One of the standby Linux games is AisleRiot Solitaire. I know, it’s not all that exciting, it’s solitaire. But sometimes you are just looking for something quick and light to fill the time.
AisleRiot was installed in the first Linux distribution I ever tried and I did not realize for a long time that it contained other games besides basic Klondike.
It turns out if you choose Game | Select Game… from the menu (Ctrl+O), there are 90 different solitaire games available to play! Okay, some of the games are not that great. Some can be won every time (no challenge) and others are ridiculously difficult (no fun). Some of my all time favorite games are there; Freecell, Spider, Triple Peaks. But I am finding some new favorites like Eagle Wing and most recently Whitehead.
Here is a game of Whitehead in progress. This one turned out to be a winner.
I am running about 60% on my winning ratio, so it falls right in the sweet spot where it is a challenge to win, but not too easy.
When trying out a new game be sure and read the rules for the game (found under the help menu). The rules may be slightly different for familiar games and me take a bit a practice to figure out for a new game.
So, the next time you have a few minutes to kill, why not try out a different kind of solitaire game.
Here is the full list of the titles available in AisleRiot Solitaire.
| A-E | E-K | L-T | T-Z |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accordion | Eliminator | Labyrinth | Terrace |
| Agnes | Escalator | Lady Jane | Thieves |
| Athena | First Law | Maze | Thirteen |
| Auld Lang Syne | Fortress | Monte Carlo | Thumb and Pouch |
| Aunt Mary | Fortunes | Napoleon’s Tomb | Treize |
| Backbone | Forty Thieves | Neighbor | Triple Peaks |
| Bakers Dozen | Fourteen | Odessa | Union Square |
| Bakers Game | Freecell | Osmosis | Valentine |
| Bear River | Gaps | Peek | Wall |
| Beleaguered Castle | Gay Gordons | Pileon | Westhaven |
| Block Ten | Giant | Plait | Whitehead |
| Bristol | Glenwood | Poker | Will o’ the Wisp |
| Camelot | Gold Mine | Quatorze | Yield |
| Canfield | Golf | Royal East | Yukon |
| Carpet | Gypsy | Saratoga | Zebra |
| Chessboard | Hamilton | Scorpion | |
| Clock | Helsinki | Scuffle | |
| Cover | Hopscotch | Seahaven | |
| Cruel | Isabel | Sir Tommy | |
| Diamond Mine | Jamestown | Spiderette | |
| Doublets | Jumbo | Spider Three Decks | |
| Eagle Wing | Kansas | Spider | |
| Easthaven | King Albert | Straight Up | |
| Eight Off | King’s Audience | Streets and Alleys | |
| Elevator | Klondike | Ten Across |
The default install of AisleRiot only comes with two card deck themes which are not all that great. Fortunately, there is a solution.
From the terminal, enter:
sudo apt-get install gnome-cards-data
This will install ten additional deck themes. Of the new themes, I really like ornamental, but if a the game overlaps the cards like in Freecell, you can’t tell the suite of the cards further down in the pile. For that reason, Tango is probable my best all around easy to read theme.