Solitaire, the game that came pre-installed with almost every Microsoft operating system imaginable, turns 25 this year. To celebrate this, the tech giant initiated a worldwide tournament for all players, both old and young, to participate in.

The tourney officially begins on June 5, but Microsoft is already starting off with an internal competition among all of its employees. The winners of these matches will play against competitors around the world when the tournament goes public. So far, Microsoft is yet to publish the tourney's set of rules and regulations.

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Microsoft's Solitaire was developed by Wes Cherry, then an intern, in 1989, and it instantly became a hit when it appeared in Windows 3.0. Initially, the game was intended to help people get used to the 'latest' computer innovations from Microsoft, such as the drag and drop function. Eventually, its simplicity and its limitless replay value turned it into such an addictive desktop game that it became the infamous time and productivity killer it is today.

Regardless of how people look at Microsoft Solitaire, though, this compact, ready-to-play game has been an important gem of the modern life, so much so that the tech giant chose to tip its hat off to the game by hosting a worldwide challenge. The tournament will be playable using MS' Solitaire's five classic variations, as the official Microsoft post states:

"From Klondike to FreeCell to Spider, TriPeaks and Pyramid game modes, you'll be challenged to bring your best to defeat our best. Are you up to the challenge? Get your Solitaire game on today."

Players are free to relive the days of playing solitaire by downloading the app for free on Windows or Windows Phone. All five variations mentioned above are also available. Microsoft itself reported that the app is currently the most downloaded in the Windows store. This time though, they won't be playing just out of boredom or lack of things to do.

Tagssolitaire, card tournament, freecell, tripeak