In a recent Goodsol Newsletter, I asked my newsletter subscribers for their 5 most favorite solitaire games from my game Pretty Good Solitaire. The results were interesting.
What was remarkable was how many different games were listed. Over 300 different solitaire games were mentioned and no two people had the same list. In fact, most people named at least one game that very few other people mentioned, meaning almost everyone has an obscure favorite that few other people play!
So let us look at the top 25 most favorite games from the survey. Many of these games are games that are known to be popular, but there are a few surprises in the list.
1. FreeCell
2. Klondike
The top 2 games are no surprise. FreeCell and Klondike (Windows Solitaire) are the two most popular and played games, so that they are at the top of the list is natural.
But Demons and Thieves at #3 is a surprise. Demons and Thieves is one of the first solitaire games that I invented back in 1996. It is a combination of Canfield and Forty Thieves and has clearly become more popular than either of those two games. The remarkable thing is that it not only made #3, it very nearly took out Klondike for #2. Clearly people really like this game and if you haven't tried it, you should.
This is a strong showing for what is the clearly the most popular 4 deck game, just like Klondike but with many more cards.
5. Spider
6. Canfield
Two more classics that you would expect to see at the top of the list.
7. Penguin
This Eight Off variant created by David Parlett is clearly a very popular game.
8. Pyramid
Another classic.
9. Agnes Three
Another surprise. This 3 deck version of Agnes Bernauer that I created has become more popular than the one deck game it came from. It's nice to see two of my original games in the top 10.
10. Spider One Suit
The easy version of Spider has been popular for all the 20 years it has been around.
11. Double Klondike
Australian Patience, suggested by a user of Pretty Good Solitaire in 1996, is very popular despite its difficulty.
13. Quadruple Interchange
Another surprise, this 4 deck version of Interchange that I created is considerably easier than its very difficult one deck version.
14. Patience's Reward
A huge surprise. I invented this game in 1996, another of the very first games that I invented. It's never gotten much notice, but it was amazing how often it was mentioned.
15. Scorpion
Another classic.
16. Thieves of Egypt
Thieves of Egypt is a Forty Thieves variant that I invented in the early 2000s and it was popular right from the start.
17. Buffalo Bill
Another big surprise. Buffalo Bill is another invention of David Parlett, based on the game Little Billie, It doesn't get talked about much, but it got mentioned a lot in the survey.
18. Sea Towers
The classic FreeCell type game.
19. Lady Jane
Another game that I invented back in 1996, it has always been popular. It is a two deck Klondike type game.
20. La Belle Lucie
22. Forty Thieves
23. Gaps
More games known to be popular.
Another surprise. This is a 4 deck version of General's Patience that I invented relatively recently, so it is surprising to see it so high on the list already.
25. Gargantua
A classic 2 deck Klondike type game.
The next ten games after the top 25 are: Huge Spider, Yukon, Antares, Algerian Patience, Aces Up, Triple FreeCell, Triple Peaks, Wings, Greater Wheel, and Rouge et Noir.
Thanks to everyone who submitted their favorites, the response to the survey was amazing! If you haven't played any of the games listed here, you should give them a try.
salve a me piace most popular solitarie e appena o un po di soldi me lo compro il dischetto saluti
Posted by: Ambrogio Iametti | May 21, 2020 at 05:35 PM
My personal favourites are Penguin, Crazy Quilt and Queen of Italy (I think that's what it's called)
Posted by: Bob | May 21, 2020 at 07:08 PM
My favorites are:
1. Repair
2. Tuxedo
3. Thieves of Egypt
4. Double Eight Off
4. Demons and Thieves
5. Agnes Three
6. Fifteen Puzzle Cell
7. Twister
8. Triangulum
9. Fifteen Peaks
10. Endless Harp
However, the survey gets me to try some of the other games.
Posted by: Hans-Peter Werner | May 23, 2020 at 03:29 AM
By the way, when will there be a GNU/Linux version (RPM/DEB) of PGS?
Posted by: Peter | May 23, 2020 at 03:32 AM
>By the way, when will there be a GNU/Linux version (RPM/DEB) of PGS?
I can't imagine that it would be a good use of resources for Goodsol to spend months creating a Linux version (not to mention the commerce/support structures) to sell essentially nothing. :-(
Posted by: Gregg Seelhoff | May 23, 2020 at 07:23 PM
The Windows version works on Linux using WINE from winehq.com
Posted by: Thomas Warfiield | May 24, 2020 at 09:19 AM