Play PC classics Solitaire, Mahjong and Minesweeper on Windows Phone 8 now

Grab on to your time machines and buckle up, because Microsoft has some plans for you. The company is bringing retro-games like Solitaire, Mahjong and Minesweeper to Windows Phone. The classic games are coming along as Xbox titles.

The games are available for Windows Phone 8 users and will delight the ones who’ve been fans of the time-wasters that have been a part of Windows for a long time now. The Microsoft Solitaire Collection will let you enjoy modes like Klondike, FreeCell and Spider, putting together three of the much-loved PC cards game in one collection.

Revisit old memories

There’s also Minesweeper, the game that involves cleaning up a minefield by following hints and without detonating a mine. It’s also been a Windows mainstay for years now. You can also get hold of Microsoft Mahjong, which happens to be a classic matching game, with a heap of good-looking backgrounds, sounds and animations.

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Most importantly, since these games are being made available as Xbox games, you can earn achievements, compete with friends, submit your scores to leaderboards and track your personal gameplay stats easily. You will also be able to play, pause and resume your game where you left off across Windows phones, PCs and tablets, according to Microsoft’s Social Media Manager, Michael Stroh.

Microsoft is in recent weeks making a splash with new apps for its mobile platform. Besides welcoming in third-party titles such as Instagram, Vine and Subway Surfers, Microsoft launched a safety app targetted at Indian users. Called Guardian, the app developed by employees in the Indian arm of Microsoft, the app allows you to activate a tracker and send out SOS messages.