 21:16, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

I want a screensaver of it! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.193.112.208 (talk) 20:38, 20 January 2010 (UTC)

you can resize the window ( BEFORE playing) to extremeluy short and wide, it's unpleasant while playing and rather ridiculous when the cards bounce but it works — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.20.17.114 (talk) 16:27, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

It is possible xD Maybe 1 of 8. --Ssola (talk) 22:03, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Game name

MobyGames lists this game as being "Microsoft Solitaire". Should we move the article to reflect this? SharkD 20:00, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

If you go into Help > About Solitaire, it'll show the name as "Microsoft (R) Solitaire." If you ask me, I think "Microsoft Solitaire" is more appropriate and sounds better than "Solitaire (Windows)." - 69.224.41.98 (talk) 22:30, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

Right click functionality

Does anyone know when the functionality for right clicking to move cards up to the top right was implemented? I'm pretty sure it wasn't in the original Solitaire, and most people that I have talked to don't know about it.

Thanks, Bringer 01:49, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

I didn't even know about right-click, but I think it's been possible to double-click to move cards up since the very first version --64.15.147.4 (talk) 01:35, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

It was not used in win98, but was in win xp. Dunno about ME and 2k. The XP version also limited the speed of the winning card shower animation, in 98 it was cpu power bound - a faster machine literally blew out all cards in 1 sec. I believe there have been 3 major revisions of solitaire so far;
- the one in win3.1 (not sure if it was in earlier windows as well) which was used in win95, 98 and 98se,
- the enchanced version in winxp (may have been used in 2k or ME) which uses right click, limits the win animation speed and has different choosable card backs (photorealistic XP themed ones instead of the 16-color images from win3.1),
- and most recently the completely revamped vista edition.

However, someone should definetaly write up all the sol.exe version numbers from all windows editions.

The right-click functionality and speed-throttled "win" animation seems to have debuted in Windows 2000, but ME (based on 98) didn't get this new version. So, it must be an NT development. The versions of the Solitaire program itself are based on the base build versions of their respective Windows OS for the most part, no matter which sub-version you have (e.g. Windows 95C). I'll write out the ones I have available to me here for convenience.

• • Windows for Workgroups 3.11: 3.10
  • Windows 95 (B/OSR2): 4.00.950
  • Windows NT 4 (Server): 4.00
  • Windows 98: 4.10.1998
  • Windows Me: 4.90.3000
  • Windows 2000 (Pro and Server): 5.00.2138.1
    • Right-click functionality
    • "Natural-speed" win animation
  • Windows XP (Home and Pro): 5.1.2600.0
    • New, high-color decks (back only)
  • Windows 2003: Missing. Probably to keep network administrators from wasting too much time while logged on.
  • Windows Vista (Ultimate): 6.0.6000.16386
    • Various GUI improvements.
    • Different win animation.
    • Score-keeping.

Have fun. - 69.224.41.98 (talk) 00:41, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

Oberon Games

Do we have a source for Windows Solitaire being developed by Oberon Games? Their site only seems to mention their own "Dream Vacation Solitaire" product. I don't have Windows Solitaire, so can't check this. --McGeddon (talk) 10:30, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

This looks like BS to me and an attempt to hijack commercial traffic, since the link takes you to an online store. Unless someone has a very convincing source that the Solitaire included with Windows was made by Oberon, it should not be added to the article. Ham Pastrami (talk) 06:12, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

It's in the about box for Solitaire in Vista+. --Robert —Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.123.230.252 (talk) 19:31, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

I have Solitaire on my Start menu in Vista Home Premium. If you move the pointer over the menu item it says "Developer: Oberon Games and Microsoft Corporation". Definitely no BS. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.72.13.248 (talk) 20:03, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

Hitbox

Is it me, or does Windows 7's Solitaire use smaller hitboxes for the cards? Seems like you have to click and drag a lot more precisely -- if the card being dragged doesn't almost perfectly overlap the "target", then the drag fails when you release the mouse button. 12.185.202.2 (talk) 19:24, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Original card design

The article mentions that the original deck was designed by Susan Kare, and it also implies that the original, Windows 3.0 version of the game only had one deck design (presumably Kare's). What was it? Is it still included with modern versions of the game? -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 19:50, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

It is in her portfolio: http://www.kare.com/portfolio/17_microsoft_solataire.html 70.112.211.89 (talk) 17:55, 19 November 2010 (UTC)J

Winnable games percentage?

Does anyone know, or are there mathematicians out there among you who can calculate, the percentage of winnable games there are, within the given rules? I have gotten to be pretty good at the game (although not particularly fast), but I know that there are certain card combinations which can be dealt out which are absolutely unwinnable. Mamarazzi (talk) 21:56, 25 September 2010 (UTC)

http://www.techuser.net/klondikeprob.html and Klondike solitaire discuss this. --Kay Dekker (talk) 20:38, 30 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. I know that it's been 2½ years, but I have not been monitoring this article. I used to play Windows Solitaire a lot, but have not done so much since I moved to an Apple iMac. Mamarazzi (talk) 15:47, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Solitaire clones

• PySolitaire - http://sourceforge.net/projects/pygames/
• JavaSolitaire - http://sourceforge.net/projects/javasol/

—  Ark25  (talk) 20:58, 22 September 2013 (UTC)

"Adware" versus "Advertising-supported"

@Codename Lisa:, I don't agree with your rationale behind this revert of my change from calling the software "adware" to "advertising-supported". I don't think it's particularly relevant that the user pays for Windows; the Microsoft Solitaire Collection is free and includes advertisements. That's why I think it is more accurate to say that the voluntarily-downloaded software is "advertising-supported" instead of "adware" (which usually has the connotation of being unwanted software). Thanks, RJaguar3 | u | t 14:30, 4 September 2015 (UTC)

Hello, RJaguar3

What is: Microsoft goes to some length to forbid people from bundling additional software (including adware) with Windows 8.1 with Bing and Microsoft-certified computers; then, it goes and bundles an ad-showing game from a third-party studio. What I see here is both malpractice and double standards. Solitaire Collection is not voluntarily downloaded; it is forcefully installed and resists complete uninstallation too. And let's not forget that the previous version of Windows include a Solitaire as well.

In addition, "unwanted" alone isn't the only connotation of "adware". Malpractice is yet another connotation.

Best regards,

Codename Lisa (talk) 16:45, 4 September 2015 (UTC)

@Codename Lisa: I've been a bit troubled by the use of the term adware, so I wanted to see how reliable sources describe the inclusion of ads.

• [1] (cited in the article) describes the W10 version as the "adware version of Solitaire"
• [2] does not use the term adware; it states that W10 solitaire "also has ads" and "Minesweeper in Windows 10 is also ad-supported"
• [3] does not use the term adware; it states that "Windows 10 Solitaire comes packed with advertisements."
• [4] does not use the term adware; it says that Microsoft "want[s] you to pay $1.50 per month to remove ads from Solitaire."

So, the only source of these four that uses the term "adware" is the ZDNet source. I'd prefer a neutral term like "advertising-supported" since adware also has the meaning of surreptitious ad-displaying software or malware. See [5] definition 2 ("a type of spyware that gathers information about an Internet user's browsing habits and displays targeted or contextual advertisements") or The American Heritage Dictionary("Software downloaded from the Internet that displays advertisements on personal computers, often without the user's permission.") Maybe an RFC would be useful to obtain consensus. Thanks, RJaguar3 | u | t 11:03, 3 July 2016 (UTC)

Hello, RJaguar3. I don't think making you going through this comfort of an RFC is fair here. It is simply disproportionate to the significance of the problem we have. Just do what you want. I think I can live with "advertising-supported". —Best regards, Codename Lisa (talk) 06:59, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

Jimmy Fallon video link is dead.

184.101.148.162 (talk) 17:45, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

Personalization of ads

I removed the statement

Microsoft personalizes the ads by tracking what the user browses online and which apps they use.

Neither of the cited references directly supports the claim that Microsoft collects personal information and uses it to personalize the ads in Solitaire. The RPS source mentions both ads in Solitaire and personalization of ads, but doesn't actually connect them. The Guardian source is a bit closer: the subheadline states "From personalised ads in Solitaire to an address book-reading personal assistant, some users are unhappy with Windows 10’s approach to privacy", and another paragraph in the article states

Using that information, Microsoft is able to personalise ads to the user, during both web surfing and, for newer apps downloaded from the Windows Store, app usage. Microsoft itself is leading the way on that front, even turning the in-built version of Solitaire (the card game that has been a staple of Windows installations since 1990’s Windows 3.0) into a freemium game, complete with unskippable video adverts.

Again, it's a close decision, but I'd like to see a better source than a passing reference in a subheadline and juxtaposed sentences on personalized ads and ads in Solitaire that don't actually directly state that ads in Solitaire are personalized. Thanks, RJaguar3 | u | t 22:23, 14 July 2016 (UTC)

References

Is there a "Solitaire" in Windows 10?

Hey. Just now, I reverted Onecatowner who changed that images of the article, but committing a serious WP:NFCC violation. Those images were unacceptable.

But just so we are on the same page, aside from "Microsoft Solitaire Collection", do we have a "Solitaire" in Windows 10? Just for the record, I don't see anything with that name in my copy of Windows 10. But I thought I'd better ask.

FleetCommand (Speak your mind!) 13:39, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

Never mind my question. I shouldn't have asked. (I should have looked at the screenshot only.) This user has already claimed there are such games as Mahjong Titans, Minesweeper and Hover! in Windows 10. I don't see them either. FleetCommand (Speak your mind!) 13:50, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

The games are in fact in Windows 10. Solitaire comes preinstalled. I'm not sure why it didn't appear in your copy. It is definitely available and preinstalled for the Home and Pro builds; are you using an enterprise build?

Here is the listing for Solitaire in the Windows Store: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/microsoft-solitaire-collection/9wzdncrfhwd2

If you are looking for the specific game Solitaire within the collection (as opposed to the bundle), it is listed as Klondike on the home page but the image says Classic Solitaire.

Mahjong, Minesweeper, and Hover! do not come preinstalled, but they are in the Windows Store and run on Windows 10. The latest version of Mahjong is designed specifically for Windows 10.

• Mahjong listing: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/microsoft-mahjong/9wzdncrfhwcp
• Minesweeper listing: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/microsoft-minesweeper/9wzdncrfhwcn
• Hover! listing: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/hover/9wzdncrfjbj1

If you open any of the links on a computer with Windows 10, the Windows Store should open with the corresponding app listing and a download link.

I apologize for the WP:NFCC violations. I tried to use the same attributions that the previous ones did, save for the changes to source and captions. They were intended to be used in the same positions on the same articles that the old images were. Will review the guidelines again, but I don't understand how those were less valid than the old ones. User:Onecatowner (User talk:Onecatowner) 18:30, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

edit: I see that you have changed the Solitaire article to say that it is not in there. I recommend reverting the change. It is there, along with Spider Solitaire, FreeCell, Pyramid, and Tripeaks. Yes, it comes packaged as part of an app, but that does not mean it has been discontinued. In fact, it maintains visual similarity to the Windows 7 app. User:Onecatowner (User talk:Onecatowner) 18:41, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

Hello, Onecatowner

You must not confuse a successor with a next version. Microsoft Solitaire Collection probably needs its own article. But it is for all intents and purposes a new app.

As for Minesweeper, Hover! and Mahjong: If they are not bundled with Windows, then the |Included with= parameter should not say so. Their articles can have a screenshot of them, but outside {{Infobox Windows component}}.

Best regards,

Codename Lisa (talk) 07:55, 16 July 2016 (UTC)

Agreed. FleetCommand (Speak your mind!) 08:08, 17 July 2016 (UTC)

References