Solitaire Online - Part 1

Most people play solitaire on their computers. It's practically mandatory. Last year Microsoft Solitaire celebrated its 30th anniversary.

On Linux I play Aisleriot Solitaire on my computer. It has excellent directions for new games and is straightforward playing. I also KPat, which I consider to be the most beautiful of the software versions of Solitaire.

There are a lot of downloadable versions of Solitaire games for whatever flavor of computer you are using, from a Linux desktop to an iOS Phone.

This is about online games. The world of online games have seen a lot of changes over the years and that includes solitaire. The loss of flash as a platform has been a big one. None of the sites I'm including here use flash as a platform. I ruled out all flash implementation because it's just not safe for anyone at any time and it should not be a part of any decent browser.

I played one-suit Spider because I wanted to see what the game looked like when winning. Occasionally I played strict Pyramid to see what happened when I lost.

For my first test I used Firefox with an adblocker, tracking protection, no flash, blocked javascript, click-to-play HTML5 autoplay and active cookie deletion. (That's how I roll.) I'll call it my Firefox test.

For the second test I used naked Chromium with no adblockers, no blocked javascript, in full-on "COME AT ME BRO" browser mode. I also clicked on a variety of ads to make sure that they went where they said they would.

There was only one site that got knocked off my list for hinky advertising and general bad behavior. Pogo. Pogo is awful and there are far, far better sites for solitaire. Or any other game. Don't go there. It's riddled with insidious tracking software, pop-over and pop-under ads. We've seen more than one computer with malware and PUPs that were clearly downloaded from an unwary click from the site.

Let's begin the list!

1. Offline Solitaire - Okay, this is supposed to be about being online. Yes. But this game works when your Internet doesn't. As long as it can store settings in your browser, it works. It's open source and there are no ads. The game is limited to one-draw or three-draw Solitaire. It's very simple.

2. Google Solitaire - This is probably the strangest of the discoveries I made. It was probably part of their Doodle games in the past and is now relegated to an unattached archive. It's simple, two versions of solitaire, easy or hard. The design is beautiful and the card movement graceful. No ads. Just relaxing game play.

3. TreeCardGames - There's a lot to like about this site. Lots of solitaire variations and it's snappy and bright. There are no ads on Firefox. On Chrome, the ads aren't misleading or distracting. On both the game play is solid. The card illustrations are nice and there are basic backgrounds to pick from. Card movement is smooth and the instructions are fine.

4. Arkadium Free Online Solitaire - Very nice web site with multiple categories of games and a small selection of well put together traditional solitaire games. Card and background illustrations are simple and pleasing. Card movement is smooth. Instructions are straightforward. Going in on Firefox is simple and the site works. There's a video ad that's quickly slapped down and it goes straight to the game of your choice. Going in on Chrome is different. There are many ads that surround the game in addition to the video you must watch before your game loads. The ads I saw were distributed from the Google network and the ones I tried were legit. (Aside - The other games on the site are worth trying too.)

5. iSolitaire - This is a basic site, but it works. They have a smallish selection of games. The game play is smooth and there is a choice of cards, but no choice in backgrounds. If you don't know how to play the game you select, you are out of luck as there are no instructions. Firefox ran with no ads presented. Chromium had a pop-up ad for downloading Google Chrome (Seriously? I can't tell if there's no information gathering going on or if there's too much.) when I clicked on a game. The game had legit, non-distracting ads on both sides of the game.

6. Solitaire.Game - Pretty site with lots of games! Options galore - Background color and texture can be changed, the card faces (not the backs) can be altered, the movement of the cards, the depth of the field and finally the ability to minimize the game in the browser. There's a lot of movement inside the games too. A cute little red *poof* when a card is moved. It's slick and smooth. Ads are reasonable in Chromium and don't lead to questionable web sites. No ads appear on Firefox and the games work.

I had one problem with this site. I couldn't figure out how to get cards removed from the tableau once assembled. They just sat there taking up space no matter what I did. No foundation was outlined anywhere on the field of play. I looked at the instructions and got nothing from it. If anyone goes to this site and can figure out what the deal is, I'd appreciate a quick note. I had no problems playing regular Patience. The cards flew to the foundation pile, but they weren't built on the tableau.

7. Black Reds - Good site, tiny cards. If your eyesight is bad, this site is not for you. But, there are many solitaire games available and you can sort them by name, popularity and difficulty level. I love easy games, so I'm kind of a sucker for the last category. Sometimes you just want to win without much thought or concentration, yaknow? The site celebrates a win with a tiny fireworks display. Yay. There is no advertising on the site, but it's not a secured website and there are plenty of trackers. Kind of weird, but you can clear out your cookies easily enough.

8. Solitaired - Lots and lots and lots of games. 500+. Individual games are easy to find by name. The play is quick and simple. There are other card games, like Hearts and Mahjong, that you can play against bots. There are Google ads and trackers on the site. No surprise there. If you click on the "remove ads" button there's an offer to pay for a subscription. I'm not going to do that or check it out, so you are on your own with that one. If you do it, let me know how you make out. Good luck.

9. 247 Games - This site is really colorful and it has a great selection of games beyond solitaire. The selection of solitaire games it has are plentiful and fairly easy to find. There are nice decks for every holiday and season. It's a little difficult finding the specific game you want because of this, however. Scrolling through all of the deck variation can get tedious and a little confusing. But ... Game play is snappy and smooth. Even when playing the games on Chromium with full ads (both sides and the bottom of the game play area have Google Ads) the game play is really good and the design is good. The site is not secure.

10. Coming to you straight from the '90s is GoodSol. This is an ugly site. It's been around for a long time and the owner is a software designer who is selling his solitaire game to Windows and Mac users. The cards are horrible looking. The backgrounds are straight out of Windows 98+. I waited for a flying toaster, but was disappointed. Game play is okay for some games and awful for others. (Accordion is a nightmare. Go ahead - Try it. I wanted to use tweezers.) The ads are subtle, even ads for his games, which are not obtrusive when you are playing. There are the usual ads and trackers from Google.

There's a part two to this post coming up. Meanwhile, enjoy!