6 ms·

Winning 2000 games in a row sounds statistically unlikely unless the Windows version of solitaire does something behind the scenes to make the game more winnabl

Winning 2000 games in a row sounds statistically unlikely unless the Windows version of solitaire does something behind the scenes to make the game more winnable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_(solitaire)#Probability_of_winning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_(solitaire)#Probabili...

InitialLastName 5mo ago
I suspect that the later (Win 7+) versions of Windows solitaire (and minesweeper, for that matter) did, in fact, cull the unwinnable games.
- jasperry 5mo ago
  I don't know of any algorithm to cull non-winnable Klondike games. Playing deal-1 instead of deal-3, and with unlimited flipping of the stock, the win chance is probably close to 50%, but that still makes 2000 in a row statistically impossible. My guess is that the poster's mom was actually playing FreeCell, in which nearly every game is winnable and people do get streaks like that.
  - npinsker 5mo ago
    It’s quite doable, if you don’t mind culling some winnable games too. The object isn’t to have a perfect classifier.
  - chocochunks 5mo ago
    You don't need an algorithm. You can just record seeds that are solvable. The current version of Klondike in MS Solitaire is winnable unless you play "Random" difficulty.
dezgeg 5mo ago
Could there be mixup with FreeCell?
- reenorap 5mo ago
  Whoops you're right it was FreeCell! I totally got those mixed up but yes it was FreeCell that she got 2000+ games in a row, she was very proud of that. She didn't even want me to play on her computer in case I ruined her streak LOL
bluedino 5mo ago
The current version, you can play on 'Easy', I think my kindergartner wins all his games on that setting.
bluefirebrand 5mo ago
It wouldn't be that difficult to make computer solitaire winnable 100% of the time actually. It would mean "cheating" by moving cards around behind the scenes though There's an assumption with computer card games that the computer shuffles the deck once just like a real card game but that doesn't have to be true on the computer if you don't want it to be Now, any reasonable player would notice if you reshuffle the deck in solitaire, but you could swap around the face down cards without any problem. You could have just one stack of face down cards in memory and always pop from the top when a card is flipped Edit: Maybe this wouldn't be winnable 100%, but you could certainly nudge every hand towards being winnable
estimator7292 5mo ago
The Microsoft Solitaire Pack or whatever the current branding is does, indeed do something behind the scenes to ensure the game is winnable. I suspect they have either a massive database of proven-winnable shuffles, or before the game presents a new deck to you, it solves it in the background to prove it's winnable. Personally I dislike this feature. Yeah it sucks to get an unwinnable shuffle, but that's just how card games work. Ensuring every game is winnable just seems like addiction engineering when it's next to the Microsoft logo. Part of the fun is the uncertainty that a game is possible to win. If you know up front that a deck is guaranteed solvable, it really colors how you play the game.
- moron4hire 5mo ago
  Part of the mechanism of psychological addiction is unreliable, intermittent rewards. People feel like they are in control but can't figure out the optimal win strategy. One effective means of treating gambling addiction is to just teach people how to get good at gambling. It removes the mystery of the system and puts the subject back in control. So, making every hand winnable may actually help to make the game less addictive.
- 7bit 5mo ago
  I appreciate it. When I play, I want a challenge that's solvable. It still is hard to actually solve it, so it remains a challenge. Only because you can't do that with real cards, doesn't mean that's preferable or superior.
- neonstatic 5mo ago
  > The Microsoft Solitaire Pack or whatever the current branding is That would be Microsoft 365 Copilot Card Intelligence
  - xigoi 5mo ago
    Not to be confused with Microsoft Copilot 365 Card Intelligence, which is a program for AI-generating business cards.
reenorap 5mo ago
As someone else mentioned I got it mixed up, it was FreeCell not Solitaire!

InitialLastName 5mo ago

I suspect that the later (Win 7+) versions of Windows solitaire (and minesweeper, for that matter) did, in fact, cull the unwinnable games.

jasperry 5mo ago
I don't know of any algorithm to cull non-winnable Klondike games. Playing deal-1 instead of deal-3, and with unlimited flipping of the stock, the win chance is probably close to 50%, but that still makes 2000 in a row statistically impossible. My guess is that the poster's mom was actually playing FreeCell, in which nearly every game is winnable and people do get streaks like that.
- npinsker 5mo ago
  It’s quite doable, if you don’t mind culling some winnable games too. The object isn’t to have a perfect classifier.
- chocochunks 5mo ago
  You don't need an algorithm. You can just record seeds that are solvable. The current version of Klondike in MS Solitaire is winnable unless you play "Random" difficulty.

dezgeg 5mo ago

Could there be mixup with FreeCell?

reenorap 5mo ago
Whoops you're right it was FreeCell! I totally got those mixed up but yes it was FreeCell that she got 2000+ games in a row, she was very proud of that. She didn't even want me to play on her computer in case I ruined her streak LOL

bluedino 5mo ago

The current version, you can play on 'Easy', I think my kindergartner wins all his games on that setting.

bluefirebrand 5mo ago

It wouldn't be that difficult to make computer solitaire winnable 100% of the time actually. It would mean "cheating" by moving cards around behind the scenes though There's an assumption with computer card games that the computer shuffles the deck once just like a real card game but that doesn't have to be true on the computer if you don't want it to be Now, any reasonable player would notice if you reshuffle the deck in solitaire, but you could swap around the face down cards without any problem. You could have just one stack of face down cards in memory and always pop from the top when a card is flipped Edit: Maybe this wouldn't be winnable 100%, but you could certainly nudge every hand towards being winnable

estimator7292 5mo ago

The Microsoft Solitaire Pack or whatever the current branding is does, indeed do something behind the scenes to ensure the game is winnable. I suspect they have either a massive database of proven-winnable shuffles, or before the game presents a new deck to you, it solves it in the background to prove it's winnable. Personally I dislike this feature. Yeah it sucks to get an unwinnable shuffle, but that's just how card games work. Ensuring every game is winnable just seems like addiction engineering when it's next to the Microsoft logo. Part of the fun is the uncertainty that a game is possible to win. If you know up front that a deck is guaranteed solvable, it really colors how you play the game.

moron4hire 5mo ago
Part of the mechanism of psychological addiction is unreliable, intermittent rewards. People feel like they are in control but can't figure out the optimal win strategy. One effective means of treating gambling addiction is to just teach people how to get good at gambling. It removes the mystery of the system and puts the subject back in control. So, making every hand winnable may actually help to make the game less addictive.
7bit 5mo ago
I appreciate it. When I play, I want a challenge that's solvable. It still is hard to actually solve it, so it remains a challenge. Only because you can't do that with real cards, doesn't mean that's preferable or superior.
neonstatic 5mo ago
> The Microsoft Solitaire Pack or whatever the current branding is That would be Microsoft 365 Copilot Card Intelligence
- xigoi 5mo ago
  Not to be confused with Microsoft Copilot 365 Card Intelligence, which is a program for AI-generating business cards.

reenorap 5mo ago

As someone else mentioned I got it mixed up, it was FreeCell not Solitaire!