“Do You Have the Grit” to Play Churchill Solitaire? Donald Rumsfeld Launches New App

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Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld launched a new app “Churchill Solitaire,” the most diabolical version of solitaire ever devised and played by the WWII hero, himself. According to Rumsfeld, 83, the app is a variation on solitaire that former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill devised and played with a young protégé named André de Staercke during World War II.

Staercke, who was a young NATO diplomat at that time, in turn taught Rumsfeld in the 1970s. The game includes two decks of cards, 10 rows of cards (instead of seven), and an extra end-game goal called the “Devil’s Six.”

“Up until a few years ago, there were probably a dozen or so people in the entire world who knew how to play this game,” Rumsfeld wrote in a Medium post late Sunday. “Winston Churchill was gone. André de Staercke, as well. And I knew I wouldn’t be around forever. There was every chance the game Churchill so enjoyed could be lost to the ages.”

“Churchill Solitaire is not a game for everyone,” Rumsfeld said. “It takes patience and perseverance, cunning and concentration, and strategy and sacrifice.”

The new app is free to download and play but includes in-game purchases. Rumsfeld and the Churchill family’s profits are going to be donated to a charity. The app will eventually be available for both Google Play and the App Store, but Android users will have to practice their patience.

It’s coming soon.