Sir Winston Churchill inspired a nation to fight on the beaches, on the landing grounds, in the fields and the streets, in the hills, and to – above all – never give in.
The battle-tested Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in World War II also was an avid card player who invented a unique form of solitaire that former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wanted to keep alive for the ages.
Enter the Snapdragon Studios design firm in Valparaiso and two digital communications professionals from LaPorte. They collaborated to develop Churchill Solitaire, a new app that's being launched Friday.
Users of the free app can try their hand at "the most diabolical version of solitaire ever devised," which uses 104 cards instead of 52. It's slated to receive a significant amount of national media coverage, including from Stephen Colbert, The Today Show, Sean Hannity, The View, the Wall Street Journal and Charlie Rose. The hope is Churchill Solitaire will end up a top 25 most downloaded app.
Matt Fiocca, the principal and digital craftsman at Snapdragon Studios in Valparaiso, wrote much of the code for the app, which has no ads and generates revenue through in-app purchases, such as deal packs or of a premium upgrade that gives users access to 200 different campaigns. His web design firm has had other major clients, including the National Review and the Grand Ole Opry.
"He did 99 percent of the work," said Marc Oestereich, Vice President, Digital for Washington D.C. area-based digital and communications Javelin, which was founded by Donald Rumsfeld's former chief of staff and spearheaded the project. "The app is a card game, which, based on the best of everyone's historical knowledge, was invented by Winston Churchill. It's a two-deck version of Solitaire that's incredibly challenging. It made its way down to Rumsfeld, who plays it at home a ton with his wife."
Rumsfeld, a history buff, learned the game from a Dutch diplomat. The 83-year-old plays it to keep his mind sharp and wanted to preserve it for posterity. Uniquely, it has a "Devil's Six" or area where "trapped" cards can only be moved to Victory Row and never to the playing surface.
Oestereich and Projects Director Sam Maule, who work for Javelin and are based out of LaPorte, started working with Rumseld a few years ago when they were promoting one of his books. They linked up with Fiocca to develop the app, which they've been working on for the last two years.
Fiocca said it's gone through 126 different iterations. He ensured the code is so unique it was not replicated anywhere else in online solitaire and used advanced computational logic to test all the campaigns to ensure they are winnable.
"When this game hires a small shop in Indiana, it's really cool but the pressure's definitely on," said Fiocca, who hopes the high-profile project will drum up a lot of new business.
Unlike other solitaire apps, Churchill Solitaire features a storyline that follows Churchill's career through Cuba, Britain, India and Tibet as he rose up the military ranks. Churchill intones some of his famous speeches over black-and-white historical footage when you first open the app. The game can be played socially in timed head-to-head matches or competitively with players worldwide.
The Churchill estate approved of the app, and all the proceeds will go to charities for wounded veterans that Rumsfeld supports or that further Churchill's legacy.
At first the game, which can be downloaded from iTunes, will only be available for the iPhone and iPad, but it will come soon to Android.