Case Study

Solitarium – Adaptive Klondike Solitaire with tactile precision

Reimagining the world's most iconic single-player card game for modern iPhone and iPad screens with a split-tier portrait layout, Smart Deal generation, Left-Handed ergonomics, and silky SpriteKit + SwiftUI choreography.

Role: Product Designer & iOS Developer Timeline: 4 weeks Status: Live on App Store

Overview

Classic Klondike Solitaire has been a digital staple for decades, yet most mobile adaptations still force 7 cramped columns side-by-side onto narrow portrait smartphone screens—resulting in tiny card indices and accidental mis-taps. Solitarium (Solitairium) solves this ergonomic bottleneck with a custom adaptive layout engine built on SpriteKit and SwiftUI, pairing casino-grade emerald felt aesthetics with generous card legibility, one-tap smart moves, and crisp haptic feedback.

Problem / Goal

Portrait Screen Cramping: Fitting 7 tableau columns across a 390pt portrait width shrinks cards below comfortable thumb-target thresholds. We needed an intelligent portrait layout that preserves large, readable card faces without sacrificing tableau visibility.
Unwinnable Deal Frustration: Purely random shuffles frequently bury critical low cards under deep blockers, causing early dead-ends. We aimed to pair standard shuffles with an optional Smart Deal algorithm that biases playable sequences toward accessible positions.
One-Handed & Left-Handed Ergonomics: Reaching across the top of a large iPhone or iPad to draw from the stock pile strains the thumb. The interface needed instant Left-Handed mirroring and effortless single-tap card auto-routing.

My Role

Led end-to-end UX/UI design, custom vector card typography, SpriteKit scene layout math across iPhone/iPad orientations, haptic choreography, and native StoreKit 2 + AdMob monetization.

Constraints

Zero-latency drag-and-drop card stacks at 60–120 FPS, seamless live rotation between Portrait and Landscape without losing tableau state, and 100% offline-capable local persistence.

Process

Split-Tier Portrait & 7-Column Landscape Engine: Engineered a responsive geometry calculator (`LayoutMetrics`) that arranges the 7 tableau piles into a spacious 4-over-3 two-tier grid in Portrait mode—increasing card width by over 40%—while seamlessly transitioning into a traditional 7-column casino spread in Landscape and on iPad.
Smart Deal & 3-Pass Stock Mechanics: Built a heuristic deck generator (`SmartDeal`) that scores candidate shuffles based on early Ace/Deuce accessibility and alternating color runs, paired with a strategic 3-pass stock recycling rule that rewards thoughtful waste management.
Tactile Interaction & Auto-Complete Cascade: Tuned single-tap smart moves (prioritizing Foundation before Tableau), full state-snapshot Undo history, contextual Hint glow animations, and an automated end-game victory cascade with celebratory particle emitters and Taptic Engine pulses.
Balanced Monetization & Privacy Compliance: Integrated a fair 5-life regeneration system backed by optional Rewarded Ads (Google AdMob + UMP/ATT consent) and a single one-time StoreKit 2 Remove Ads & Unlimited Lives upgrade.

Outcomes

40%+ Larger Card Targets in Portrait: The split-tier tableau eliminates squint-inducing micro-cards and dramatically reduces drag-and-drop errors during one-handed commute play.
Frictionless Onboarding: Interactive 3-step visual tutorial and bilingual localization (English & Turkish) get players into their first deal in seconds with zero account sign-up friction.
Universal iOS & iPadOS Polish: Full `UIScene` lifecycle adoption, dynamic safe-area scaling, and instant orientation reflow deliver a native, distraction-free card sanctuary across all modern Apple devices.

Live Product

Next Steps

Expanding custom deck back themes, daily seeded challenges, and Game Center leaderboards. Need senior UX/UI and native iOS craft for your next mobile game or app? Get in touch.