Home > The World of Solitaire
Are you into card games? In this article we’re going to talk about solitaire. This game has quite an interesting historical background. Some people were lucky to be present during its humble beings, others enjoyed playing it on our bulky Windows laptops back in the 90s and early 2000s and nowadays, other players enjoy playing it on a number of online gambling websites.
Let’s take a closer look at the fascinating history of the game, the types and some of the basic rules and objectives.
Solitaire, also known as Patience or Cabale, is a family of card games that is played by just one person. To this very day, it is still known as Patience in parts of England, Poland and Germany and Cabale in the Scandinavian countries.
As far as when or where it was first played, its exact origin is still unclear. The earliest record that refers to the word Solitaire appeared in 1746 in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). That said, this explanation might have been referring to peg solitaire – a board game that is played with pegs and marbles. More so, it’s also thought to be borrowed French for the phrase; "I should be obliged to fetch the cards for you to play 'Grande Patience' ". This suggests that the game might have originated in France. That said, the very first mention of the game in English was from a letter from Countess Granville in the year 1822 where she said: "We were occupied all yesterday evening with conjuring tricks and patiences of every kind".
Although the game’s roots can’t be traced, it is widely believed the very first Solitaire card games first made an appearance in the 18th century, mostly likely in the Baltic region. Interestingly, the first forms of the game came in the form of fortune-telling. This theory came about due to the popularity of divination of cards, cartomancy and tarot card reading. The Scandinavian name, Cabale, is also significant in this context. The word relates to the world cabal, which is defined as the ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible. This was first transmitted by the oral tradition by using esoteric methods.
There have also been some references of the game in contemporary literature. A 1793 German book talks about patiencespiel – a competition between two players who turn the game into what is known as 'grandfather' patience, while they place bets on the outcome with other bystanders. Older versions of the Patience games were published in Russia in the year 1826, along with others in Germany and France.
Additionally, there have also been more references in classic English books back in the 1860s. A prime example of this is Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations (1861). Dickens describes one of the leading protagonists – Magwitch, as playing "a complicated kind of patience with ragged cards". Interestingly, Queen Victoria’s German husband – Prince Albert, is also thought to have been very enthusiastic about the Patience games.
A popular figure who is also thought to have played Patience on a regular basis is none other than Napoleon. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise as there are a number of variants that are named after him, including Napoleon at St Helena and Napoleon’s Square.
Whilst there are multiple versions of Solitaire out there, only a few slight variations stick out. Back in the 19th century, the cards used in the game featured pictures with descriptive titles, including flower gardens, the British Constitution, the Zodiac and many others. However, there was striking difference in the layout in the following century. The layout was quite simplistic to the point that at times the cards were exposed from the start. More so, computers created a new life for solitaire games.
As most of us remember, some of them came with software packages including ones like the ‘standard’ Solitaire game and others such as Free Cell and Klondike. Other titles that can be found both on personal computers and in the world of online gambling including EastHaven, Eight Off, Forty Thieves, Pyramid Easy, Klondike by Threes, Simple Simon, Golf Easy and many others.
For the most part, the objective of most Solitaire games centres around this concept: A game where piles of cards of the same suit are built in numerical order. Players build up the packs from the Ace, the numerical values (1-10) and finally the face cards – Jack, Queen, King.
There are 4 types of piles in Solitaire; the Stock, the Waste, the Foundations and the Tableau.
The Stock: The term that refers to the cards that are facing down in the top left corner.
The Waste: The term that refers to the cards that are facing up next to the Stock in the top left corner.
The Foundations: The term that refers to the 4 piles of cards in the top right corner.
The Tableau: The term that refers to the 7 piles of cards that complete the main table.
The World of Solitaire
Are you into card games? In this article we’re going to talk about solitaire. This game has quite an interesting historical background. Some people were lucky to be present during its humble beings, others enjoyed playing it on our bulky Windows laptops back in the 90s and early 2000s and nowadays, other players enjoy playing it on a number of online gambling websites.
Let’s take a closer look at the fascinating history of the game, the types and some of the basic rules and objectives.
The History of the Game
Solitaire, also known as Patience or Cabale, is a family of card games that is played by just one person. To this very day, it is still known as Patience in parts of England, Poland and Germany and Cabale in the Scandinavian countries.
As far as when or where it was first played, its exact origin is still unclear. The earliest record that refers to the word Solitaire appeared in 1746 in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). That said, this explanation might have been referring to peg solitaire – a board game that is played with pegs and marbles. More so, it’s also thought to be borrowed French for the phrase; "I should be obliged to fetch the cards for you to play 'Grande Patience' ". This suggests that the game might have originated in France. That said, the very first mention of the game in English was from a letter from Countess Granville in the year 1822 where she said: "We were occupied all yesterday evening with conjuring tricks and patiences of every kind".
Although the game’s roots can’t be traced, it is widely believed the very first Solitaire card games first made an appearance in the 18th century, mostly likely in the Baltic region. Interestingly, the first forms of the game came in the form of fortune-telling. This theory came about due to the popularity of divination of cards, cartomancy and tarot card reading. The Scandinavian name, Cabale, is also significant in this context. The word relates to the world cabal, which is defined as the ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible. This was first transmitted by the oral tradition by using esoteric methods.
There have also been some references of the game in contemporary literature. A 1793 German book talks about patiencespiel – a competition between two players who turn the game into what is known as 'grandfather' patience, while they place bets on the outcome with other bystanders. Older versions of the Patience games were published in Russia in the year 1826, along with others in Germany and France.
Additionally, there have also been more references in classic English books back in the 1860s. A prime example of this is Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations (1861). Dickens describes one of the leading protagonists – Magwitch, as playing "a complicated kind of patience with ragged cards". Interestingly, Queen Victoria’s German husband – Prince Albert, is also thought to have been very enthusiastic about the Patience games.
A popular figure who is also thought to have played Patience on a regular basis is none other than Napoleon. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise as there are a number of variants that are named after him, including Napoleon at St Helena and Napoleon’s Square.
The Evolution of Solitaire Games
Whilst there are multiple versions of Solitaire out there, only a few slight variations stick out. Back in the 19th century, the cards used in the game featured pictures with descriptive titles, including flower gardens, the British Constitution, the Zodiac and many others. However, there was striking difference in the layout in the following century. The layout was quite simplistic to the point that at times the cards were exposed from the start. More so, computers created a new life for solitaire games.
As most of us remember, some of them came with software packages including ones like the ‘standard’ Solitaire game and others such as Free Cell and Klondike. Other titles that can be found both on personal computers and in the world of online gambling including EastHaven, Eight Off, Forty Thieves, Pyramid Easy, Klondike by Threes, Simple Simon, Golf Easy and many others.
The Rules
For the most part, the objective of most Solitaire games centres around this concept: A game where piles of cards of the same suit are built in numerical order. Players build up the packs from the Ace, the numerical values (1-10) and finally the face cards – Jack, Queen, King.
There are 4 types of piles in Solitaire; the Stock, the Waste, the Foundations and the Tableau.
The Stock: The term that refers to the cards that are facing down in the top left corner.
The Waste: The term that refers to the cards that are facing up next to the Stock in the top left corner.
The Foundations: The term that refers to the 4 piles of cards in the top right corner.
The Tableau: The term that refers to the 7 piles of cards that complete the main table.
