The numbers-based logic puzzle has roots in the mainframe gaming scene of the 1960s and 1970s, where a version called “Cube” by Jerimac Ratliff became incredibly popular. Minesweeper, too, has a similar place in technological culture. The fact that we’re still dragging and dropping today suggests that it worked rather well. The intention was that Solitaire would get a generation of computer users still most familiar with a command-line input to teach themselves how to drag and drop, without realizing that’s what they were doing. Its real aim was far more modest: it was teaching mouse-fluency by stealth. Although the game (sometimes called “Patience”) has existed since the late 1700s, this digital version seemed to be demonstrating that in the future we would no longer require a physical deck to play simple card games. The oldest of the four, Microsoft Solitaire, was first added to Windows 3.0 in 1990. At least not in their Windows incarnations. Whichever one was your favorite, the temptation to take just one more go at beating them-to get a faster time or a better score-was hard to ignore.īut as fun as these games were, they weren’t actually designed for entertainment. These simple Windows games have probably caused more lost worker hours than anything short of a worldwide coffee shortage. If you haven’t ever played Solitaire, Minesweeper, Hearts or FreeCell, it’s safe to say you’re in the minority.
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