Default Games Installed with Windows 98

Microsoft Windows 98 included a dedicated suite of built-in card and puzzle games designed to entertain users and familiarize them with basic graphical interface navigation. Accessible through the Start menu under Accessories, these titles became staples of home and office computing in the late 1990s. This guide provides a direct look at the default games that came pre-installed or were optionally available on the base installation media of Windows 98.

The Standard Game Lineup

In a typical installation of Windows 98, four classic games were bundled within the operating system:

  • Solitaire: Originally introduced in Windows 3.0 to teach users how to drag and drop items with a mouse, this digital adaptation of classic Klondike Solitaire remained a centerpiece in Windows 98. It featured standard and Vegas scoring modes, timed play, and the iconic animated deck victory screen.
  • Minesweeper: A grid-based logic puzzle where players clear a board without detonating hidden mines. Windows 98 included Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert grid sizes, along with a custom difficulty option and a local high-score leaderboard.
  • FreeCell: A card puzzle game where almost all dealt hands are mathematically solvable. Unlike Solitaire, all cards are dealt face-up into eight cascades at the start. Players utilized four "free cells" as temporary holding spaces to sort cards into home foundations.
  • Hearts: A four-player trick-taking card game based on the Black Lady variant. In Windows 98, the game could be played against three computer-controlled opponents or across a local network against other human players using Microsoft's NetMeeting integration.

Installation and Access

These games were located by navigating to: Start > Programs > Accessories > Games

Depending on whether the original setup used a "Compact," "Typical," or "Custom" installation profile, some games may not have appeared immediately on the desktop. Users could easily add or remove them by following these steps:

  1. Open the Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
  3. Select the Windows Setup tab.
  4. Highlight Accessories and click Details.
  5. Check the box next to Games (or select individual titles) and click OK to install them from the Windows 98 installation CD.

Windows 98 Plus! Additions

While not included in the standard retail edition of Windows 98, the companion expansion pack Microsoft Plus! 98 introduced additional gaming software to the operating system:

  • Spider Solitaire: A two-deck patience game that later became a default staple in Windows ME and Windows XP.
  • Lose Your Marbles: A fast-paced match-three puzzle game developed by SegaSoft.
  • Microsoft Golf 1998 Lite: A scaled-down demonstration version of Microsoft's flagship sports simulation title.