![]() These were mostly people I taught the game to - my wife, Joyce, our children, and some assorted colleagues and friends. “Up until a few years ago, there were probably a dozen or so people in the entire world who knew how to play this game. With time, a handful of friends and colleagues who were close with the Rumsfeld family were introduced to the game. Over the decades since his time in NATO, Rumsfeld was known by many to play Churchill’s version of solitaire, with a frequent opponent being his wife, Joyce, whom he notes is “the second-best living Churchill Solitaire player” he knows. “I never worry about action, but only about inaction.”- Sir Winston Churchill I asked him what he was playing and he proceeded to tell me the origin of the game he called Churchill Solitaire after the man we both very much admired, and the diabolical rules that make it the hardest game of solitaire - and probably the most challenging and strategic game of logic or puzzle - I’ve ever played,” said Rumsfeld. “I can remember de Staercke sitting across from me on a plane somewhere over Europe playing the curious game, dizzying columns of miniature cards arrayed on the table between us. Among other differences, instead of using a single deck of cards, the game uses two full decks and instead of 7 rows of cards, there are 10. In between their official duties, de Staercke would go on to teach Rumsfeld a particularly challenging version of the game of solitaire, which de Staercke explained that he had originally learned how to play from Sir Winston himself. While posted there, Rumsfeld met André de Staercke, then an esteemed senior Belgian diplomat at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Back in 1973-74, Rumsfeld served as President Nixon’s U.S. It’s no surprise that Churchill Solitaire’s history is nearly as riveting as the game itself. “What one needs in life are the pessimism of intelligence and the optimism of will.” – Andr é de Staercke So, what is the story behind “the most diabolical version of solitaire ever devised” and how exactly did this app come to be? We’re delighted to share our founder’s interesting slice of Churchill history as well as to highlight how, along with the fun of playing this unique solitaire game, you can also support some terrific military charities. In the time since, the app has gone on to be one of the most popular solitaire games available on the App Store and GooglePlay with more than a million downloads across all platforms. The week of its launch, Churchill Solitaire became the fifth most downloaded game in the world. These simple yet powerful words of persistence from Sir Winston Churchill set the tone for players attempting their hand at the challenging Churchill Solitaire app, released in early 2016 by our founder, Donald Rumsfeld, in partnership with Churchill Heritage Ltd. Never, never, never.” - Sir Winston Churchill Read on to hear how the game’s history traces back to Sir Winston himself and to learn why you should download it today for both a fun challenge and the opportunity to support a great cause! “Never give in. In this blog post we are delighted to share the unique story behind one of our Founder’s favorite projects, the Churchill Solitaire app, and how it ties in with our military charity focus here at the Foundation.
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