What has Microsoft done with games (Solitaire collection) in Windows 8?

Am I overlooking something in Win 8? To play Free Cell, I open the Microsoft Solitaire Collection. I'm presented a screen labeled "Add your Microsoft account". It has a box for email address - presumably a Microsoft email address - and password. I can accept or cancel. If I cancel, the game opens and I can play it. If I accept, I'm taken to the next screen "Let this app access your info?" I don't know what info it's referring to. The line below the title says "Microsoft Solitaire Collection" needs your permission to", and below that, it says "Access and update your Xbox LIVE info."

I couldn't care less about Xbox. I'm just interested in occasionally playing FreeCell. Can all the nonsense be stopped so that the user can just go straight to the game and play it, just as in Windows 7?

 

If you change your login from a Microsoft account to a local account all that will stop.

 

I understand your sentiment. If you have access to a computer running XP, Vista, or 7 you can copy the .exe file for Freecell and other original Win card games along with the cards.dll to your Win 8 computer and run them as before. If you don't have access you could try the site My Digital Life. They have a Windows 7 game package that's adapted for Win 8.

 

That's not it. I cannot switch between Skype accounts on the RT app. The 8.1 update hasn't helped much.

 

Do mean my login to Windows? That is a local account.

 

Not that. When setting up the Solitaire Collection it asks you to enter your Microsoft account and password, but if you cancel that you just play the game as in earlier versions. Sorry, my first post wasn't at all clear :-o

 

Well, it was set up when I first setup my computer. So now, can that be changed? The screen I encounter every time I open the game can be seen at http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y256/farmpond/forums/FreeCell_zpsddd7325c.png. I can click the Cancel button on that screen and proceed with playing the game. But, it's a silly step for users to have to encounter every time they start the game.

I think Microsoft has taken away the pleasure of simply playing a card game. The Win 8 version won't let the user reset statistics, change the card face or game background color, as far as I know; it takes much longer to start than the Win 7 game, and the silly Win 8 version sometimes takes charge of game and automatically plays some of the cards. And then, when a game is successfully completed, my goodness, what fanfare on the screen!

 

The suggestion in #3 is the best way around this, even works in 8.1 Preview