Summary

• Windows 10 was a disappointment for anyone who loved the built-in games of yore, while Windows 8 and 11 ditched the pre-installed titles altogether.
• The Windows 3.x series added the simple-yet-fun Minesweeper and fan-favorite Solitaire to the mix.
• With its large collection of bundled titles, Windows 7 was an amazing OS for lovers of classic Windows games.

If you’ve used any version of Microsoft’s flagship desktop OS family before Windows 8, you may be familiar with Solitaire, Chess Titans, 3D Pinball, and other games that came with the operating system. Initially designed to help users familiarize themselves with the basic functions of Windows, the pre-installed games soon developed a cult following among the user base. So, it’s time to put on your rose-tinted glasses as we march down the nostalgic road and rank every version of Windows on the basis of the built-in games.

8 Windows 10

It took out the fun from the built-in titles

As much as I adore Windows 10, Microsoft did an awful job with the games on its last-gen OS. The fan-favorite classics were long gone, and the only way to play them without restoring to third-party apps or browser games involved the Solitaire Collection, which was filled with ads. While that’s already ridiculous enough to land Windows 10 at the bottom of the list, the situation gets even worse when you include the Candy Crush stunt Microsoft pulled with the OS.

Before the release of Windows 10, Microsoft decided to ship every copy of the OS with Candy Crush. I don’t intend to criticize anyone who loves Candy Crush (it’s quite addictive – and I mean that in the best possible way), but a third-party game that employed a monetization strategy was a far cry from the classic games of yore.

To add insult to injury, OEM partners began including their own set of games in the Start menu, many of which were bloatware titles. Some of these weren’t pre-installed either, as clicking on the icons would cause Windows downloading the games from the Windows Store, making them more akin to glorified advertisements than full-fledged games that came bundled with your Windows 10 machine.

7 Windows 8 and Windows 11

A library of zero games is still better than one filled with shovelware trash

Besides overhauling the UI, Windows 8 was the first version of the uber-popular OS that shipped with absolutely zero games. At the time, many users were disappointed with the lack of built-in games, especially since its predecessor had a massive number of classics (which we’ll get to in a bit). You could technically pay for the Microsoft Casual Games collection, which included more titles than its successor, the Solitaire Collection.

Following the whole Candy Crush madness, Microsoft thankfully went back to its Windows 8 roots on Windows 11. The ad-free version of Solitaire Collection is now on Xbox Game Pass, which is better than paying only for the classic games. The only free title without an ad-colored string attached is the Surf mini-game included in Microsoft Edge.

Either way, the absence of free first-party titles is a hundred times better than the bloatware mess we got with Windows 10.

6 Windows 1.x and Windows 2.x

They marked the beginning of a long saga

The first two releases of the OS that would later cement Microsoft’s standing in the tech industry weren’t chock-full of built-in utilities. While it did suffer from performance issues, the first version of Windows did feature a handful of apps, like Paint and Notepad, and it even came with the Reversi game.

Windows 2.0 switched things up by bringing Word and Excel on top of adding the ability to move windows. However, the board-based Reversi was still the only game you could play (unless you count doodling in Paint as a game).

5 Windows 3.x

The genesis of Solitaire and Minesweeper

Besides adding more features to its app catalog, Windows 3.0 also introduced several changes to the emerging OS family. But the introduction of Solitaire was arguably the biggest addition to Windows 3.0. While Reversi was a decent game, Solitaire was in a league of its own. Sure, it lacked the cool animations and win-loss statistics that were added in later versions, the Windows 3.0 version of the game was quite impressive, and dare I say, ahead of its time.

The next major update, Windows 3.1, added yet another popular game to the mix: Minesweeper. Like Solitaire, the game’s UI evolved over the years, but the core concept remained the same. However, Windows 3.1 loses some brownie points for removing Reversi.

4 Windows 95 and Windows 98

I can't be the only one who remembers Hoover, right?

Past the halfway mark, we’ve finally entered the time period where the built-in games had become their own thing. Following the release of Windows 95, they were no longer mere tools meant to teach you the basics of Windows. Nay, because they’d grown into full-fledged games where you could spend hours without getting bored. The reason? Windows 95 brought Hearts and FreeCell to the table, and both games had simple yet unique gameplay loops that kept users hooked for hours.

Combine these simple yet highly addictive games with Minesweeper and Solitaire, and you had a decent list of classic titles. Windows 95 also featured the flag-capturing Hover game, though it was only restricted to the CD-ROM variants of the OS. Minus Hoover, the slightly-flawed Windows 98 had pretty much the same arsenal of games as its predecessor.

3 Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000

At last, the free version of 3D Pinball had arrived on Windows

I was a bit hesitant to place Windows NT 4.0 and 2000 ahead of their non-commercial counterparts. For some reason, Microsoft decided to scrap Hearts in the business-oriented operating systems. Thankfully, they did pack something even more impressive: the Space Cadet edition of 3D Pinball. Sure, you could download the game on older versions of Windows, and the NT 4.0 variant only included a single table instead of the three tables. But the addition of a pre-installed 3D Pinball game was an absolute game changer back then!

2 Windows ME and Windows XP

The Renaissance period for built-in Windows games

Despite its infamy as the worst version of Windows, the Millenium Edition ushered the OS series into a new era (pun intended) of built-in games. Not only did it include both Hearts and the 3D Pinball Space Cadet Edition, but it also came with Spider Solitaire. Well, technically, Spider Solitaire had already been a part of the Microsoft Plus! enhancement package for Windows 98. But ME was the first version that didn’t require you to purchase the game. As if that’s not enough, the ill-fated ME also added the Internet versions of older games, including Reversi!

When Microsoft switched to the NT kernel with the release of Windows XP, the UI, and functionality of practically every aspect of the OS family received a major glow-up. That includes the games, as the titles received a much-needed modern makeover.

1 Windows Vista and Windows 7

Windows 7 really was Microsoft's magnus opus

While Vista ended up as yet another divisive OS from Microsoft, it came bundled with 3D games to show off the prowess of Microsoft’s new operating system – and boy were the games good. Purple Place worked well as a 3-in-1 educational title, while Mahjong Titans let you mess with 3D Mahjong tiles. But as someone who sunk hundreds of hours into Chess Titans, it truly was the pièce de résistance for my childhood self.

Sadly, Vista ditched the Internet versions of the old games that were featured in ME and XP. Windows 7 brought most of them back except for Internet Hearts and Internet Reversi, though InkBall was dropped this time. I’d easily crown Windows Vista and 7 the peerless victors when it came to pre-installed games, but it had one fatal flaw: just like Vista, the beloved 3D Pinball was nowhere to be seen. Nevertheless, it had the largest batch of bundled games out of any mainline Windows OS.

If only Windows 12 could bring these titles back in their ad-free glory

As luck would have it, Windows 7 ended up as the last member to feature the beloved titles because Microsoft pulled the plug on its free (both in terms of cost and ads) games following the release of Windows 8. While you can enjoy these games with a fresh coat of paint on Windows 11, nothing can provide the same excitement as booting up Windows XP, Vista, or 7, and enjoying a quick round of Spider Solitaire without intrusive ads spoiling the fun.