Resources - Video games

Compterized entertainment is an important contributor to the progress of technology not only because the demands imposed by the increasingly common requirements for more powerful hardware and software systems, but also because the ever-increasing levels of sophistication require more intellect among players and developers alike.

In general, games provide everyone, including children in particular, with sets of rules that are sometimes entirely different than what we normally encounter in real life, and they also provide us with challenges that require us to understand these in-game rules in order to solve and progress.  In real life, the ability to look at things from different perspectives and create new solutions can be enhanced through enjoyment with video games.

This list includes games that are free to play.  Although these games are not typically of the full-3D-first-person-shooter varieties, which we believe are generally similar in their rule sets and thus miss the intention we have of finding games that supply distinctive variety that lends itself to different kinds of problem solving exercises while also being enjoyable.

Bruce Lee
http://www.planetflibble.com/blitz/

This a pixel-perfect re-make of "Bruce Lee," a world-famous classic 8-bit action game that was released in 1984 on the Commodore 64.  The main character, Bruce Lee (the world's most well-known martial artist), is searching for an evil sourcerer (which he will have to duel).  Along the way, the efforts by two dangerous enemies, a green Sumo wrestler and a stick fighting Ninja, add to the challenge of this fantastic game.

C-Evo - Empire Building Game
http://www.c-evo.org/

With a time scope of several thousand years, it covers aspects of exploration and expansion, industry and agriculture, warfare and diplomacy, science and administration.  C-Evo follows the spirit of popular turn-based strategy games from the mid-1990s, but with more emphasis on powerful AI and careful design of the rules, resulting in a true challenge.

Before playing this game, which is quite different from other games, we strongly recommend you first read the FAQ and the manual.

Dwarf Fortress
http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/

Dwarf Fortress is a single-player fantasy game with an interface that is based entirely on ASCII art.  You can control a dwarven outpost or an adventurer in a randomly generated, persistent world, which is home to distinct civiliations spanning more than 1,000 years of detailed history, dozens of towns, and hundreds of caves and regions with various wildlife.

FreeCiv
http://www.freeciv.org/

FreeCiv is a free and open-source empire-building strategy game inspired by the history of human civilization.  This game commences in pre-history, and your mission is to lead your tribe from the stone age to the space age.  Please note that this game is addictive because it is interesting.

Gold Monkey
http://www.lumbercartel.ca/secretstash/Gold_Monkey_Setup.exe

The goal in Gold Monkey is to peel as many bananas as possible without falling off the edge of the playing area, running into giant spiders, or peeling a banana more than once.  You can also climb trees which will allow you to jump to a different part of the jungle, respresented by the playing grid.  The playing grid consists mainly of numbers, which you click on to move in the respective direction.  This game is easy to learn, and has been play-tested by people aged 6 to 50.  Like a simple IQ test, you must play it a lot (or be incredibly smart) to get a high score.

This game will be installed in the "Games" Start Menu folder by default, and is a nice addition to the default games that come with Windows.  It is also suitable for use in a business setting where staff occasionally play Solitaire because it provides a little bit of extra variety.

Jardinains!
http://www.jardinains.com/

Jardinains! is a fun new twist on an old classic.  Break bricks, dodge flower pots (that's right, the gnomes throw potted plants at you), bounce 'nains, and rack up as many points as you can!  This game is excellent for young children partly due to the great sound effects that compliment hand-eye-coordination and timing action.  We highly recommend reading the "readme.txt" file for this game because it provides additional helpful hints in addition to being fun to read (this author has an enjoyable style of writing).

Spamwars
http://www.elated.com/spamwars/

Sick of spam?  Let out your anger on Spamwars, a Flash (web browser plug-in) game that pits you against the evil Sid the Spammer in the ultimate spam battle!  Sid is intent on spamming you to death, but you can fight back with a handy array of weaponry!  Shoot the spams before they reach your computer, and try to get Sid at the same time, but watch out for the occasional virus, too!

XU IV
http://www.xu4.sourceforge.net/

XU4 is a remake of the computer game Ultima IV, built with the goal is to make it easy and convenient to play this classic on modern operating systems.  XU4 is a cross-platform application that utilizes SDL technology, and is available for Windows, MacOS X, Unix, Linux, and more.

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