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One of the things that people enjoy about the computer is playing games.
Below is a short section about the games that come bundled with Windows.
But there are games to play on-line as well, and games can be purchased on CDs,
as software, and installed like any other application.
Some of my favorite on-line game sites are:
One word of warning - many downloadable on-line games come with an ad-ware or
spyware payload. If you install a game and your home page suddenly changes
for no reason or you start getting barraged with pop-up ads, you probably got an
additional present that now needs to be removed. We will discuss computer
security practices tomorrow, and learn how to prevent or remove these problems.
Tips for Playing Games that Come with Windows XP
Courtesy of Microsoft
Admit it. No
matter how busy you are, every day you have at least a few minutes to have some
fun and clear your mind. You might not always be connected to the Internet, and
it may have been a while since you bought your last computer game, but there's
still plenty of fun ready for you anytime. Windows XP comes with a dozen great
games installed. To find them, click Start, choose All Programs,
and select Games.
Six of these
games play right on your desktop with no Internet connection. They don't take
long to learn, but they're surprisingly intricate once you master their fine
points and strive for the highest score. With these tips, you can set the family
points record and finish quickly enough to leave yourself time to start
mastering another game. You might want to bookmark this page, play the games a
few times to get the hang of them, and then come back to learn how to knock your
scores through the roof. Each game comes with a detailed Help file with
information on getting started. We'll focus on fine-tuning your game play and
strategy.
FreeCell
There are many
kinds of solitaire, the most popular being Klondike, but FreeCell is arguably
the most addictive. Start with all cards face up in eight columns, and use the
four empty spaces (or cells) on the right to move runs of cards (ace through
king) home. Use the free cells on the left to hold the cards that are in the
way.
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Plan
several moves ahead. Like chess, each move you make will affect the
entire game. Don't just move one card at a time. Move cards to establish
good long runs, move to clear columns, and move to bring home aces. |
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Aim at
low cards high in columns. When you see aces and deuces buried
behind lots of other cards in a column, make it a priority to clear that
column and get aces up on home cells early in the game. The fewer
overall moves you make, the better your score. |
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Keep
free cells open. You can leave one card at a time on each free cell
(on the left). Use these free cells to shift runs and columns back and
forth. With more free cells, it's easier to move long runs and shift
cards around quickly; having four cells free means you have temporary
spots for four cards. Try to move cards in such a way that free cells
stay free after the move is done. |
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Clear
whole columns whenever possible. Get every card off a column and
start it over with a king and fill the column sequentially. If not a
king, then start the column with as high a card as possible. Many
players shoot for nothing lower than a 10. |
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Right-click to reveal cards. Can't see exactly which card that is?
Right-click anywhere in the pile for a peek at the suit and number of
any card. |
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Solitaire
Klondike
Solitaire (or simply Solitaire, as it appears in your Games menu) is the
age-old seven-column card game you play by yourself.
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Keep runs even. Don't let any one run get too far ahead of the
others, if you can control it. This unbalances the field and makes
it harder to move home. |
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Turn cards first. Why play from cards you can see when you can
start eliminating the unknowns and plan your strategy more
certainly? Get cards turned over first whenever the option exists.
Always finish overturning cards before playing more from the hand.
You can even leave the top card in the hand down. You never know
what you'll uncover later. |
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Play from deeper piles. The more face-down cards, the better.
Deeper piles give you a greater chance of making more plays—which
may give you more chances to turn cards in the shorter piles. |
Spider Solitaire
With ten
stacks instead of seven, Spider Solitaire challenges you to remove cards
from play in the fewest moves possible. Line up runs of cards in the same
suit to remove them. At higher difficulty settings, you can also alternate
red and black suits to line up, turn over, and move cards—but you still need
single-suit runs to remove cards. You'll play the game with two full decks
of cards.
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Clear space right away. Get a space open as soon as possible by
turning over all the cards in a pile, and try to play cards on the
space that will allow you to build the longest runs. |
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Uncover cards. It may seem obvious, but bringing cards into play
by turning them over within the piles opens up the possibilities for
you very quickly. If more cards are in play before you deal from the
hand, you have more possibilities for runs, and fewer "missing"
cards to stall your runs. |
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Don't lock down cards. When you play at more difficult settings,
if you can help it, don't place lower cards on other cards of a
different suit. That locks them out of play until the lower cards
are moved. |
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Minesweeper
A
deceptively simple game of memory and reasoning, Minesweeper demands
that you look at a field of blank squares and determine which ones
conceal mines. If you click on a mine, the game is over. Uncover all the
squares as fast as possible for the highest score. Oh, the hours you'll
spend to shave a second off your time.
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Try to mark all mines right away. If you know exactly
where some mines are, take a second to mark them. Otherwise,
you'll forget them by the time you get back from another part of
the board. This takes time, but it's worth it in the end. |
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Learn to recognize numerical patterns. If you see that
three squares in a row display the numbers 2-3-2, then three
mines sit next to that row of squares. If a square displays an
8, then you know every square around it holds a mine. Flag the
obvious minefields as soon as you can, or you'll forget them.
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Explore the unexplored. If a set of squares doesn't
reveal a pattern and you're not sure where to click next, clear
out some unexplored territory. You're better off clicking in the
middle of unmarked squares than clicking in an area where you
know some mines await. |
Hearts
A
timeless classic in which four players try to dump their cards and leave
their opponents holding extras. Outsmarting your opponents and
countering their strategies will take you far in Hearts.
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Always be paranoid. Your best games—and usually the most
fun you'll have—tend to come when you're always figuring out
what the other players are doing, countering it, and countering
their counter-measures. Hearts is the ultimate reaction card
game. Not to mention the most talkative. |
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Take tricks with your higher card. If you have to take a
trick, use the higher of your cards to do it—you can use the
lower card to lead the next one, and no one will be able to get
under it. |
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Keep the Ace of Hearts. Almost no other card gives you so
much control over things like who shoots the moon. |
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Dump the Two of Clubs. Don't pass it to the left, but
pass it as soon as you can. You can't get rid of high clubs when
you hold it, you can't lead into the second trick. It's a
hopeless card. Pass it on. |
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Pinball (Space Cadet)
Just
like classic, stand-up arcade pinball machines, Space Cadet Pinball
for Windows requires you to keep the ball in play with your flippers
while you aim for ramps, buttons, and bonus sequences. Move the left
flipper with the z key, move the right flipper with the / key. You
can even tilt the table with the x, period, and up and down arrow
keys.
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Hyper Space ramp. Catch the ball with the right
flipper, send it into the launch ramp, and then with the
left flipper head into the Hyper Space chute. Do this enough
times and you'll get a center post and an extra ball. Do
this before you start pursuing specific mission objectives.
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Watch the Black Hole. When the Black Hole kicks out
the ball, nudge the table by pressing the x key. With a
little practice, you can save the ball from draining with
this trick. |
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