Solitaire Royale
Released 1987
The earliest known card solitaire game released via retail, Solitaire Royale features 11 games: eight standard and three children's.
Overview
Solitaire Royale is a card solitaire game collection developed by Software Resources International and published by Spectrum HoloByte for MS-DOS and Macintosh computers in 1987, with a release for the Amiga in July 1988 and the Apple IIgs in December 1989. It was also released by Game Arts for the MSX, Sharp X1, FM-7, NEC PC-9801, and NEC PC-8801 computers in Japan on June 1988.
The earliest known card solitaire game to receive a boxed retail release, Solitaire Royale features eight standard games of card solitaire (such as Klondike and Pyramid) and three children's games of card solitaire (including Concentration). It features both keyboard and mouse support, multiple card themes, a "tournament" option (where multiple players can attempt the same "shuffle") and a "tour" mode (where players play each of the eight standard games consecutively and are scored on all games).
The studio later revisited the concept with Solitaire Deluxe.
Games
Standard Games
In addition to playing each game separate, players can play Tour mode (also known as "Aunt Anne's Game"), where the player plays all eight games consecutively and are scored on all games. Each game, as well as Tour mode, can also be played in Tournament Play, where multiple players can compete to get the highest score in the same "shuffle".
Children's Games
- Concentration
- Pairs
- The Wish
