Our Ace in the Hole: Solitaire with a Side of Strategy
Our Ace in the Hole:
Solitaire with a Side of Strategy
B Shifter’s new online solitaire game delivers a
Timeless Tactical Truth with every turn.
By Nick Brunacini
B Shifter Buckslip, August 19, 2025
Everyone has an opinion regarding artificial intelligence. These bounce between “AI will improve and extend human life in ways we cannot imagine” and “AI will first enslave, then terminate, all humankind.” As powerful as AI is, it has a way to go before it begins to threaten the most basic, fundamental and profound use for a computer: solitaire.
Solitaire is not a mindless time-suck. Classic solitaire challenges decision-making skills and strategic thinking, while spiderette solitaire requires even more advanced levels of pattern recognition and planning.
My generation ushered desktop computers into fire stations. No matter how advanced they have become, solitaire remains a standard feature on virtually every computer—and just about any other device with a screen.
Solitaire lubricates the circuits in our brains. It reduces stress, boosts neural connections, enhances memory and improves cognitive skills. It’s also an excellent way to spend some quality alone time—clearing your head and centering yourself. Ignoring your mate’s chatter as you immerse yourself in solitaire sends a clear message: You are not done with your solitude, so maybe they should go to the store by themselves. Honestly, if AI plays enough solitaire, it’ll eventually evolve into a kind and benevolent overlord.
Solitaire reaches a whole new mind-expanding level when each card comes stamped with a Timeless Tactical Truth. You read that right, B-shifters. One more perk of having our very own B Shifter website—besides the Blue Card training program that endorses deliberate, intentional and unrelenting fire control to protect life and property across the Unites States (and Canada too!)—is that we’ve officially made solitaire both occupationally beneficial and life-changing. Combine solitaire with AVB’s witty, sage tactical insights, and suddenly you’re not just playing cards—you’re lubing the gears of genius and taking your thoughts to another dimension.
While other organizations offer and promote online sports books and betting, we at B Shifter deliver the enduring gift of both regular and spiderette solitaire. Online gambling comes with a built-in warning that you are about to lose your money (and probably everything else). On the other hand, our Timeless Tactical Truths version of solitaire makes all players winners. Plus, it’s FREE, and there are no obnoxious ads. As an added value, your enhanced mental acuity can only help when humans must defend themselves from AI.
Nick Brunacini joined the Phoenix Fire Department (PFD) in 1980. He served seven years as a firefighter on different engine companies before being promoted to captain and working nine years on a ladder company. Nick served as a battalion chief for five years before promoting to shift commander in 2001. He then spent the next five years developing and teaching the Blue Card curriculum at the PFD’s Command Training Center. His last assignment with the PFD was South Shift commander. Nick retired from the PFD in 2009 after spending the first 26 years of his fire-department career as a B-shifter and the last three on C Shift. Nick is the author of “B-Shifter—A Firefighter’s Memoir.” He also co-wrote “Command Safety.” Today, he is the publisher of B Shifter and a Blue Card instructor.