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Why Windows Solitaire Eats So Much Time
An anonymous reader writes "This article suggests that Windows Solitaire may be the most-often played computer game. It's not so much an article about Solitaire, but rather an article about Windows and human nature and socialization. If you play FreeCell, there's a interesting paragraph about its inventor." Can Solitaire really eat up more hours than have been sacrificed to Tetris?
Actually, I think I'll wait until tomorrow...when I have work to do.
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"Can Solitaire really eat up more hours than have been sacrificed to Tetris?"
On a Per-Person level, I think there are more people that have spent 20 hours in a day playing Tetris, than Windows Solitaire.
But, I think more people play Solitaire than play(ed) Tetris, so collectively its more hours.
... and could only have one thing, it would be a deck of cards. I would start to play solitaire and eventually somebody inevitably would come along to tell me to place that red eight on the black nine and I'd be rescued.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
I guess the key difference is that Solitaire and Pinball are usually found preinstalled on most systems. I find that when I'm preparing workstations I tend to leave them on there. When I walk by and see somebody playing solitaire it doesn't bother me, if I saw somebody playing the Sims or some fps there would be a problem.
"Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
I loathe Freecell. I also play an average of 3 or 4 games of it a day. I don't think I get any satisfaction from the act of playing or from winning, but it has become the primary opportunity to shut off my brain for a moment or two between tasks. I cannot count the number of times I have opened the game, then closed it because I could find no motivation to play, then re-opened it and played a game 15 minutes later. In the meantime, I could be reading /. or wikipedia or playing a real game, but none of these other diversions quite fill the short-term, no thought required niche that the hated Solitaire game does. There is something seriously wrong with me ...
Wasn't Solitaire supposed to be showing people how to drag 'n' drop, and Minefield was to show them how to left and right click?
Finally, a reason to upgrade!
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The really significant thing about the Windows Solitaire program is that it has probably permanently changed the name of the card game Patience to "Solitaire".
I don't know why Windows still includes games, but I do know what Solitaire is awfully good for: education.
All the computer-illiterate people I've taught found Solitaire an invaluable aid in learning how to use the mouse.
While to us geeks, the mouse is a natural extenstion of the hand, computer newbies have a really hard time with it; instead of looking at the screen, they look at the mouse, and left and right click are higher math. With Solitaire, they get something unimportant, yet interesting to look and click at; the game absorbs them and they forget about the mouse in the hand. Minesweeper is also great, but for advanced newbies -- after they've learned the basics of mouse usage, they can achieve precision playing Minesweeper.
For that reason, I use similar games under Linux as well when introducing newbies to the computer. First learn how to use the keyboard and the mouse, then we can get on with some real work. I found there was no use in teaching people advanced concepts when they still lose their way on the input devices.
Kind of like teaching aphasiacs the finer points in grammar.
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