A Solo Game Steps Into the Spotlight: Inside the First-Ever Solitaire Championship In Miami

A full venue in Miami, something historic is unfolding right now.. For years, Solitaire was exactly what it sounded like, a solitary ritual. This was a card game played at kitchen tables, in the car waiting for school pick-up, on office computers, in waiting rooms, and late at night on phones. This card game was something personal. It was something private. Some might even call it meditative, until a vision by a company called Papaya (formerly known as

Papaya Gaming) brought the game into a whole new level.

Today, it stepped into a competitive in-real-life stage for the first time ever. “We are witnessing history,” Revital Basel, Head of Commercial at Papaya, shared. “This game started as something you played alone in a room. Then it became a computer game. Then it went online. And now, it’s finally getting the competitive stage it deserves.” 

Each round, 200 players began simultaneously at the sound of the clock, and the room fell into what she described as “thundering silence.” No music, no chatter. Just the gentle, quiet intensity of collective group concentration as a live leaderboard became updated in real time above them. “It’s a new kind of magic,” she said. “This tension is the purest form of e-sports.” 

Solitaire has always had a reputation as a game of focus and speed. But at a championship level, those ideas became even stronger, with additional elements such as competition, staying calm, and bringing all your skills into play. 

“What people are missing is the insane strategic depth,” she explained. “At this level, it’s not just about moving cards quickly. It's memory. It’s understanding the deck probability. It’s calculating moves several steps ahead.”

The 400 finalists who are competing in Miami earned their spot after winning and qualifying through sessions in global qualifiers, outplaying hundreds of thousands of competitors. Earning a spot was no small feat. 

“They are top-tier players,” she said. “They’re fighting for a total of $300,000 in prizes - and for a place in the first-of-its-kind Solitaire Hall of Fame.” 

Contrary to traditional gaming tournaments, the player audience in Miami stood out and looked different from the others. “Two things stood out immediately,” she noted. “First - Women Power. We’re seeing a massive female presence here - far more women than men - and it’s thrilling to see that energy on stage.” The second, you may ask? Age diversity. “We’re seeing a mature, diverse audience. Solitaire is a bridge. It’s a game almost everyone knows - and now it’s finally being given the professional framework it deserves.” 

When competition is at its peak, the energy in the room shifts completely. “It’s a thundering silence,” she repeated. “You hear nothing but focus. Then suddenly, a single ‘Yes!’ breaks through.” At the end of each round, hundreds of eyes lock onto the leaderboard. Only the top six advance to the main stage. 

“That moment, when everyone is waiting to see who made it, that’s real action,” she said. “You realize something big is happening here. This is competitive and athletic at the highest mental level.” 

The largest and most powerful takeaway from this is not the prize, the leaderboard, or even the Hall of Fame. It is an opportunity. “The message to anyone watching at home is simple,” she said. “It’s possible.” The competitors in Miami started on an app from all around. They played in spare moments. They played between work. They played after putting the kids to bed. They played during lunch breaks. And now they’re playing on a world stage. 

“Solitaire has moved from a private room to a global arena,” she said. Anyone with the memory, the strategy, and the drive can be here next year. We are building a competitive community without boundaries of age or gender.” 

And if Miami was any indication, this truly is only the beginning of what’s to come.