Why is it called solitaire?
It's a game you play by yourself, and the name says exactly that, once you trace it back to its French roots.
The French root
Solitaire derives from the French word for solitary. It was borrowed into English for any pastime done alone, including the peg-board puzzle of the same name, and it stuck to single-player card games as they spread in the 1700s and 1800s. In American English, solitaire became the default term for the whole category.
Solitaire vs. patience
Across Britain and much of Europe, the same games are called patience, named for the quiet persistence they reward. Victorian Games of Patience books codified dozens of variants under that banner. So solitaire and patience are two names for one hobby, split largely along the Atlantic. Our history of solitaire traces how the names diverged.
How Klondike took over the name
For hundreds of millions of people, solitaire simply means Klondike, thanks to the version Microsoft shipped with Windows in 1990. That single game did more to fix the word solitaire in the popular imagination than two centuries of parlor play.
Related questions
Where does solitaire come from?
Solitaire - called patience in much of Europe - first appears in written records in the late 1700s in northern Europe, likely Germany or Scandinavia. Klondike took its name from the 1890s gold rush, and the game's modern dominance came from Microsoft shipping Solitaire with Windows 3.0 in 1990.
What is Klondike solitaire?
Klondike is the version of solitaire most people simply call 'solitaire.' You deal seven tableau columns, build them down in alternating colors, and move cards up to four foundations by suit from Ace to King. Microsoft bundled it with Windows 3.0 in 1990, making it one of the most-played games ever.
How many types of solitaire are there?
There are hundreds of documented solitaire variants, and Victorian patience books alone catalogued dozens. In practice they fall into a few families: builders like Klondike and FreeCell, same-suit packers like Spider, and matching games like Pyramid and TriPeaks. We offer 11 of the most-loved games.