2 (Used to be three...) Mindless Webgames

Action, Puzzle, sports! Three games to keep you amused and waste some time, all for free on the internet. All right, so these aren't exactly the most dynamic games you can find, but they're free, eh? If you have a few minutes to spare--and you're looking for something addictive and mindless--try one of these links. All three are webgames, meaning you play them through your browsers, and all three are surprisingly fun.

If you're the type that looks for deep complexity in a game, these three probably aren't for you. However, if you are the type who consistently finds yourself playing windows solitaire over and over, then they're probably perfect.

Well, there used to be a link to a nice telletubbie-killing game here, but alas, no more. As far as we can tell the entire site went down. Guess you'll have to get your mindless carnage somewhere else.

http://spikything.com/games/kickups/
Game review: 3 clocks.

This is a very simple game that was developed as a gravitational simulation. You click on the ball, and it flies into the air. You try to keep it from hitting the ground. Simple, right?

Way wrong. It's tough--very tough. In addition, the gravitational realism of the bouncing ball is very good, and kind of transfixing in itself. This game has actually gotten very good mileage on the net. I've seen links to it all over the place. Like the teletubbies, this game's simplicity is deceptive--you may well find yourself addicted if you try it for a few minutes.

http://www.popcap.com/gamepopup.php?theGame=alchemy
Game review: 4 clocks.

Enough with the mindless clicking. Alchemy is a puzzle game where you try and create columns of similar tiles. It's played on a 9X8 board, and you're given mystical symbols, one at a time, that you have to place on the board. The trick is, you can only place them next to a symbol that is of the same type or the same color. Once you stretch all the way across a row or column, all the pieces in it disappear and the column/row turns gold. You can place new symbols in these spaces if you want, but the true goal is to turn the entire board gold and advance to the next level.

'Blank' symbols, that have four edges that can attach to anything, and destruction symbols heighten the game's strategy. In addition, the further you progress, the more symbols and colors there are. You can really get yourself into a bind if you don't play cleverly. Fortunately, if you run into a symbol you can't play, you can throw it away. However, if you do this three times in a row, you lose.

Of the three games, this is the only one that involves any real thinking. It is an interesting game, and addictive, until you finally figure out a strategy. Once I did that, I passed through the levels fairly quickly.

EUOL

Written by EUOL on September 10th, 2002