Solitaire Alone Together

(solitairealonetogether.com)

129 points | by eieio 1 day ago

18 comments

  • EvanAnderson 6 hours ago

    I can't suggest moves, though! >smile<

    Always carry a deck of cards when hiking in the wilderness. If you become lost deal a game of solitaire. In a few minutes someone will come up and start suggesting moves.

    • nayuki 4 hours ago

      Neat concept - a web remake of a classic Windows game. I found it very hard to win though, due to the "draw three" rule. I finally won on my 12th shuffle.

      Aside from this web game implementation, in past decades I grew tired of solitaire and its constrained nature. I found myself enjoying spider solitaire a bit more, where you have to be more strategic about building stuff. I discovered spider because it's bundled with Windows. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_(solitaire)

      • v9v 6 hours ago

        For "Solitaire Together" instead, I recommend the game NERTS (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1131190/NERTS_Online/). It's a multiplayer competitive solitaire game by Zachtronics. Out of all the games I've played, it's the one that stresses me out and takes me through emotional rollercoasters the most.

        • eieio 6 hours ago

          Oh this is fun! I'm a big Zachtronics fan but didn't know about NERTS.

          I grew up playing "double solitaire" (basically multiplayer competitive solitaire where you play on each others' aces) with my family and love it, and it definitely contributed to me making this site. So I'm excited to play some Solitaire Together!

          • wildzzz 3 hours ago

            I really liked the flavor of solitaire they put into Shenzhen IO

          • nticompass 8 hours ago

            Author's blog post about this project: https://eieio.games/blog/solitaire-alone-together/

            • Rendello 6 hours ago

              Beautiful. I've always loved the aesthetic of Windows Solitaire [a] but felt strangely alone when playing it (figures). I'm reminded of a non-solitary solitaire, Nerts Online:

              https://www.zachtronics.com/nerts-online/

              a. And this version too, the backs of the cards are very pretty.

              • bityard 6 hours ago

                NERTS is fun, we play it with a group of our friends (fiends?) semi-regularly. But part of its charm is the inherent physical and verbal chaos... you can never reach all the piles, people's hands/arms collide with each other, drinks get spilled, names get called, alliances forged and quickly betrayed. It's a hoot.

                • Rendello 3 hours ago

                  I tried the online one but I'm not too experienced with cards so I just got destroyed. Another fun, chaotic one that I used to play in person a lot is Egyptian Ratscrew, a game where you have to slap the pile first if certain criteria are met. I don't think I've won a single match of that, I'm usually still processing what card was put down long after someone already slapped the pile. I had fun regardless. Make sure everyone removes their rings!

                  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Ratscrew

                  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2UMv5Jk8JQ

              • chainsaw10 8 hours ago

                If you click Start > Shut Down and click OK, it’ll say “it is now safe to close this tab”, which I thought was a nice touch.

                • why_at 5 hours ago

                  And if you leave the tab alone for a while there's one of the classic Windows screensavers

                • eahm 3 hours ago

                  Found this a couple of months ago and it's the best I tried yet: https://worldofsolitaire.com

                  • axm997 7 hours ago

                    So cool! Since there are some solitaire fans on this thread. Thought I would share a version that build with 2 decks https://d6.belsonbox.com

                    • dverlaeckt80 7 hours ago

                      There is something weirdly fascinating about this. I think the combination of nostalgia, seeing others play without interacting and just the whole idea of it. Rather mesmerizing. Well done.

                      • florianfmmartin 6 hours ago
                        • raspo 6 hours ago

                          Was solitaire always this hard, or have I forgotten how to play this game? I tried a few games and failed every time :)

                          • slig 6 hours ago

                            Maybe you're remembering the Turn-1 instead of this Turn-3?

                            • MattSayar 6 hours ago

                              Only something like 10-20% of games are winnable.

                              • noja 6 hours ago

                                Many solitaire games will not give you an unsolvable puzzle to play. I think freecell only had one (by accident)

                                • amiga386 3 hours ago

                                  Microsoft Solitaire (Klondike) frequently gives you unsolvable hands, especially if you're using Draw-3.

                                  FreeCell "is fundamentally different from most solitaire games in that very few deals are unsolvable" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeCell) i.e. most solitaire games deals are unsolvable.

                                  As you said, Microsoft FreeCell does only deal one unsolvable puzzle as standard (#11982 out of 32000) https://www.solitairelaboratory.com/fcfaq.html

                                  • gosub100 5 hours ago

                                    Can't remember if I saw it on HN or searched for it, but you can search for the hardest solvable freecell games. I drove myself partially insane trying to solve one. Only got about halfway before I caved

                                    (If you don't have access to windows you can run one of those web based windows desktop lookalikes written in JS).

                                • hosel 7 hours ago

                                  This is fun! I like the vibe of doing solitary activities in the “company” of other strangers. It’s neat. I like the screen saver

                                  • alentred 7 hours ago

                                    Oh boy, this is sooooo addictive.

                                    Look, I don’t mind it but let us know - are you training some model on our inputs ? :)

                                    • eieio 7 hours ago

                                      (creator here!)

                                      lol, no, I am not training a model!

                                      But I DO record some games so that I can replay them later. That way if you log on and you're the only person, you can still watch the ghost of a past game. This isn't relevant right now (there are 500ish people playing! wow!)- I only show past games if there aren't active ones to show.

                                    • r0b05 4 hours ago

                                      Love the screensaver

                                      • kooi 7 hours ago

                                        I love these windows emulators

                                        • smcg 8 hours ago

                                          SAT! Solitaire Alone Together!

                                          • NooneAtAll3 7 hours ago

                                            Wrong solitaire :(

                                            I was hoping for the "all cards visible and one free slot to put a card in"

                                            • dsschnau 4 hours ago

                                              absolutely delightful. i happily added it to my 'games' bookmark folder.