This game of solitaire is not to be confused with the game in which a pack of playing cards is used. This solitaire is a completely different sport. You might at first think that a game for an individual player, moving pieces across a small board, is a lonely and boring business. Think again. This is a solid, old-fashioned game that can be very handy for reasons to follow later.

What it is:

This is a wooden board game for the solitary player. It is a game of strategy with a unique spin on the jigsaw puzzle. It was invented so long ago that no-one seems to be very certain of when or where but safe to say it was before your lifetime and, yes, the same applies if you are reading this at the grand old age of one hundred and fifty years!

Rules

Remove the piece in the very centre of the game. It's the piece that's a different colour to the rest of the board. Then pick a piece to leap over another marble (or peg or ball or just piece, depending on which game you purchase) so that it is placed in that centre hole. You will now find a new hole on the board from where the last piece was removed. Then remove the piece that you just leapt over.

The only move you cannot make over a piece, to the empty hole, is diagonally.

Keep going with this time after time until there is only one piece remaining on the board. It should have ended up in the centre hole.

You can only win if the last piece on the board has finished in that centre.

Did you miss the centre? Then put all the pieces back in so the board so it is as when the game was initially set up and go again and again. It's quite a challenge and tests your ability with puzzles.

This game is handy because:

Its small size means you can travel with it.

It creates a challenge.

It gives your brain a work out.

It can look smart on your coffee table.

It can be a good distraction from things you should be doing. We all need down time. Perhaps sneak it into the office when the boss isn't looking, have a break from exam revision, or just get away from the squabbling children for a few minutes of alone time. See, you don't have to be a loner just a wannabe one.

It can look smart on your coffee table.

What I find:

Solitaire is a game that I come back to after long gaps. It's great to own this game and I like the challenge. However, when I go back to it I can get a bit obsessed. A game which starts as a fun challenge can, after fifteen rounds, become boring. Then it goes back to gathering dust until my next desire to play.

Negatives:

It's hard to get the gathered dust out.

It can be fiddly to move the pieces so probably not good for people with chunky fingers.

Prices vary according to whether you desire a luxury product made of mahogany and all the trimmings from fifty to two hundred ponds but for most mere mortals try Amazon for around fifteen pounds.

Overall, I would recommend this game. I think it makes an ideal gift and not just for loners but for those who want to have a quiet challenge from the comfort and quiet of their own home.