There is currently no consensus on the specific country in which Solitaire (i.e. Patience) arose. The answer also depends on whether we are referring to the single-player game as we know it today, or to the use of similar layouts for the purposes of foretelling one’s fortune.
This latter use of the cards was also referred to as Patience (or Kabal(e) / Cabal(e)), and is widely referenced around the same time as the game’s emergence.
The region, if not the country, is clear
What is clear, is that the game was being discussed in England, Scandinavia, Russia, and Germany at the end of the 18th century, with the earliest known references in Germany (1788) and England (1793).
Ross and Healey1 suggest Sweden is a likely candidate given the volume of early Patience books published there:
Perhaps the very considerable number of early patience-books published in Sweden renders that country the most probably place of origin.1
There are almost as many theories of origin as there are variations of the game. Legends include the playing of Patience by prisoners in the Bastille during the revolution, invention by a French mathematician as a gift for Louis XIV, development from fortune telling layouts in the Baltic, and many more.
A detailed history is needed to understand the origins of the game
It’s impossible to hypothesize about the ultimate origin, without first understanding how the game evolved in Europe. For a detailed discussion of the theories, and a thorough history of the game, we recommend reading our What is the history of Solitaire article.
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The Origins of Patience by Ross, A. S. C., and Healey, F. G., Games & Puzzles magazine 40, September 1975 (this is an abridged version of a longer article titled Patience Napoleon, which appeared in Proceedings of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, vol. X) ↩︎ ↩︎