Solitaire vs Microsoft Solitaire Collection
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Solitaire
This classic card game involves strategically arranging a standard 52-card deck into four foundation piles, one for each suit. Players move cards between tableau piles and the discard pile, following specific rules to build sequences and complete the foundations.
- Standard 52-card deck gameplay
- Tableau pile arrangement
- Foundation pile building
- Discard pile management
- Sequence building
- Card placement rules
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The game is played with a standard pack of 52 cards. The cards come in 4 suits with two colors, spades (black), hearts (red), diamonds (red) and clubs (black). Within a suit, the ranks are, from low to high, ace, 2, 3,…,10, jack, queen and king. The player starts the game by shuffling and dealing the pack of cards over several piles on the tableau, or playing table. After the player has dealt, there are 7 piles on the tableau containing 28 cards. The first pile has 1 card, the second 2, the third 3, and so on up to the seventh pile. Initially, the top card of each pile is turned face up; all other cards are face down. The remaining cards that are not part of the tableau are placed in the deck-pile. Above the tableau there are five more piles that are initially empty, one discard-pile and four suit-piles, one for each suit of cards. The suit-piles (sometimes called foundations) are built up from aces to kings in one suit. They are constructed as the cards become available. The object of the game is to build all 52 cards into the suit piles through a number of allowed moves. The various moves the player can make are the following: 1) take the faced-down top card from the deck and place it face up on top of the discard pile 2) take the top card of the discard pile and place it on top of a tableau pile or suit pile 3) take the faced-up top card or a sequence of faced-up cards (called a build) from a tableau pile and place it (still in sequence) on top of another tableau-pile 4) take a faced-up top card of a tableau-pile and move it to a suit pile 5) turn over a faced-down top card of a tableau pile 6) when the deck-pile is empty, take the complete content of the discard pile, turn it over, and use it as a new deck-pile. Which cards can be taken and placed during each move is subject to some rules. A move can not be made when these rules are not satisfied. When the object of the game is reached or when no more moves can be made, the game is over. The rules for the placement of cards are the following. A card can be placed on a tableau-pile only on top of a faced-up card of next-higher rank and opposite color. A build can be placed only when its bottom card matches a faced-up top card in this way. Empty piles that arise during play can only accommodate kings. A card can be placed on a suit-pile only if it is of the same suit and next higher card or if the foundation is empty and the card is an ace.
Microsoft Solitaire Collection
Enjoy a collection of classic card games and popular puzzle titles. Challenge yourself with daily tasks, weekly rewards, and competitive events. Sign in to save progress and play across devices.
- 5 classic Solitaire modes
- Daily Challenges
- Weekly Rewards & Events
- Multiple Difficulty levels
- Additional puzzle games
- Cross-device progress saving
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Join millions of players worldwide in the most played Solitaire game in history - now featuring MORE great games to play! Enjoy classic Solitaire game modes everyone loves - Klondike Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, FreeCell Solitaire, TriPeaks Solitaire & Pyramid Solitaire. Keep your mind sharp increasing Difficulty, completing Daily Challenges, playing Weekly Rewards, or climbing the leaderboard in Events. Celebrate WINS by leveling up with XP, collecting Trophies, Achievements & MORE! Plus, discover other great match-3, arcade and puzzle games ready to play anytime - Microsoft Bubble, Jewel, Gravity Blocks, Gem Drop & Mahjong 3D. Sign in with a Microsoft or Xbox Account to save your progress, collect awards and play across devices. With so much to play, Microsoft Solitaire Collection is the perfect app for anyone. Features: • 5 favorite Solitaire game modes • 5 NEW Challenges every day • Choose your Difficulty • Weekly Rewards, Events & Achievements • MORE great games ready to play inside Become a Premium Member • Play Ad-FREE • Collect XP (win or lose) • Daily Challenges: 2x points & access to past Challenges • Unlimited use of Solitaire Solver • Special boosts in Endless TriPeaks & Pyramid • Extra bonuses in other games • FREE Retro bundle & Xbox card backs Solitaire Premium is available for mobile only. Non-transferrable to other platforms. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account on confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews monthly or annually depending on the subscription type purchased. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Turn off auto-renewal by going to your Account Settings after purchase. If auto-renewal is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period, you will not be charged for the next period. All cancellations will take effect at the end of the current period. For more information visit: https://aka.ms/microsoftsolitaire_support © Microsoft 2025. All Rights Reserved. Microsoft, Microsoft Casual Games, the product logos and Microsoft Solitaire Collection, and the Microsoft Solitaire Collection logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Acceptance of Microsoft Services Agreement and Privacy Statement are required to play. (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement) Microsoft account registration required for cross-platform play. Game offers in-app purchases. Persistent internet connection required. Features, online services and system requirements may vary by country and are subject to change or retirement over time.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Solitaire at none against Microsoft Solitaire Collection's 8. Solitaire also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (50% vs 36%). Microsoft Solitaire Collection's advantage is ratings volume (255K vs 418) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On price and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Microsoft Solitaire Collection sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Solitaire asks for nothing beyond the download.
Microsoft Solitaire Collection holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Microsoft Solitaire Collection has 255K ratings behind it against 418, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Solitaire's written reviews are positive against 36% of Microsoft Solitaire Collection's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
| Parameter | Solitaire | Microsoft Solitaire Collection |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (418 ratings) | 4.7 (255K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better | 36.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 418 | 255K — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #167 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 170 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | xNeat.com | Microsoft Corporation |
Customer experience
Solitaire
Microsoft Solitaire Collection
Bugs and requests
Solitaire
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Microsoft Solitaire Collection
Reported bugs
5 issues- Inability to sign in or sync progress
- Game freezing or crashing after ads
- Timer continuing to run when app is closed
- Inconsistent behavior when internet connection is lost
- Themes and content not saving properly
Requested features
5 requests- Pause and resume option for challenges
- Ability to replay completed games
- More detailed statistics and progress tracking
- Offline play mode
- One-time purchase option instead of subscription
In-app purchases
Solitaire
No in-app purchases
Microsoft Solitaire Collection
- Premium Edition$1.991 Month
- Premium Edition$9.991 Year
- Cow Card Back$0.99
- Baby Fox Card Back$0.99
- Retro Pattern 2 Card Back$1.99
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- Retro Card Back Bundle$2.99
- Puppies Card Back Bundle$2.99
- Kittens Card Back Bundle$2.99
Questions
Is Solitaire free?
Is Microsoft Solitaire Collection free?
Which has better reviews, Solitaire or Microsoft Solitaire Collection?
Do Solitaire or Microsoft Solitaire Collection have ads?
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