History
Unfortunately, it is no longer known exactly when patiences originated and who invented them. They are said to have been invented in the 18th century by a French nobleman out of boredom, but this is not certain. Other sources claim that this game originated in Germany and later came to France. Numerous variants were created there, which gave the card game its name. patience means patience, which is of course very appropriate. One of the oldest collections comes from Lady Adelaide Cadogan from 1870 and her book ‘Many of Lady Cardogan’s solitaire games’ has already produced good instructions. In Germany, the work ‘Illustriertes Buch der Patiencen’ by J. U. Kern Verlag, which was published around 1880, is probably one of the oldest works of its kind.
Many famous personalities have played patiences to edify themselves or simply to distract themselves. Napoleon Bonaparte passed the time with patiences during his exile on the island of Helena. The Prussian general Count Moltke is said to have used them to calm down and concentrate before major battles, while Prince Bismarck used them to think strategically and plan ahead. There is a patience with the same name for each of these personalities.