WDVL: Free Games

These are games you play against the computer. The primary link is to EncycloZine; where there is a JB link, this takes you to JavaBoutique, where you can find more details.

Asteroids	The classic arcade game superbly re-created in Java by Mike Hall. JB

Bridges	by Dick Christoph. Complete your line across the board before the computer completes his (or hers?). JB

Connect 4	Author: Sven Wiebus. Drop your counter into a column; the computer then drops its piece also. Object is to create a row of 4 across, vertically, or diagonally, of your own color. JB

Hare and Hounds	Applet by MazeWorks. A 19th-century board game invented in France, also called The Military Game. It was popular among French army officers during and after the Franco-Prussian war.

Hex 7	Applet by MazeWorks. An elegant game of strategy invented in the 1940's, Hex is no longer available commercially but has recently seen an increase in popularity.

Mastermind	by Karl Hörnell. The object of this game is to guess the sequence of four colored pegs the computer has selected at random from the circled colors in the right field.

Othello	by Yukio Hirai. aka Reversi. A derivative of the classic 'Go', your objective is to fill the board with your color by surrounding your opponent. JB

Snake Pit	by Mike Hall. A.k.a. 'Snake', 'Nibble' or 'Worm'. This is a simple yet addictive game that has been ported to countless platforms. Here's yet another variation with multiple levels and speeds. JB

TacTix	Applet by MazeWorks. Created by the brilliant Danish inventor Piet Hein, TacTix is a variation of Nim, one of the oldest of mathematical games.

Tail Gunner	Applet by Mike Hall. Your ship is being pursued by several enemy fighter squadrons. Your heavy armor makes their lasers useless but their short-range cannons can wear your defenses down quickly. Manning the rear turret, it's up to you to destroy them before they get close enough to fire. (This one is amazing!) JB

Urbanoids	Programmed and designed by Karl Hörnell. Urbanoids - a 4-way scrolling arcade adventure and part strategy game. Now it includes an extra version for some Windows browsers with defective graphics routines that used to mess up the background.

Warp 1.5	Programmed and designed by Karl Hörnell. An action game that would have been typical of the late eighties. You don't need intelligence to play this, and it won't help. It's tough (especially on sluggish Sun machines) but try to get to at least the second level, so you can catch a glimpse of the bazooka birds.

Shockwave Entertainments.

I've now switched to the word 'entertainments' rather than 'games', since the majority of free Shockwaves seem to be decorative amusements rather than interactive games -- of which there are some, to be sure -- but they're few and far between. An excellent starting point for free Shock waves is Shockbaubles. They're tiny - 12k or less in size (some are only 1k!).