{{Short description|Solitaire variant}} thumb|A physical game of Churchill solitaire '''Churchill solitaire''' is a variant of patience (also called solitaire). A mobile version of the game involved Donald Rumsfeld in its development, and was released in 2016. According to Rumsfeld, the variant was created by Winston Churchill in 1940.
== Solitaire variant == [[File:Sir Winston Churchill - 19086236948 (restored).jpg|thumb|According to Rumsfeld, the solitaire variant was developed by Winston Churchill.]] Rumsfeld was taught how to play Churchill Solitaire in 1973, by diplomat {{Interlanguage link|André de Staercke|de|4=fr}}, who learned it directly from Churchill.<ref name="abcnews">{{Cite web |title=Donald Rumsfeld Reveals What It's Like to Make an App |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/donald-rumsfeld-reveals-make-app/story?id=36504318 |access-date=2026-01-15 |website=ABC News |language=en|date=2016-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260207195044/https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/donald-rumsfeld-reveals-make-app/story?id=36504318|archive-date=2026-02-07}}</ref> Rumsfeld said that Churchill began playing it during The Blitz in 1940.<ref name="csmonitor">{{Cite news |last=Lewontin |first=Max |date=27 January 2016 |title=Churchill Solitaire: Why Donald Rumsfeld made an iPhone app |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2016/0127/Churchill-Solitaire-Why-Donald-Rumsfeld-made-an-iPhone-app |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250417135420/https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2016/0127/Churchill-Solitaire-Why-Donald-Rumsfeld-made-an-iPhone-app |archive-date=17 April 2025 |access-date=15 January 2026 |work=Christian Science Monitor |issn=0882-7729}}</ref> In a Medium post, Rumsfeld wrote that "there were probably a dozen or so people in the entire world who knew how to play [Churchill Solitaire]", and that he had the mobile game developed in order to preserve it.<ref name="nbcnews">{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Alexander |date=2016-01-25 |title=Donald Rumsfeld Releases War-Themed Solitaire Gaming App |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/video-games/donald-rumsfeld-launches-churchill-solitaire-gaming-app-n503556 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250815193101/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/video-games/donald-rumsfeld-launches-churchill-solitaire-gaming-app-n503556 |archive-date=2025-08-15 |access-date=2026-01-15 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>
The variation uses two decks of cards and ten columns, instead of one deck and seven columns (as used in Klondike). It also adds "the Devil's Six", a set of six cards which the player has to place directly into the wastepile and cannot use within the tableau.<ref name="nbcnews"/> The variant has been labelled difficult by Rumsfeld himself and multiple newspapers.<ref name="abcnews"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-01-25 |title=Rumsfeld debuts 'Churchill Solitaire' video game |url=https://www.foxnews.com/tech/rumsfeld-debuts-churchill-solitaire-video-game |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250804230946/https://www.foxnews.com/tech/rumsfeld-debuts-churchill-solitaire-video-game |archive-date=2025-08-04 |access-date=2026-01-15 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Whiting |first=Amanda |date=2016-02-01 |title=Donald Rumsfeld Has a Mobile App, and It's Beautiful - Washingtonian |url=https://washingtonian.com/2016/02/01/donald-rumsfeld-churchill-solitaire-app-known-unknowns/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241014081309/https://washingtonian.com/2016/02/01/donald-rumsfeld-churchill-solitaire-app-known-unknowns/ |archive-date=2024-10-14 |access-date=2026-01-15 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Murgia |first1=Madhumita |last2=Jamieson |first2=Sophie |date=2016-01-25 |title=Revealed: Winston Churchill's own 'fiendishly hard' version of solitaire - and how to play |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/01/25/donald-rumsfeld-launches-solitaire-app-inspired-by-winston-churc/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250824235142/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/01/25/donald-rumsfeld-launches-solitaire-app-inspired-by-winston-churc/ |archive-date=2025-08-24 |access-date=2026-01-15 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref>
== Mobile app == The ''Churchill Solitaire'' app was developed by Rumsfeld, Snapdragon Studios, and Javelin, and was released in 2016.<ref name="wired">{{Cite magazine |last=Barrett |first=Brian |date=2016-01-05 |title=Reviewing Donald Rumsfeld's Solitaire App as Rumsfeld Might |url=https://www.wired.com/2016/01/reviewing-donald-rumsfelds-solitaire-app-as-rumsfeld-might/ |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250223070531/https://www.wired.com/2016/01/reviewing-donald-rumsfelds-solitaire-app-as-rumsfeld-might/ |archive-date=23 February 2025 |access-date=2026-01-15 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> Rumsfeld had previously worked with Javelin to publish his book ''Rumsfeld's Rules''. Javelin – named for the Secret Service code name for Joyce Pierson, Rumsfeld's wife – is owned by Keith Urbahn, who previously served as Rumsfeld's chief of staff while he was Secretary of Defense.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Schwartz |first=Mattathias |date=2016-01-29 |title=Rumsfeld's Game |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/rumsfelds-game |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250320065353/https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/rumsfelds-game |archive-date=2025-03-20 |access-date=2026-01-15 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US}}</ref>
Rumsfeld was uninvolved in its programming, though he playtested it.<ref name="nbcnews"/> He said he did not have "much of an idea of what an app even was" prior to development.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hern |first=Alex |date=2016-01-25 |title=Donald Rumsfeld releases solitaire app |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/25/donald-rumsfeld-releases-solitaire-app |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251124115905/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/25/donald-rumsfeld-releases-solitaire-app |archive-date=2025-11-24 |access-date=2026-01-15 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
The game is themed after World War II and contains archival footage of Churchill. It is free to download,<ref name="nbcnews" /> though contains in-app purchases, which are donated to charity.<ref name="csmonitor" /> A campaign is also featured, in which players learn of Churchill's life between games.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tsukayama |first=Hayley |date=2016-01-29 |title=A quick look at the Churchill Solitaire app |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/churchill-solitaire/2016/01/28/4090a1fc-c44e-11e5-9693-933a4d31bcc8_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260207200552/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/churchill-solitaire/2016/01/28/4090a1fc-c44e-11e5-9693-933a4d31bcc8_story.html |archive-date=2026-02-07 |access-date=2026-01-15 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> In 2019, it was removed from Google Play due to depicting tobacco smoking on both the cover and featured footage, being reinstated after the age rating was updated to include nicotine depictions as part of the app's age rating.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clough |first=David |date=2019-01-09 |title=Churchill App Suspended from Google Store for Showing A Cigar |url=http://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/churchill-app-suspended-from-google-store-for-showing-a-cigar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110010837/http://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/churchill-app-suspended-from-google-store-for-showing-a-cigar |archive-date=2019-01-10 |access-date=2026-01-15 |website=Cigar Aficionado |language=en-US}}</ref>
''Churchill Solitaire'' received positive reviews from critics. Writing for ''Trusted Reviews'', Keith Andrew rated it 3/5 stars, calling it "a solid, if unspectacular, take on solitaire".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andrew |first=Keith |date=2016-01-30 |title=Churchill Solitaire Review |url=https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/churchill-solitaire |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250716044015/https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/churchill-solitaire |archive-date=2025-07-16 |access-date=2026-01-15 |website=Trusted Reviews |language=en-GB}}</ref> Brian Barrett of ''Wired'' disagreed with its perceived difficulty, calling it "solitaire-plus", though still enjoyed it.<ref name="wired"/>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{Official website|https://www.churchillsolitaire.com/}}
Category:Cultural depictions of Winston Churchill Category:Works by Winston Churchill Category:2016 video games Category:Card games introduced in 1940 Category:Donald Rumsfeld Category:Patience games