Our sole weapon against boredom is going to be games: small, easy-to-play arcade or word games created for the Web browser. Most of this content requires the Flash or Shockwave plugins-if you surf the Internet regularly, you likely have all you need. If you don’t, check out our companion DVD and CD. Some of the sites we talk about might require Java, or a proprietary plugin such as Virtools Webplayer. You will need to bear this plugin dance, for attaining nirvana must always be a test. The good news is that modern Web browsers are capable of prompting you to install the correct plugin.
What you need to look out for, however, is malware. If you have been reading these pages regularly, you must be well aware of a dozen ways your system can be infected with malicious software. Downloading blindly or clicking blindly are probably the top two reasons. So be aware of what you click; don’t download anything that looks suspicious (avoid downloading from these sites, we would suggest). And keep both a virus scanner and a spyware/ Trojan detector running. If you’re using Internet Explorer as your primary Web browser, we recommend installing the Windows Live Toolbar-head to ideas.live.com for this and other Windows Live tools.
Modern browsers can detect missing plugins, prompting you to install them
Finally, make sure you read the sidebar Playing The E-mail Game before you proceed with the rest of this article. For the path to nirvana is strewn with danger and peril.
Miniclip.com
www.miniclip.com
This is one of the largest online databases of games. The site offers a range of activities, from Flash and Shockwave content, which can be played via a Web browser, to downloadable content that can be installed in the traditional manner. Note that the site mixes its content offering-some of the games available are free, and Miniclip.com claims there are about 150 such games on its site. Other offerings require a small payment in order to enjoy the entire game. Free or otherwise, some of the games available require you to create an account. The signup is used to track your progress, rank you on a worldwide leader board, and even enter you into competitions.
| Playing The E-mail Game |
| Since there is no such thing as a free lunch, doubly so online, expect to divulge personal information on a regular basis. Web sites will cajole or force you to sign in, in order to experience whatever they have on offer. The wisest course to take in such matters is to create a trash e-mail ID. Choose a well-known Web mail provider such as hotmail.com or yahoo.com, and create an ID meant for signing up for anything online. Say you’ve created spam-me-here@<provider>.com-now use this ID to sign up for all and sundry. One spam ID to bring them all; keep your personal and professional e-mail accounts clean |
Make sure you know what you are signing on for before divulging personal information.
Interestingly, the Web site offers a toolbar for IE that lists the latest games available, allows you to preview these games, and also to maintain a cache of your favourite titles.
Crush cars, take to the air, and perform incredibly over-the-top stunts in this side-scrolling, action-packed monster truck thriller.
Robot Rage
www.miniclip.com/robotrage.htm
Robot Rage
Build the best robot you can. Win battles to earn points and use points to buy upgrades. Take on the world!
MotherLoad
www.miniclip.com/motherload.htm
MotherLoad
Use your digger to excavate as much ore as possible. Use the money you earn to upgrade your digger and move deeper and deeper underground, to unearth the mysteries from below
Heli Attack 3
www.miniclip.com/heliattack3.htm
Heli Attack
Destroy all enemy units to progress through snow, jungle, canyon lands and lab levels… featuring over 30 weapons.
Red Beard
www.miniclip.com/redbeard.htm
Red Beard
Activate the LIFTS and PLATFORMS by collecting the MATCHING coloured balls. Collect the gold to complete the level. A fiendish and diabolical game! Aaarrrr!
Also Try
Canyon Glider: www.miniclip.com/ canyonglider.htm
Radical Aces: www. miniclip.com/ aces/index.htm
Rack Runners: www. miniclip.com/ rackrunners.htm
David: www.miniclip.com/david. htm
Snooker Multiplayer: www.miniclip. com/snooker.htm
Li’l Games
www.lilgames.com
This is not the most professional of sites. It opens with a lame April fool’s joke proclaiming a “super stupendous, inspiring, emotional roller coaster inducing, crazy wacky ultimate game ever created or even imagined ever in the history of Web entertainment!!” That apart, it is littered with misspellings, dead links, and incorrect explanations for games. But hey, there are some pretty fun titles around!
The site is a good portal for a range of addictive games from word puzzles to basketball. For the lazy among us, the site also offers a few cartoon strips and a bunch of e-cards to while away the time. Interestingly, the site allows you to buy some games for not only the PC but also for mobile platforms-Pocket PC, Palm, or even the cell phone.
Click groups of two or more of the same-colour cubes to make them explode. The goal is to clear all cubes and attain a score of ZERO
Snap Shotz
www.lilgames.com/snapshotz.shtml: You have 5 rounds. A random
Snap Shotz
image puzzle will be selected in each round. You then have 45 seconds to find all the differences between the two images.
Push-Pull
www.lilgames.com/pushpull.shtml:
Push-Pull
The goal is simple-try to get all blocks into a “down” position. You do this by pushing a block down, or pulling a block up by clicking it. This will also alter the state of each adjoining block.
Word Crunch
www.lilgames.com/word_crunch.shtml
Word
The game presents a word to you. Your goal is to locate the word and highlight it. Fun, simple, yet addictive.
Funky Pong 2
www.lilgames.com/funky_pong_2.shtml
Funky Pong
Move the paddle around with your mouse, to keep the ping-pong ball bouncing on the paddle. Don’t let the ball go outside of the circle, or miss the paddle. See how long you can go! Not as easy as it sounds!
Also Try
Lunar Command: www.lilgames. com/lunar_command.shtml
The Sheep Game: www.lilgames. com/sheep_game.shtml
Fly Eatin: www.lilgames.com/ fly_eatin.shtml
BBall Shoot-Out: www.lilgames. com/bball.shtml
Urban Adrenaline 3D: www. lilgames.com/urban_adrenaline_3d.shtml
Armor Games
www.armorgames.com
If word games make you cringe and make you feel less of a man, if action be your bread and mayhem your butter, and bullets sweet delicious jam; you need to visit this little nook of the World Wide Web. Mmm, delicious actiony goodness!. The great thing about this site is its simple layout. Right at the front page the Web site lists the Top Games (which are all cool), and its new entries. The Web site also has a downloads section. However, we do not quite trust the material here, and would recommend that you stick to the Web-based games.
Unreal Flash
www.armorgames.com/games/unrealflash.html
Unreal Flash
It’s like Unreal Tournament made Flash! Unreal Flash is a side-scrolling shooter which is fun to play, with a wide variety of weapons and even a bunch of characters to choose from.
Fancy Pants
www.armorgames.com/games/fancypantsadventure.html
Fancy Pants
This one’s a classic platformer in the vein of a 2D Mario from long ago. Jump, avoid, open mysterious doors, and find secrets-excellent artwork and presentation makes this a unique experience.
Sonic the Hedgehog
www.armorgames.com/games/sonicthehedgehog.html
Sonic the Hedgehog 001
That’s right! It’s Sonic, but wait, there’s also Tails, Knuckles and Cream to choose from. A blast from the past, in this insta-classic!
Inspired by the Lord of the Rings trilogy and made in Flash, the gameplay is pretty simple at the onset but gets a bit challenging as you progress through the game. Battle for Gondor mixes button-mashing with a bit of strategy and micro-management of resources. Pretty cool for a flash game!
String Avoider
www.armorgames.com/games/stringavoider.html
String Avoider001
Avoid colliding with walls and guide your string through each unique level. Time is of the essence as you must steadily travel through 26 levels to victory.
Also Try
Super Biology Adventure: www. armorgames.com/games/superbiologyadventure.html
Commando 3: www. armorgames. com/games/commando3.html
Franky the Fish 2: www. armorgames.com/games/frankythefish2.html
AstroBlaster: www.armorgames. com/games/astroblaster.html
Mega Tank Beta: www. armorgames. com/games/megatankbeta.html
Jay Is Games
www.jayisgames.com
Jay Bibby does all the hard work for us here. Jay dabbles with game design and thus finds himself with the task of scourging the Net for small casual games, evaluating them, and telling the rest of us about them. The Web site is pleasantly laid out and offers a list of recommended games, for when we just need to click and get playing. Being a blog, the site also rambles through new and unique games across platforms. We highly recommend his Classic Games selection, and of course the following gems.
Twin Spin III
jayisgames.com/archives/2005/10/twin_spin_iii.php
Twin Spin
The game consists of two balls that form the end of a baton. The idea is to click the mouse button to move the baton around either of the balls as its center. The goal of the game is to blow up all the balloons which lie around the level. Heaps more fun than this dull write-up might suggest!
SnowDays
jayisgames.com/archives/2004/ 12/snowdays.php
SnowDays
Make your own, unique snowflakes. Make paper cuts using an onscreen pair of scissors, and fold them open to reveal your very own creation-plenty of fun with the experimenting involved. A unique twist here-the program lets you pick up randomly falling snowflakes, each of which are assigned the name and location of their creators along with a personal message. You can reply to these messages, which the creator can choose to be notified of. A pretty cool feature!
Maeda Path
jayisgames.com/archives/2005/03/maeda_path.php
Much like String Avoider, this game is all about hand-to-eye co-ordination, the goal being to guide your cursor through a moving path without touching the walls. While the idea may be derivative, the execution is brilliant. An amazing visual presentation accompanied by beautiful musical tones (an acoustic guitar’s) make this a great game to unwind to.
Pretty Pretty Bang Bang
jayisgames.com/archives/2006/02/pretty_bang_bang.php
Pretty Pretty Bang Bang
You are a tiny white dot; your goal is to avoid red dots. Click the left mouse button to explode, blowing up surrounding red dots. Exploded red dots will turn green. You get points by chaining explosions-psychedelic colours and cool music make this game a, umm, blast to play!
Kung Fu Hustle games
jayisgames.com/archives/2005/05/kung_fu_hustle.php
This trio of games is based on the hit Hollywood flick Kung Fu Hustle. Kung Fu Fighter is a simple 2D side-scrolling beat-em-up. Axe Gang Rampage is akin to a vertical shooter and lets you play as the Axe Gang from the game. Finally, PigSty Panic is a platformer with some off-the-wall humour. All three from Sony Pictures-try them out!
Also Try
Triglav: jayisgames.com/archives/ 2006/01/triglav.php
Ringmania: jayisgames.com/ archives/2005/11/ringmania.php
Atoms: jayisgames.com/archives/ 2005/09/atoms_1.php
3wish Adventures: jayisgames.com/ archives/2005/07/3wish_adventure.php
Mansion Impossible: jayisgames. com/archives/2005/10/mansion_impossi.php