Windows XP solitaire was peak gaming.
I miss the old Pinball 3D Space Cadet days
I was pleasantly surprised to realise faithful recreations of the old solitaire and Space Cadet pinball games are available on Linux! I have them both on my Steam Deck!
… and as a father, that makes this meme a bit of a reality for me 😂
Haha yep I have space cadet pinball onmy steamdeck too. Awesome game . Brings back memories
aparently the pinball game was a demo version of Full Tilt! Pinball , which you can get on abandonware sites.
not sure if it still works on modern windows tho.
Today’s Windows solitaire has adds. I mean wtf, this is a built in game and it has levels and adds up to 30 seconds! I don’t use windows privately, only at work I’m forced to, so I don’t know when exactly that happened
My dad latched onto FreeCell and never stopped playing.
Hahaha same. He’s 75+ now but still is going strong. On win11 it’s a bit of a pain to create a desktop shortcut for it though so now once in a while I have to remake it for him :')
Space Cadet pinball for me
Some-what related funny story: at my old job we removed the built-in games from Windows as part of our Windows 7 rollout. Most people didn’t even notice, but the director of public safety was so upset that he demanded (not just asked) we put them back on his computer. When we refused he went to his DOCTOR and got a note stating that he needed Solitaire on his work PC as it helped him manage his anxiety. I was flabbergasted.
So did you put it back ?
Yes, unfortunately in the end he got his way.
Why “unfortunately”? Surely there’s minimal security risk in having solitaire installed? And surely your workplace treats people like adults who can responsibly manage their own time and workload?
Because it undermines the departments authority to make decisions regarding the systems they manage. Sure him having solitaire in and of itself isn’t a big deal, but it sets precedence that decisions made by the department can be overridden if someone simply complains loudly enough. This could be particularly dangerous in the case of new or tightened security policy put forth by the department (this exact scenario did actually playout with another individual a few years later regarding password policy)
I agree completely. “Executives” basically anyone above a director level loves to throw their authority aeound. We recently got a new CEO and he wanted to get OneDrive working even though we’re a Google shop. At least 3 different teams had to adjust policy and then put him in his own Active Directory OU, because he said “we shouldn’t be in the business of telling employees what software they should use, we should just support it.”
That’s kinda shitty on your end
It wasn’t my decision.
The version that comes with windows 11 is now with ads and you need to pay for a subscription to get rid of the ads.
Seriously, thank you for posting this. My dad’s computer needs an upgrade and most of what he does is the solitaire games on it. This would have been stroke inducing to discover after the fact.
You can download emulators for all the old windows xp games.
That was the case in Win 10 as well, p sure it’s the exact same app
I think it might go back to 8 or 8.1 but I can’t exactly recall
Wait, I thought this was a joke until I read the other comments. Are there really ads in solitaire? Please tell me this is an Onion headline.
Oh yeah, Xbox account, events, daily challenges, card backs to collect. It’s got it all now.
We Hearthstone now, they thought
Yeah, it really sucks. My dad plays them on daily basis with the same ads over and over again after each round.
If I would have to guess, he probably has seen the same ads a couple of thousand times over the years.
So my dad actually is an avid gamer, though he plays miltary startegy games (hex based type ones). So I legit get to live this meme every time I pay him a visit.
what game??
Yeah what game, we need to know if OPs dad is on the good stuff
I like to imagine Advanced Squad Leader is the go-to for that dad. Could also be Battletech.
Panzer Corps 2, Hex Of Steel, Order Of Battle: WWII, among others
Balatro is the new solitaire for me
Been seeing some hype on that. Worth?
I’ve already sunk 74 hours into it and is my new nighttime treat.
Rougelike with poker hands (flush, straight, pair, etc.). Joker cards modify rules (extra chips or multipliers for certain cards) and tarot cards modify the deck (ie. remove, copy, modify cards).
Score requirement goes up each round trying to beat at least 8 rounds to “win”. Playing a couple rounds goes quick and it’s easy to pause when you need to step away.
Progression with new decks unlocked, new joker cards, and challenges.
Cheers for the write up! Might have to give that a gander.
Playing Balatro, it always feels like the ultimate goal is to use multipliers in a way the dev didn’t intend and completely break the score counter.
If that sounds as appealing to you as it does to me, you’re gonna love it.
Kinda wholesome ngl. The MASSIVE monitor inches away is highly accurate
Back in the CRT monitor days, I could see green even after I stopped playing.
For my dad it’s solitaire. For my mom it’s plants vs zombies, I think she has like 500 hours logged last time I checked :)
Free Cell was a go to before bed for me, much better than Solitaire because there was always a solution (well, almost always). I think I got my streak to 300+ wins but I think I had figured out a way to abuse undo.
I’ve moved into crosswords as my go to now; it’s good to have something that’s not too demanding and keeps you off social media before bed.
I feel seen.
Father used to play those spider card games and mahjong on his laptop…
The legend of Soltar
xp solitaire?
ny father loves to play pinball of windows XP
Solitaire Till Dawn!
With games like La Belle Lucie and Klondike.
