Competitive Solitaire Online

For years, solitaire has been a game played by individuals online and in person. Given the game has so many years of history, it is no surprise that many people have stuck to playing solitaire even as we find other forms of entertainment to consider. To play Solitaire online and completely free, just go to the website SubGame and enjoy this exciting game! Solitaire has long been regarded as one of the best games that you can play for a bit of peace, quiet and mental focus. However, it is an increasingly social game.

Today, it is common to play solitaire against other people as opposed to just playing yourself. Yes, many of us still engage in solo solitaire games, but online competitive solitaire is now increasingly popular. Most of the time, this involves a simple race – who can ‘win’ by completing their solitaire run quicker than the other?

For many, though, simply enjoying some solitaire on your own is an enjoyable enough practice. Yet, there is an increasing prevalence of people to play “against” themselves. This can be done in one of two ways:

  • You can play two games of solitaire at the one time on two separate devices, ‘competing’ against yourself at the same time to boost your rank online
  • You can play solitaire matches yourself in solo play but use various unethical methods to boost your score to show off to other players artificially

This can be a somewhat murky discussion within the solitaire community. After all, many of us play the game for a little fun. While many charitable groups use solitaire as a form of fundraising and having fun, it is often something we play for enjoyment and social interaction. So, why would someone cheat?

This can feel confusing if you are not used to the debate around ethics in solitaire. To try and sum up this confusing and often multi-layered debate, this article will cover the essential things to know about the discussion regarding ethics in solitaire and whether (or not) it is fair to play “against” yourself. 

The Debate Over the Ethics of Solitaire

The debate around ethics within solitaire can be quite multifaceted. For a game about simply having some fun and cutting loose, the debate can feel confusing. However, let us look at the debate around solitaire ethics in the simplest way: is it OK to cheat when playing this game?

For many of us, playing solitaire is something we do to pass the time. You are likely playing yourself using physical cards, a software edition or an online edition of the game. If you are playing the former two, and you are playing yourself, then it is hard to include any “ethical” rules. Why? Because you are simply cheating yourself. If you know that you cannot win a game of solitaire and you move cards around or use a move outside of the game’s ruleset, the only person you cheat is you.

So long as you use that as a means of finishing one game to start another, though, it is not so bad. You would not exactly be judged: almost every solitaire player has, at one stage or another, used a “cheat” to “win” a round that they would have otherwise lost. However, deep down, you know for a fact that you have cheated, right? You know that you have not won conventionally.

The challenge around ethics in solitaire comes from the fact that you are likely to play against another person at one stage. Cheating to win a round that you play yourself is one thing; nobody gets hurt, and nobody is keeping score. You know that you did not “win” that round purely, but it does not hurt anyone. If you were to enter into a game of solitaire against another person and cheat, though, that is different. Ask yourself this: if you were playing solitaire yourself, and you knew someone was watching you play, would you cheat? Most would say no. 

One of the main reasons not to cheat when playing solitaire is quite simple: you will not get better at the game. The real skill that you get when playing solitaire is the ability to stay patient, to read the routine, and to understand the steps to winning. It builds patience, perseverance, and understanding. 

If you cheat, you are missing out on many of the personal benefits of playing solitaire. If you cheat when playing someone else, you also remove much of the decency around playing the game. Most players do not play solitaire to be overly competitive; they do it to have fun. Bringing an element of cheating into the game as you do is disrespectful and is likely to cause consternation among the other players.

There are convincing arguments about playing solitaire on your own. Is it right, or should you stick to the more competitive, social element of the game that has become so prevalent in recent years? 

The Arguments For and Against Playing Solitaire Alone

Why should you play solitaire alone?

  • One of the major benefits of playing solitaire yourself is that you learn about the importance of fulfilment. When you play solitaire, to begin with, it is common for you to try and move as fast as you can. This means playing without a strategy. Playing solitaire yourself regularly, though, helps you understand and move beyond that strategy-free playing style.
  • The best way to speed up at solitaire is to slow down if that makes sense. Solitaire does a great job of teaching us to slow down and strike when the opportunity arises. It gives you a sense of gratification that you cannot get if you try and rush through a hand – and, especially, if you cheat to win. This is an important lesson for playing solitaire and life itself!
  • Solitaire is famous for being a game you can play to relax your mind. Most games are quite intense and are the opposite of relaxing: they are thrilling. The sedate pace of solitaire, though, means that you can play this at your own pace and learn to appreciate the benefits of tranquillity. Indeed, this is why solitaire is so common in workplaces: it helps to clear the mind.
  • Are you someone who struggles to enjoy being in your own company? Then playing solitaire alone is a great way to change this. Solitaire, when played on your own, can give you a near-meditative feeling. When you hone in on the game, and you are looking for strategies to win, everything else becomes background noise. This helps to diffuse mental tension and aggression.
  • Since solitaire is a single-player game at its heart, there is nothing wrong with playing it on your own. Playing on your own helps you to enjoy your own company, but it also allows you to learn to respect rules and regulations. You will find that playing solitaire alone enables you to become more comfortable with staying within the rules and guidelines set out for you.
  • Solitaire is a primarily customisable game these days, with many varieties of it online. This means that if you choose to play yourself or “against” yourself, you can pick the solitaire style you enjoy the most. If you play online or in a competitive environment, you usually need to find a more standard form of the game that all of the players taking part are comfortable with and enjoy. 

Why should you play solitaire with others?

  • You should consider playing solitaire with other people because it helps to shape your strategy. You begin to see how others are winning games, and you learn more about the same strategy we discussed above. This helps you to learn more about solitaire and how it works.
  • On top of that, you get to spend time with other people. While solitaire can be a tremendous game to play for some personal time and space, it makes a great competitive experience. You can play solitaire against someone else and enjoy a fun, engaging evening’s entertainment.
  • Playing with others also forces you to move away from the cheating elements that cheapen solitaire and remove the challenge. You learn not only how to win but the importance of winning ethically. You will be refreshed playing solitaire against someone else rather than cheating to win.
  • Playing against others also forces you to become more adept at the game and to be able to focus on the game whilst having fun. This can be crucial, as many of us take our entertainment too seriously. Playing this instead helps you to re-focus to enjoy the competitive element.
  • While solitaire is a great game for self-reflection (see below), spending time with others as you play is a great social experience. This is a competitive game that you can all play together without it becoming overly competitive or causing angst – unless, of course, you get caught cheating!
  • Participating in the online and competitive side of solitaire forces you to become more comfortable playing games competitively. This can force you to get better at the game so that you can win properly, as opposed to using unethical cheats to win games that you play on your own. 

The Impact of Solitaire on Self-Reflection

One of the most important parts of playing solitaire is that it can give you a chance to enjoy some self-reflection. Even if you are playing against another person and chatting away as you play, the game is tranquil enough that you have ample time to think before you act. This game provides one of the best experiences in gaming for those who want to find something they can enjoy without the intensity.

Other card games and social games can be overly competitive, meaning that you need to devote all of your time to the game itself. By contrast, solitaire allows you to sit back, enjoy the experience, and calm down mentally. You can let the events of your day be better understood, as you now have the time to sit and think. Other forms of entertainment block our ability to sit down and self-reflect.

A game like solitaire, though, never gets in the way of being able to look back on your day and what has taken place. Finding the time to self-reflect is vital to our mental health and well-being. It is a skill that can help us become more at ease with the decisions we make in life and our actions.

Even if you are playing with another person online, you still have that silence and peace around you that lets you play the game. You can enjoy the chance to hone in on the cards and play at your own pace. At the same time, you can confront the issues which have taken place in your day.

Think about it this way: if you are playing “against” yourself, you are taking solitaire too seriously. You are losing the chance to reflect on what has occurred in your day. You are consumed with victory, which removes much of the benefits that come from playing solitaire in the first place. 

Conclusion

As you can see, the art of playing solitaire is much deeper than many assume. What to some is a simple card game to play on their lunch break at work is an ethical quandary for others. It is important, then, to take a closer look at how you perceive solitaire. Is it a game that you “must” win? Or is it something that you can enjoy, alone or with others, on its own merits?

If you are consumed purely with the concept of victory when playing solitaire, you are not getting the full benefits of the game. Solitaire is supposed to be enjoyed, not endured, and it is about more than simply winning. It is about using the peace and quiet of a calming, enjoyable game – alone or against others – to calm the mind, self-reflect on your day’s events, and to enjoy the ability to find winning strategies. Keep that in mind, and it might help you to appreciate solitaire as more than just something to ‘beat’ or ‘win at’ – it is something that helps you to meet others and to grow as a person. Develop along with the Classic Solitaire and discover new opportunities with its varieties, such as Spider Solitaire or Freeсell.