Microsoft Entertainment Pack: All Games, the Best of Pack and How to Play Them Today
The Microsoft Entertainment Pack was a series of four collections of small 16-bit games for Windows 3.x, released between 1990 and 1992 and followed by a compilation, The Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack. The packs introduced Minesweeper, FreeCell, Taipei (the Mahjong game), SkiFree, Chip's Challenge and JezzBall. The original games do not run on 64-bit Windows, but several have official modern successors in the Microsoft Store.
This page lists the games in each pack, explains what the Best of edition contained, why the originals fail on Windows 10 and Windows 11, and which legitimate options exist to play these classics today.
What was in each Microsoft Entertainment Pack?
Each Microsoft Entertainment Pack, also called the Windows Entertainment Pack or WEP, bundled seven or eight casual games and was sold separately from Windows. Every pack also included IdleWild, a screen saver program, except the fourth.
| Pack | Year | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Entertainment Pack 1 | 1990 | Cruel, Golf, Minesweeper, Pegged, Taipei, Tetris, TicTactics, IdleWild |
| Entertainment Pack 2 | 1991 | FreeCell, Jigsawed, Pipe Dream, Rattler Race, Rodent's Revenge, Stones, Tut's Tomb, IdleWild |
| Entertainment Pack 3 | 1991 | Fuji Golf, Klotski, Life Genesis, SkiFree, Tetravex, TriPeaks, WordZap, IdleWild |
| Entertainment Pack 4 | 1992 | Chess, Chip's Challenge, Dr. Black Jack, Go Figure!, JezzBall, Maxwell's Maniac, Tic Tac Drop |
Two of these games outgrew the packs. Minesweeper became so popular that Microsoft added it to Windows 3.1, and FreeCell later shipped with Windows NT and Windows 95. Pipe Dream was a licensed version of the LucasArts puzzle game known elsewhere as Pipe Mania. A separate Windows CE edition followed in 1997, and Microsoft ended support for all Entertainment Pack versions on January 31, 2003. The Microsoft Entertainment Pack article on Wikipedia collects the authors and release history of each title.
The Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack
The Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack is a compilation of 13 games picked from the four earlier packs, released for Windows 3.x in the 1993 to 1994 period under the Microsoft Home label. Sources disagree on the exact year, so treat it as an early 1990s product.
The compilation includes:
- Card games: FreeCell, Golf, TriPeaks, Tut's Tomb and Dr. Black Jack
- Puzzle games: Chip's Challenge, JezzBall, Pipe Dream, Tetravex and Tetris
- Action and arcade: Rodent's Revenge and SkiFree
- Tile matching: Taipei
The Best of name was reused in 2001 for a Game Boy Color cartridge developed by Saffire and published by third parties, Conspiracy Entertainment in North America and Cryo Interactive in Europe. It is a separate handheld product with its own selection of games, not a port of the Windows disk.
Mahjong on Windows 95: Taipei
The Mahjong game people remember from the Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 era is Taipei, a Mahjong solitaire tile-matching game written by David Norris for Entertainment Pack 1 in 1990. It reached most players through the Entertainment Packs and the Best of compilation rather than as a game bundled with Windows.
Taipei has a direct line of successors. Microsoft remade it as Mahjong Titans for Windows Vista, which also shipped with Windows 7, and Windows 8 replaced Mahjong Titans with Microsoft Mahjong, a free Store app. If you want the game that descends from Taipei on a current PC, Microsoft Mahjong is the official option.
Why the original games do not run on Windows 10 or Windows 11
The Entertainment Pack games are 16-bit Windows programs, and 64-bit versions of Windows cannot run 16-bit applications at all. They ran on 32-bit Windows releases, but Windows 11 exists only as a 64-bit operating system, and most Windows 10 PCs run the 64-bit edition as well. You can check yours under Settings, System, About, in the System type line.
You may find downloads labelled "Best of Windows Entertainment Pack 32 bit/64 bit compatible". Microsoft never released such a version. The game list in these packages (Cruel, Golf, Pegged, Reversi, Snake, Taipei, TicTactics) matches 32-bit builds that appeared in leaked Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 source code, so they are unofficial binaries of unclear origin. ghacks no longer links to them, and we recommend against running executables of unknown provenance on a production PC.
How to play Entertainment Pack games legitimately today
The safest way to play Entertainment Pack classics on a modern PC is to use the official successors Microsoft publishes, or to run original disks you own inside a virtual machine.
- Open the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 or Windows 11 and search for Microsoft Solitaire Collection. It includes FreeCell and TriPeaks alongside Klondike, Spider and Pyramid, and it comes with Windows 10 and 11.
- Search the Store for Microsoft Minesweeper and Microsoft Mahjong, the official modern versions of Minesweeper and Taipei.
- If you own original Entertainment Pack disks, install them in a virtual machine running an old 32-bit Windows you hold a license for, which keeps 16-bit code away from your main system.
- For other titles, check whether the rights holder sells a current version. Chip's Challenge, for example, returned on Steam in 2015 through its rights holder.
Microsoft Solitaire Collection is free with ads. An optional Premium subscription removes the ads, and Premium is also part of PC Game Pass. Microsoft Minesweeper and Microsoft Mahjong follow the same free, ad-supported model, so check the Store listing for current pricing and ad terms before you install.
FAQ
Is the Microsoft Entertainment Pack free?
No. The Entertainment Packs were commercial products, and Microsoft has never released them as freeware. The free, official way to play several of the games is through their modern Microsoft Store versions.
Where did SkiFree come from?
SkiFree first appeared in Microsoft Entertainment Pack 3 in 1991 and was also part of The Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack, which is why many players remember it from Windows 3.1 PCs.
Does Windows 11 include Minesweeper?
No. Only Microsoft Solitaire Collection comes with Windows 10 and Windows 11. Microsoft Minesweeper is a separate download from the Microsoft Store.
Related: Microsoft Solitaire Collection on Android, classic Paint as a Microsoft Store app, virtual machine software for old Windows versions
Any chance of anyone uploading the various *.hlp files?
Don’t get me wrong, this is awesome and I’m glad for what I’ve got, it’s just it’s been so long I forgot how to play some. When I entered help>how to play I was automatically hinted towards – https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/917607/error-opening-help-in-windows-based-programs-feature-not-included-or-h – where I was able to find official MS support for win 32 hlp files for operating systems up to windows 8. I’ve also briefly seen instructions to convert these to the newer format.
However it seems there should be individual *.hlp files for each. I wonder if these are unique to these 32 bit versions of these files of if they’re identical to those packaged with windows 3.1 and 95.
It’s a shame Chips Challenge isn’t part of the 64bit pack, but the 16 bit version can be played in Win 3.1 through DoSBox.
The Win2000 & WinXP versions of Minesweeper (winmine.exe) can make “tock, tock, tock” sounds when the timer counts forward; uncovering a mine makes either a BANG or explosion sound. I retrieved the XP 32bit version of minesweeper and put it onto my Win7 x64 & Win10 x64 computers and it worked fine.
Darn! The only one I’ve ever wanted was JezzBall, so no good to me. I run the 16-bit build in DOSBox (using Windows 3.1)
These still are great games, I play golf solitaire on my phone all the time, its dopamine feedback must be perfectly timed.
Here’s one I love, that old Space Cadet pinball game. One of the best, so simple, so smooth. Download works fine on Win 10 and scales perfectly on a 4K display, no teeny tiny stuff.
https://www.techspot.com/downloads/5697-microsoft-pinball-for-windows-vista-7.html
Also, the Solitare games that came with Windows 7 also work on Windows 10.
Even 3D Pinball from Windows 95 works on Windows 10
I’m surprised the stuff runs at all, as I would assume its 16bit code.
I got hooked on playing Crysis again! The multiplayer servers have been taken offline now, but single player presents some challenges especially the level called Awakening. :)
Martin, have you tested all the software in the archive by yourself?
Some don’t run well in my Windows 7.
Some need CARDS.DLL, another ABOUTWEP.DLL, the Paint fails to access the registry.
aboutwep.dll, cards.dll and winclip.dll can be found there itself if you click the “Show all files” but should’ve been included in the zip. But the thing is the windows are minuscule, like Minesweeper for example you almost need a magnifying glass to play. They’re optimal for a 640×480 or 800×600 screens as it were back in those days. Still I’m a fan of vintage tech stuff like LGR and this incredibly nostalgic. Especially that Haunted Castle deck on Classic Windows Solitaire, takes me back. Thanks for the find. ðŸ‘
You need to download the full package, not just the individual files as it includes the missing dll files you need. Paint throws a Registry error but it works fine.