# What was the name of that solitaire game? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 20, 2004, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-name-of-that-solitaire-game/230170 "2004-02-20T06:30:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-name-of-that-solitaire-game/230170/1 "2004-02-20T06:30:55Z")
It was packaged with Windows 3.1, IIRC. The four aces were on top already and then you had to build on them using the stacks (12, IIRC) beneath. Every time you ran out of moves the game would reshuffle. Piss poor description, I know, but maybe someone knows what I’m talking about… ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-name-of-that-solitaire-game/230170/2 "2004-02-20T06:51:43Z")
Are you talking about Freecell? Go to [this](http://www.hardwoodsolitaire.com/freecell.htm?SID=1466506&FromRedirect=1) site for a screen shot. I love that game. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-name-of-that-solitaire-game/230170/3 "2004-02-20T06:54:10Z")
No. It predated Freecell by a dozen years, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-name-of-that-solitaire-game/230170/4 "2004-02-20T07:59:30Z")
Sounds like a slightly warped recollection of plain old Klondike to me. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-name-of-that-solitaire-game/230170/5 "2004-02-20T16:31:21Z")
Sounds like [Rangoon](http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/Rudy.Muller/rangoon.html) but starting with aces instead of kings. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-name-of-that-solitaire-game/230170/6 "2004-02-20T16:36:19Z")
Was it called Golf? I remember playing Golf, way too much, and I think that’s the game you mean. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-name-of-that-solitaire-game/230170/7 "2004-02-20T22:02:00Z")
Nope, not either of those. I really can’t remember all that much of the game. Four aces start up on top. Underneath the aces are 12 piles of four cards each. You build up or down in suits. If you have a six of clubs and a seven of clubs showing on the piles, for instance, you put the six on the seven. If you have a two of hearts showing you put the two on the ace above. When you run out of moves you’d hit a button and the game would reshuffle the cards back into piles of four. It seems I’m missing something, though; I can’t remember what else there is. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-name-of-that-solitaire-game/230170/8 "2004-02-20T23:21:22Z")
I think that was Cruel. I really hated that game. I once lost on the initial shuffle without ever getting to make a move. It was aptly named. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-name-of-that-solitaire-game/230170/9 "2004-02-20T23:34:47Z")
HA! That was it! Thanks, **dwyr** , it was driving me nuts. 🙂