Microsoft Solitaire Collection

About Microsoft Solitaire Collection

Microsoft Solitaire Collection is Microsoft's own solitaire app. It first shipped with Windows 8 in October 2012 and came to iOS and Android in November 2016. It holds five games: Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid and TriPeaks, each with its own statistics page.

The daily part is the Daily Challenges screen. The store listings promise five new challenges every day, and Wikipedia describes them as one for each game at any difficulty. Some challenges are a deal to clear, others ask you to reach a target score. Each finished challenge gives Daily Challenge points and XP, and Xbox Support says the points count toward a bronze, silver, gold or diamond badge each month. A progress bar for the month sits at the bottom of the screen and a calendar shows which days you have finished. Xbox Support also says every Daily Challenge can be solved.

Next to the dailies there are Weekly Rewards, Events with a leaderboard, achievements and trophies, plus other Microsoft casual games inside the same app. Signing in with a Microsoft or Xbox account saves your progress and lets you carry it between devices, and the app needs an internet connection.

The game is free with ads. Solitaire Premium, sold on mobile as a monthly or yearly subscription, removes the ads, doubles Daily Challenge points, opens past challenges and gives unlimited use of the Solitaire Solver; Microsoft notes it does not carry over to other platforms. It suits people who already play solitaire and want a short set of varied deals to finish each day rather than a single shared puzzle.

How to play Microsoft Solitaire Collection

1. Open Microsoft Solitaire Collection and sign in with a Microsoft or Xbox account if you want your progress saved.
2. Select Daily Challenges on the Home screen to see today's five challenges.
3. Pick a challenge and read its goal, such as clearing the deal or reaching a target score.
4. Play the deal under that game's rules (Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid or TriPeaks) until you meet the goal.
5. Repeat for the other challenges, then check the progress bar at the bottom of the screen to see how close you are to this month's badge.

Screenshots

Tips

• Do all five challenges on the same day; the badge depends on how many points you collect over the month.
• Use the calendar in the Daily Challenges section to find days in the current month you skipped and still play them before the month ends.
• On score challenges, read the target first and play for points, not just for clearing the board.
• In FreeCell, keep at least one free cell open as long as you can; it is what lets you move longer runs.
• In Pyramid and TriPeaks, look a few cards ahead before you use a card that another pairing or run needs.
• Sign in with the same account on every device so challenge progress follows you.

Questions