Always carry a deck of cards when hiking in the wilderness. If you become lost deal a game of solitaire. In a few minutes someone will come up and start suggesting moves.
Neat concept - a web remake of a classic Windows game. I found it very hard to win though, due to the "draw three" rule. I finally won on my 12th shuffle.
Aside from this web game implementation, in past decades I grew tired of solitaire and its constrained nature. I found myself enjoying spider solitaire a bit more, where you have to be more strategic about building stuff. I discovered spider because it's bundled with Windows. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_(solitaire)
Spider Solitaire is very nice, I really would recommend Simple Solitaire Collection for Android on F-Droid. It has 17 Modes, Spider included and you have settings, for Spider for example you can choose from 1, 2 or 4 different card colors to make it harder.
For "Solitaire Together" instead, I recommend the game NERTS (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1131190/NERTS_Online/). It's a multiplayer competitive solitaire game by Zachtronics. Out of all the games I've played, it's the one that stresses me out and takes me through emotional rollercoasters the most.
Oh this is fun! I'm a big Zachtronics fan but didn't know about NERTS.
I grew up playing "double solitaire" (basically multiplayer competitive solitaire where you play on each others' aces) with my family and love it, and it definitely contributed to me making this site. So I'm excited to play some Solitaire Together!
Beautiful. I've always loved the aesthetic of Windows Solitaire [a] but felt strangely alone when playing it (figures). I'm reminded of a non-solitary solitaire, Nerts Online:
NERTS is fun, we play it with a group of our friends (fiends?) semi-regularly. But part of its charm is the inherent physical and verbal chaos... you can never reach all the piles, people's hands/arms collide with each other, drinks get spilled, names get called, alliances forged and quickly betrayed. It's a hoot.
I tried the online one but I'm not too experienced with cards so I just got destroyed. Another fun, chaotic one that I used to play in person a lot is Egyptian Ratscrew, a game where you have to slap the pile first if certain criteria are met. I don't think I've won a single match of that, I'm usually still processing what card was put down long after someone already slapped the pile. I had fun regardless. Make sure everyone removes their rings!
There is something weirdly fascinating about this. I think the combination of nostalgia, seeing others play without interacting and just the whole idea of it. Rather mesmerizing. Well done.
Microsoft Solitaire (Klondike) frequently gives you unsolvable hands, especially if you're using Draw-3.
FreeCell "is fundamentally different from most solitaire games in that very few deals are unsolvable" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeCell) i.e. most solitaire games deals are unsolvable.
Can't remember if I saw it on HN or searched for it, but you can search for the hardest solvable freecell games. I drove myself partially insane trying to solve one. Only got about halfway before I caved
(If you don't have access to windows you can run one of those web based windows desktop lookalikes written in JS).
But I DO record some games so that I can replay them later. That way if you log on and you're the only person, you can still watch the ghost of a past game. This isn't relevant right now (there are 500ish people playing! wow!)- I only show past games if there aren't active ones to show.
Hello! Great job on the project! After seeing your blog, I actually decided to go to that 30th Anniversary after party! I didn't even know about Rhizome. They are such a cool group!
Man I was NOT dressed as well as everyone else there and had no idea what I was doing but it was still fun ha ha! In hindsight, I guess it was everyone coming back from that benefit dinner?
Was your exhibit supposed to be there? I didn't see it on either floor.
I can't suggest moves, though! >smile<
Always carry a deck of cards when hiking in the wilderness. If you become lost deal a game of solitaire. In a few minutes someone will come up and start suggesting moves.
Neat concept - a web remake of a classic Windows game. I found it very hard to win though, due to the "draw three" rule. I finally won on my 12th shuffle.
Aside from this web game implementation, in past decades I grew tired of solitaire and its constrained nature. I found myself enjoying spider solitaire a bit more, where you have to be more strategic about building stuff. I discovered spider because it's bundled with Windows. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_(solitaire)
Spider Solitaire is very nice, I really would recommend Simple Solitaire Collection for Android on F-Droid. It has 17 Modes, Spider included and you have settings, for Spider for example you can choose from 1, 2 or 4 different card colors to make it harder.
For "Solitaire Together" instead, I recommend the game NERTS (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1131190/NERTS_Online/). It's a multiplayer competitive solitaire game by Zachtronics. Out of all the games I've played, it's the one that stresses me out and takes me through emotional rollercoasters the most.
Oh this is fun! I'm a big Zachtronics fan but didn't know about NERTS.
I grew up playing "double solitaire" (basically multiplayer competitive solitaire where you play on each others' aces) with my family and love it, and it definitely contributed to me making this site. So I'm excited to play some Solitaire Together!
I really liked the flavor of solitaire they put into Shenzhen IO
Author's blog post about this project: https://eieio.games/blog/solitaire-alone-together/
Beautiful. I've always loved the aesthetic of Windows Solitaire [a] but felt strangely alone when playing it (figures). I'm reminded of a non-solitary solitaire, Nerts Online:
https://www.zachtronics.com/nerts-online/
a. And this version too, the backs of the cards are very pretty.
NERTS is fun, we play it with a group of our friends (fiends?) semi-regularly. But part of its charm is the inherent physical and verbal chaos... you can never reach all the piles, people's hands/arms collide with each other, drinks get spilled, names get called, alliances forged and quickly betrayed. It's a hoot.
I tried the online one but I'm not too experienced with cards so I just got destroyed. Another fun, chaotic one that I used to play in person a lot is Egyptian Ratscrew, a game where you have to slap the pile first if certain criteria are met. I don't think I've won a single match of that, I'm usually still processing what card was put down long after someone already slapped the pile. I had fun regardless. Make sure everyone removes their rings!
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Ratscrew
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2UMv5Jk8JQ
If you click Start > Shut Down and click OK, it’ll say “it is now safe to close this tab”, which I thought was a nice touch.
And if you leave the tab alone for a while there's one of the classic Windows screensavers
So cool! Since there are some solitaire fans on this thread. Thought I would share a version that build with 2 decks https://d6.belsonbox.com
I really enjoyed this, and will come back to it. Hadn't heard of that variant before. The backstory is great.
There is something weirdly fascinating about this. I think the combination of nostalgia, seeing others play without interacting and just the whole idea of it. Rather mesmerizing. Well done.
Was solitaire always this hard, or have I forgotten how to play this game? I tried a few games and failed every time :)
Maybe you're remembering the Turn-1 instead of this Turn-3?
Only something like 10-20% of games are winnable.
Many solitaire games will not give you an unsolvable puzzle to play. I think freecell only had one (by accident)
Microsoft Solitaire (Klondike) frequently gives you unsolvable hands, especially if you're using Draw-3.
FreeCell "is fundamentally different from most solitaire games in that very few deals are unsolvable" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeCell) i.e. most solitaire games deals are unsolvable.
As you said, Microsoft FreeCell does only deal one unsolvable puzzle as standard (#11982 out of 32000) https://www.solitairelaboratory.com/fcfaq.html
Can't remember if I saw it on HN or searched for it, but you can search for the hardest solvable freecell games. I drove myself partially insane trying to solve one. Only got about halfway before I caved
(If you don't have access to windows you can run one of those web based windows desktop lookalikes written in JS).
https://genius.com/Louis-jean-cormier-tout-le-monde-en-meme-...
Found this a couple of months ago and it's the best I tried yet: https://worldofsolitaire.com
This is fun! I like the vibe of doing solitary activities in the “company” of other strangers. It’s neat. I like the screen saver
Oh boy, this is sooooo addictive.
Look, I don’t mind it but let us know - are you training some model on our inputs ? :)
(creator here!)
lol, no, I am not training a model!
But I DO record some games so that I can replay them later. That way if you log on and you're the only person, you can still watch the ghost of a past game. This isn't relevant right now (there are 500ish people playing! wow!)- I only show past games if there aren't active ones to show.
Hello! Great job on the project! After seeing your blog, I actually decided to go to that 30th Anniversary after party! I didn't even know about Rhizome. They are such a cool group!
Man I was NOT dressed as well as everyone else there and had no idea what I was doing but it was still fun ha ha! In hindsight, I guess it was everyone coming back from that benefit dinner?
Was your exhibit supposed to be there? I didn't see it on either floor.
Wrong solitaire :(
I was hoping for the "all cards visible and one free slot to put a card in"
absolutely delightful. i happily added it to my 'games' bookmark folder.
I love these windows emulators
SAT! Solitaire Alone Together!
Love the screensaver
I really wish I could turn off draw three. (I really hate that option.)