Card Games

DOS

Even though the extended IBM character set contained the four card suits, card games of any kind were just a small niche on the PC before Windows.

Card Games for DOS

Accordion Solitaire

Dammit!

EGA-Solitaire

Kosynka

Min-Ha-To

Solitare

Windows (16-bit)

While only moderately popular on other platforms, there is an incredible number of card games (both solitaire and other) for 16-bit Windows. I have thus given the card games for Windows 3.1 a separate section, and the only ones included below are those that do not use standard card graphics and are thus in the general games section.

What could have been the reason for this sudden popularity of card games on Windows? For a good part probably the availability of DLLs with card graphics. Thus a programmer with no talent for graphics could easier create a good-looking card solitaire than another type of game. And of course, card games are more pleasant with a mouse interface, something Windows provided by default.

It is interesting that the boom really only started in 1992. So far, I found only a single card game from the Windows 2.x era; none besides Microsoft's Solitaire from 1990; and only three or four from 1991.

Non-Standard Card Games for 16-bit Windows

Mile Bones

Leapfrog

WWI Air Fighters

Windows (32-bit)

It seems that 1992 was not only the start, but also the peak of the solitaire boom on Windows. By the time Windows 95 took over the home desktops, card games were more or less just one of many genres. Some successful suites were ported, newcomers usually concentrated on more opulent graphics, as desktops got a higher color depth and resolution, or on niches not yet sufficiently covered.

Download Card Games for 32-bit Windows