Friday, July 17, 2015

World of Solitaire turns 8 years old!

Hello everyone!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy birthday as World of Solitaire turns 8 years old this week! Wow!

I hope everyone continues to have fun playing :)

-- Robert

109 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday! if this site is 8 years old, how come there are only 7 candles on the cake??? :)
I have been playing for many of those 8 years, love it!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday!!! We enjoy the games and the challenges....we even win a few from time to time.
Thanks for the game.
Steve

Anonymous said...

Thank you.

Unknown said...

HAPPY Birthday World of Solitaire...my favorite daytime fun!!!:)) THANKS THANKS THANKS THANKS THANKS THANKS THANKS THANKS....I think that is 8 LOL Leon

Anonymous said...

RE: Candles. I was going to mention that myself! Only 7 candles and 8 years old?! Anyway, truly enjoy the games and relaxing afternoons playing them.

bunnysmama said...

I am now a multiple amputee. Not a whole lot of things bring me joy anymore...BUT, your wonderful games give me just the right amount of escape and challenge to take my mind off all the bad. So THANK YOU for all you have done and still do! Happy Birthday, World of Solitaire! <3

Anonymous said...

Thank you for a wonderful way to unwind from a busy day. Happy Birthday and may this site see many more years!!!

Robert said...

Thanks all for the birthday wishes! I'll try and get the right number of candles next year :)

@bunnysmama: I am very happy to know that you have enjoyed World of Solitaire! :)

Anonymous said...

This is the best free and FUN game on the net. Congratulation and your hard work in development is appreciated. Adding the other winning designs was great.

SillySue said...

"You say it's your birthday. It's my birthday too yeah." I'm a little older than 8 years though. Happy Birthday, World of Solitaire!

Linda said...

I usually play every day. Happy Day for us all.

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday!
I play almost every day too. WOS is my 'go to' when I take a break from my routines and chores. Also my best friend when I can't sleep! :) Thank You.

Lesley NZ said...

Happy Birthday, loving the games :)

Benni said...

(Benni here) .. I've been playing for years -- over an hour a day every day. I'm hooked! Happy, happy birthday! :D

blackcat5775 said...

Hello Robert and Congrats on a great Solitaire game! I'm relatively new here but have come to enjoy playing immensely. Good to know I am one of many good folks using their noggins to keep the big,bad world at bay. Solitaire should be mandatory for all! Hoping to follow WOS for many more years, so Happy Birthday!!

Unknown said...

Hi Robert, I wanted to say thank you for this site. ive been a member for quite awhile and love it. Happy Birthday World of Solitaire, and thank you so much for the perfect site for a solitaire freak like me, lol.

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday!

Anonymous said...

Hi Robert,
Still no time for a 'pause' option? Still love playing here. Thanks so much.
But I need to change my email.

Inphoenix

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday World of Solitaire. I love this site. It's classy. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much and happy birthday!!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all your effort.
Hours of escape from the unescapable.

Jeanie said...

Happy Birthday, and many thanks for keeping it all going!

Jennzie said...

I love your site! My Grandpa and I used to play double sol all the time and this site creates good memories for me. I really enjoy the new characters and words for winning. Thank you for making a simple game so enjoyable, Jennifer

Anonymous said...

First played solitaire when granny took the train to California from Washington. Love to use the Egyptian set .
Happy Birthday.....and thanks!

Mary Edwards said...

Help! I can no longer find the website. I get a "404 Not Found" message.

Robert said...

@Mary Edwards: The website is still online and working for me and others. Make sure you are visiting: http://worldofsolitaire.com

Anonymous said...

Perfect games of solitaire, such a clean design and rapid play response[short code:)]
Thank you for making this site!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Robert for all your hard work Happy Birthday WOS The best game ever!!

Anonymous said...

Love the game, and love the tutorials! I never knew there were so many variations.

Unknown said...

Looks like there are lots of us still playing. What a wonderful game, Robert. Thanks so much.

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday!!!! I love all the changes and everything you do. Sometimes I win all the time and sometimes I don't.That's OK. Love the beautiful graphics.

Anonymous said...

I don't know what's wrong, but I haven't won a single game since your update on July 28! I'm not usually THAT bad. :/

Robert said...

@Anonymous

On World of Solitaire every hand dealt is entirely random and I haven't made any changes to that part of the system in years.

I've done extensive testing of the shuffle algorithm that I use, to ensure that every hand is entirely random.

Random distribution by its nature involves massive unfairness at times. It's completely natural for random systems to include clusters, and for the human brain to interpret those clusters as patterns.

We humans are VERY good at seeing patterns, even in random data.

Every year or so I get 2 or 3 comments just like yours, reporting that it's harder to win.

After a bit of time passed they report back that everything is normal again and it was just a run of bad luck :)

So it should get better!

On average, less than 10% of "Klondike Turn Three" games are won.

If you are looking for a solitaire game that has a bit less luck... there is a version of Klondike where only 1 card is turned over instead of 3.
With this game, about 25% of all games are won.

You can play the 'Turn One' version of Klondike by doing:
Go to the 'Solitaire' menu, choose 'Select Game...', then choose 'Klondike - Turn One' on the left and click the 'Select Game' button on the bottom right.

Additionally, some other Solitaire games are much less luck based and you can win almost 100% of the games if you are skilled enough.

Spider and FreeCell are both available and are more skill based games.

You can also try the 'Challenges' in the Solitaire menu. The Easy rated ones can be a good thing to play when you feel like you need a win.

I hope this helps :)

Kristin said...

Hi Robert,
I just wanted to thank you for creating such a great place to play solitaire games. I love World of Solitaire for many reasons: the variety of games (fun to learn new ones and try to master my favorites), the lack of annoying ads, and all of the options and different challenges. Even the graphics are great - some of the cards are quite beautiful! I love that I can choose my own background and cards.
I just wanted you to know your hard work is appreciated!
Thank you so much,
~Kristin

Elaine said...

Robert - I love this game. However, today, September 3 some strange things are happening. The cards are mismarked. I drew an 8 of diamonds even though I had stacked the diamonds to the 10 card. The bottom left called that 8 of diamonds a 5 of hearts and when I placed it on the heart pile, it was accepted as a 5 of hearts. Something hincky is going on here.

Robert said...

@Elaine: Resetting the browser cache should fix the issue you have described. You can learn how to do that here: http://www.refreshyourcache.com/

Elaine said...

Thank you. That worked!

Anonymous said...

Hi Robert,

I very much enjoyed the challenge games (turn 3 solitaire and turn 1) I've played them both and hope you will put out some new ones in the near future. Also, how do I sign on with my name so I'm not Anonymous.

Robert said...

@Anonymous: I am glad you like them. To sign in, simply click on the 'Log In' or 'Register' links at the top right corner, depending on whether or not you already have an account.

Robert said...

@Anonymous: I am glad you like them. To sign in, simply click on the 'Log In' or 'Register' links at the top right corner, depending on whether or not you already have an account.

GG3 said...

Hi Robert.
I love your website - I play every day!
Got a question though.
My favourite game is Australian Patience, and I play it often, but the columns get too long sometimes and are no longer use-able. As in, a column gets so long that I can't see what's down there, and I can't play another card onto it even though it belongs.
Is there a way to make the cards squeeze up, like other card sites do?
I hate to lose a game - ever (hahaha) - but I really hate to lose a game this way!
Thanks!!!

Robert said...

@GG3:

The problem you describe with long stacks is something I'm aware of, but haven't yet fixed.

Next time it happens, there is something you can do.

If you resize your browser window, so that it is 'taller' than it is 'wide', then that will allow you to get to those cards at the bottom.
So if you make your browser window smaller width wise, you should be able to at least continue playing, even if the cards are not the ideal size.

I have some ideas on how to fix the problem (such as making the cards smaller when a stack goes too long) but I've been busy with other projects and real life stuff. So I'm not sure when I'll be able to get to it.

I hope you continue to have fun playing in the mean time :)

Anonymous said...

YAY! It's officially the holiday season because World of Solitaire has their cute little pumpkin. Luv it!

misslanny said...

Love your site! I am addicted (in a good way).
Thank you!

CMSD said...

Happy birthday, and congratulations!

I don't stop by as often any more; usually playing on my phone. But I really like the new graphics and especially the challenges--not sure if I win any more often playing games that are known to be winnable, but I THINK my results are better rewarded, anyway. Look forward to even more being added; will definitely come back more often now that I know those are there.

Really appreciate the effort you've gone to to create and maintain this site.

Any chance you'll develop a phone app?

Robert said...

@CMSD: Creating a phone app is something that's on my to-do list but a lot of other things are higher priority right now (like more solitaire games, sound, etc). So I'm not exactly sure when I'll be getting to it. Sorry I don't have better news for you.

Anonymous said...

Have not played solitaire for years, and i only knew one way to play. your site has been an educational and a pleasure. Thank you

Anonymous said...

Gobble, Gobble. Happy Thanksgiving.

Beth P said...

Happy Thanksgiving! I have a question... do you have any plans to make Forty Thieves one of the challenge games? Its my current favorite and I'd like to know the games actually CAN be won.
Beth

Robert said...

@Beth: I'll make sure that Forty Thieves is high on the list of challenges to add :)

Anonymous said...

Hey there Robert,

In case anyone thinks World of Solitaire is a mere diversion used to relax or challenge people as they go through their daily lives, think again.

I have been sent through the ringer dealing with a national company who owes me months' worth of pay. I was playing Eight Off as I listened to the hideous music while on hold, going from one person to the next in one division to the next, as no one wanted to deal with my problem. I began to feel as if I was playing a game of solitaire with those knuckleheads. I used one strategy after the other thinking a few steps ahead. It made me chuckle and feel way less annoyed. I ended up getting a supervisor, taking names and getting the situation in hand, thanks, in part, to World of Solitaire.

Happy Thanksgiving indeed.

:-) <3<3<3

Unknown said...

Thanks for your great website. I have a problem with the text size being too large and the card size being too small in the spider game. Hope you can fix it. Thanks again.
Wendy

Robert said...

@Unknown:

The problem you described can usually be fixed by resetting your 'Zoom' setting.

This can by done by pressing 'Control-Zero' on the keyboard (or 'Command-Zero' on the Mac) to reset it to 100%

If that does not fix it, let me know (e-mail is robert@telparia.com), there are some other things we can try :)

Anonymous said...

Robert, thank you for the best solitaire site in the universe!

Anonymous said...

I love this site! Thank you for speeding up the auto finish when the game is won. Best. Solitaire. Website. Ever.

Anonymous said...

Love this new rapid completion of games! I would get impatient to finish a game so I'd forego the score so I could start a new game. Thanks, Robert, for the fun you give us. JD

Anonymous said...

I enjoy your games every day during lunch at work, and I LOVE the new rapid finish! Thank you!
Lisa M.

Anonymous said...

I see you have made some fantastic changes -- the rapid finish is great, and you added Alaska and a few other games, including Josephine -one of my favorites. Thank you so much for keeping this site fresh and updated and for all your work that gives many hours of enjoyment. Kate T.

Kevin Kilgore said...

Thanks for the new challenges. And I wonder... is the Medium Challenge #43 under Klondike (turn one) actually solvable?

Robert said...

@Kevin: All challenges are solvable :) I've been thinking about some way to provide hints or show solutions to the challenges, but I need to do it carefully.

Anonymous said...

Robert, your solitaire game is the best I have ever played on the internet. I have always judged others by your standard. Everything about it ( size, color, speed), everything, is,well, perfect. Thank you for years of enjoyment. Sincerly, Barry Moskowitz, New York

Dan said...

Hey...

I've been playing on your site pretty frequently for the past few years. (Damn you and the addictive nature of your solitaire!)

I just wanted to let you know that the latest change you made, speeding up the auto-play when won, is extremely satisfying. Maybe too satisfying. Between that and the new victory graphics (I always have to wait and see which one I get.... damn, the joker again!!!) your solitaire has officially become my "crack."

Thanks. Thanks very much. I would be so much more productive without you.... : )>

I hope you have a wonderful holiday-like Decemberishness.

Dan

Prestorose said...

Thank you for all the updates and keeping the game fun. Like the previous post from Dan, I tend to play it instead of doing something more productive, but I do feel that I am keeping my mind sharp!
Happy Christmas and a fun and productive New Year.
Nancy

Unknown said...

Crazy question. Couple weeks ago I won a solitaire game and the winning graphic was a very scary demon head. Hadn't seen it before and havent seen it since. Can you confirm I did not hallucinate that? Thx.

Robert said...

@Debra Downing:

Yes, that is real! You did not hallucinate.

Some of the winning graphics are VERY RARE. In fact, the one you saw only had a 1 in 1,000 chance of coming up!

That particular one is so rare because it can be a little bit scary, so it's only shown very very rarely.

Unknown said...

Thank you, Robert! Not so scary knowing it was real. Lol Looking forward to discovering other rare graphics.

Unknown said...

Happy New Year everyone!

Please, please can we have Double Scorpion?

Regards,
Rachel

Robert said...

@Rachel Lloyd:

Happy new year to you too!

Double Scorpion will be the next game I add, as it has been requested a few times.

Anonymous said...

Please give us some more graphics this year. I LOVE them. Thanks Robert, and Happy New Year. <3<3<3

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year, Robert, and all World of Solitaire players!
Just seen the peacock Superb victory graphic: very nice :)
Kate T

Benni said...

Robert, you may answered this before but I couldn't find it. Do you have, or are you considering an android app similar to your Solitaire site? That would be so cool!

(Benni)

Robert said...

@Anonymous:

Happy new year to you too! Congratulations on seeing the peacock! That peacock only has a 1 in 1,000 chance of showing up! Consider yourself lucky! :)

@Barbara Baskin:
I do not currently have an android or iOS app. It's something I've thought about doing and is something I'm still considering, but haven't yet committed myself to start.

Unknown said...

Is there any way that you could move the card pile to the right or farther down on the left. I keep hitting the draw down boxes as I go to the pile. Yeah, I know I could be more careful!
I really appreciate the fact that I can play your games free! Great job!

Robert said...

@Jean B:

You can prevent the menu from automatically coming down.

Go up to the 'Options' menu and check 'Menu Requires Click to Activate'.

This will make it so you need to click on the menu to open it so it will prevent the problems you were describing.

Unknown said...

Thank you! You have truly thought of everything! I enjoy the games and appreciate that they are free!

Hank Wheelie said...

Thank you Robert, I love it and play regularly (maybe TOO often LOL)

Iconista said...

Thank you for solitaire. Many hours of work time joy! :D

Unknown said...

Love your site, but having trouble getting the cards to appear. Some are normal graphics, some are blank, transparent outlines with the card number/suit in the upper left corner. Suggestions?

Robert said...

@Amy Bale:
That problem can be fixed by resetting the browser cache. You can learn how to do that here: http://www.refreshyourcache.com/

Unknown said...

Clearing the cache didn't work, Robert. Any other suggestions?

Robert said...

@Amy:

Hrm, could you take a screenshot of the problem so I can see what you are seeing?

You can learn how to take a screenshot here: http://take-a-screenshot.org/

Then e-mail it to me: robert@telparia.com

Judy said...

I love the site but there is one problem. I cannot get the solitaire game that was on the screen to go away. I have to play games over the solitaire cards. How do I make it go away so I only see one game?

Robert said...

@Judy:

I've not heard of that problem ever before. I'm not quite sure what may be wrong from the description. Could you take a screenshot of the problem so I can see what you are seeing? You can learn how to take a screenshot here: take-a-screenshot.org

You can then e-mail it to me at robert@telparia.com

Mary said...

Hi Robert,
I have been looking for an app to put on my phone. Do you have one? It is not an I-phone. I like to play Scorpion. I cannot find that one anywhere.
Thanks Mary

Robert said...

@Mary:

Unfortunately I do not have an iPhone app right now. You can play in the Safari web browser on iPads, but it's a bit too small for an iPhone. Sorry I don't have better news.

marylamb said...

Hi Robert,
Just wanted to say thank you for all your work.
It's the best solitaire site on the web.
Know that you're appreciated.
Sincerely, Mary

Bangs said...

April 27, 2016

The program seems to be broken. It keeps turning up duplicate cards in the same deck. If this is a problem local to my computer, how do I fix it? If it isn't, can you fix it?

Robert said...

@Bangs:

Try changing to a different deck using the 'Deck' menu at the top. If that does not fix it, try resetting the browser cache. You can learn how to do that here: http://www.refreshyourcache.com/

If still not working correctly, send me an e-mail robert@cosmicrealms.com

Bangs said...

My blunder (show red faced emojo here). I was in a double-deck game without realizing.
Sorry for the error. No bugs in this game.

Barbara Edelman said...

I started playing at your site on my phone about a month ago and am addicted. I've learned a new game -- Cruel -- which is VERY cruel indeed. If you happen to plan on adding any new solitaire games, may I suggest Accordion? It's other names are Tower of Babel and Idle Year. Hard to win, fun to play. Well, off for a round of Canfield!

Robert said...

@Barbara:

I have added your new game suggestion to the list of games I want to add.

The list is rather long and I am not sure exactly when I'll be able to add it, but it's on the list!

Thanks for the suggestion and I hope you continue to have fun playing :)

Hank Wheelie said...

Thanks Robert, I am sure your list to add is long.
Just wanted to post a tip for Double Klondike players. Always move cards from those on the table and not from the deck. It's almost impossible NOT to win that way, but I am still trying to get under 200 moves as some in the stats have, Enjoy and thanks again Robert (-:

Unknown said...

Hi Robert
Love your site but I have had a couple of problems that I hope you can explain.
I've been playing freecell relaxed and was up on the leader board. I had just
won my last game 1200+. I went to check the statistics and when I got back and started a new game, the scores showed me losing the last game. I did not get the statistics window - it was blank. That's when I went back to play another game and saw that I had somehow lost the last hand that I had won. Can you explain?
Pearl

Anonymous said...

Hi!
I've enjoyed your solitaire website for a year now and I've gotten my father hooked. I was wondering if it would be possible I could create a deck of cards and background. I've almost finished the artwork using Skyrim screenshots and character creation and some clip art, but I know nothing about how to submit them for animation. Would that be possible? I don't think it violates any copyright laws and it looks pretty good. Please let me know if you are interested. Thank you all the same, the website is great.

Robert said...

@pearl111111:

Hello

Sometimes a win can be failed to be recorded, if the internet happens to be down when you win or there is some other communication issue between you and the World of Solitaire web server.

Whenever this happens you can e-mail me robert@telparia.com and I can correct the record for you.

Robert said...

@Kathryn Johnson:

I'm afraid right now I don't have any way to easily allow new decks and backgrounds to be included. I thought a while ago about adding a feature where anyone could create a deck of cards and then allow others to use it, even having ratings, etc. but I ended up not moving forward with that feature due to the commitment of hard drive space it would take on the server side to host all the decks in the various different sizes. So right now to include a new deck takes a lot of manual effort on my part and unfortunately isn't something I have time to do right now :(

However, if you have a deviantart profile or some other website, I'd really like to take a look once you've completed them! I may have more time available in the coming months and I may be able to include it then. If you prefer not to post your website info here, you can e-mail me at robert@telparia.com

Unknown said...

I love your soothing, calm, and steady voice in explaining each game. I've learned many new solitaire games just because a want to spend a few minutes with you, Robert. (I'm not a stalker--you seem like you'd be a nice big brother!) Happy Birthday and thanks ever so much for creating this great site!

Ed said...

For some reason I can't pull up the game on either my desktop or laptop any more. Just getting a screen with the titles on it, but no cards.

Robert said...

@Ed: I haven't had any other reports of problems and it's working ok here. Try resetting the browser cache. You can learn how to do that here: http://www.refreshyourcache.com/
Then re-visit: http://worldofsolitaire.com

Morell Yeneldar said...

I relly like your game. Both online and offline.
May I have small wish? I would love to have Azzedar's elves deck in offline version. Please...

Robert said...

@Morell: I've been meaning to update the offline version for a while now. I'll bump it up a bit on the to-do list :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Robert, I am now retired and play Solitaire often. I recently changed my laptop and now have a problem when playing. Quite frequently, perhaps every 3 or 4 games, when I click on the next card it is as if I have clicked on exit the game and the screen goes back to the previous website I used, and I lose that game. It is totally random and quite frustrating, it can be at he early part of a game or when I am just about to get one complete which is rather annoying! Is this something that other people experience and do you have any suggestions. The next game loads and on I play but it is a pain!! Thanks

Robert said...

@Anonymous:

That's quite odd! I've never heard of that happening before. I've been thinking about what on earth might be causing that, but can't come up with any possible explanation.

You can press the 'Space Bar' on your keyboard to deal the next card, that may at least help reduce how many times you need to click which should hopefully reduce how often the problem you described happens.

As for losing the game when navigating away from the website, that's something I want to fix, so when you come back the game will continue where you last left off, so it won't count as a loss. This is a bit tricky to implement correctly so I haven't yet had time to do it.

Unknown said...

World of Solitaire is a great place to play Solitaire Games if you can't find a Solitaire Program to download to your computer.

I like it.

I have Pretty Good Solitaire for Mac on my Mac (from the Apple MacStore). The only thing that is not on the Mac is SolSuite which is only on windows (there are games on there I like to play, would have to request some of those to Pretty Good Solitaire, only way to do that).....used to have a windows computer before but I didn't know about SolSuite not untlil after I switched to Mac back in 2011.


I'll still keep World of Solitaire in mind to play some games if I get bored of playing on Pretty Good Solitaire sometimes :) Do you take any solitaire game requests?



Robert said...

@Jason Andrews:

I'm glad you enjoy the games :)

I do take solitaire game requests. Every game that gets requested I write down onto a list of games to add. It's just a matter of finding the time to implement them :)

Anonymous said...

I think there's a birthday to be celebrated shortly.... nine years of great solitaire games on World of Solitaire. Happy Birthday WoS! I hope the cake is big enough for everyone to have a slice:)
Kate

Wanda said...

Happy Birthday!

I love playing your games.


Mom/Nana said...

Would you consider showing how to solve the "hard" games?

Robert said...

@Mom/Nana:

I've thought about ways I can provide hints to the challenges, but haven't come up with a good way to do it yet that works well with the computery list of moves that represent the solution. It's on my To-Do list, but there I have no immediate intention of adding it. Sorry I don't have better news for you.