SOLITUDE contains the complete code and execution instructions for the solitaire card game Klondike, playing through all possible variations. A software version of Klondike was included with Microsoft Windows in the 1990s and has appeared under the name of “Solitaire” ever since, allegedly making it the most popular single player card game. Freedman and Rydberg’s computer program simulates a playthrough of all possible variations, which will take several years for a personal computer to read/execute. The project can be read as a reflection on loneliness and the social function of games in relation to computing and automation. Moreover, it challenges the status of code and instructions for conceptual writing, presenting the program as a thought experiment in book form rather than an application ready to be executed.
