Play Windows 3.1 Solitaire Online

When did Solitaire appear?

The official name is Microsoft Solitaire. The game was first bundled with Windows 3.0 in 1990 and remained present in Windows 3.1 (1992). The version was the Klondike variant — often confused in Vietnam with “Spider,” but Spider Solitaire is a different game introduced later.

Why did Microsoft add Solitaire to Windows?

• Light entertainment: giving users something fun to try out Windows.
• Teaching mouse skills: especially drag & drop, which was very new for computer users in the early ’90s.

How to play Klondike (Windows 3.1 version)

Objective

Move all 52 cards into the 4 Foundation piles (♠ ♥ ♦ ♣), in ascending order from A → K.

Initial setup

• 7 Tableau columns: column 1 has 1 card, column 2 has 2 cards, … column 7 has 7 cards (only the bottom card is face-up).
• The remaining cards form the Stock pile.

Basic moves

• Place cards in alternating colors and descending rank (e.g., 7♠ on 8♥).
• Aces start the Foundation piles.
• You can move valid card sequences between columns.
• Empty columns can only be filled with a King or a King-led sequence.

Options

• Draw 1 card or Draw 3 cards from Stock (3-card draw is harder).
• Scoring modes included “Standard” and “Vegas” in many early versions.

Pro tip: double-clicking often sends a card directly to the Foundation when possible.

Fun facts

• Developer: Wes Cherry, then an intern at Microsoft.
• Card design: by Susan Kare, the legendary designer behind many classic icons.
• Winning animation: the bouncing “card shower” became an unforgettable visual.
• Office duo: Solitaire and Minesweeper together shaped the 5-minute office break culture.

Office culture impact

Since it was pre-installed on nearly every Windows PC, Solitaire became one of the most played games ever. It made Windows feel friendlier to newcomers and unintentionally defined a slice of office leisure culture throughout the 1990s.

Short timeline