A short history of Klondike solitaire
Card games for one player — often called patience in Britain — have been played for well over two hundred years. Klondike is one of many, but thanks to personal computers it became the one most people simply call "Solitaire."
Patience games
Books of patience games were being printed in Europe by the 1800s, with dozens of layouts and rules. Most are played with one or two standard decks and ask you to sort the cards into order by suit. Many were played as a quiet pastime at home.
Where the name comes from
The name Klondike is usually linked to the Klondike Gold Rush in Canada's Yukon at the end of the 1890s. Stories say prospectors passed the time with the game, though the exact origin of the game and its name is not certain. By the early 1900s, Klondike was described in card game books, and it became one of the best-known patience games in North America.
Solitaire on Windows
In 1990, Microsoft included a Klondike game called Solitaire with Windows 3.0. It was written by Wes Cherry, then an intern, and its card designs were drawn by Susan Kare. For many people it was the first time they used a computer mouse — dragging a card from one pile to another was a friendly way to practice clicking and dragging.
Solitaire came with every version of Windows for more than twenty years and became one of the most played computer games in the world. In 2012, Windows 8 replaced it with the Microsoft Solitaire Collection. In 2019, Microsoft Solitaire was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play.
Winnable deals
Not every shuffled deal of Klondike can be won, and that can be frustrating. Calm Solitaire solves each deal before giving it to you, so every game you play has a way to win. The daily deal is the same for everyone, so you can compare with friends and family.
Also on Calm Games: Mahjong and the history of mahjong solitaire.