Question 1. Computer game

[Arch]

If you want to play a simple flightsim that you don't need a proper joystick for and that will run on ancient computers, may I recommend:

Master of the Skies: The Red Ace

*ahem*

Hee hee! Like the 'tache... My current mate with the flight sim has apparently mastered flying a Hurricane, but hasn't yet managed to land without ripping the undercarriage off. Which I gather is more or less what my Dad did on carriers...

If you look carefully, you'll see the prop blade flying off, and that the plane is just about to trip over the final arrester wire...

 

[marinyork]

Black & White games were highly amusing. They would run on an old laptop. Civilisation 3&4, The Sims 2 is too addictive, Caesar 2,3,4, Age of Empires/Myths, The Settlers various versions, Warcraft games.

 

[Pete]

I remember a few years ago, a friend had something called Myst(?) which involved solving puzzles and so on, and I quite enjoyed it.

If it's puzzle solving you're also thinking after, and you don't mind going a bit 'retro', there are literally thousands of adventure games out there waiting to take up the rest of your life... Sadly, the real challenges that used to keep the likes of my generation flummoxed for months at a time, aren't really there these days, because you can always download a cheat via google - even for the very early text adventures (Zork etc.).

I've done Myst - years ago now, thought it was quite good and by no means boring, the puzzles are quite mind-boggling if you don't lose patience and turn to the cheats... I can't remember the game play though. There was a follow-up called Riven which I've also 'done', and another one after that (forget what it was called). Before I start reeling off a long list of the adventures I've played through over the past 20 years, perhaps you need to be a bit more specific. E.g. do you like adventures where some puzzles involve fighting an adversary, or is it purely puzzles and no pugilism? Some adventures you can't be 'killed' and are always in a position from which you can win, so never any need to backtrack (e.g. Monkey Island series). I think Myst was in that category. Others are not and you can spend frustrating hours picking through your saved positions.

Most of these adventures are quite old now and DOS-based: they don't seem to make them nowadays, don't appeal to the modern yoof. This means you may hit compatibility issues running under Windows or other modern O/S's. But many of them are available as freebie or almost free downloads so it doesn't cost you much to try them out.

 

[Arch]

perhaps you need to be a bit more specific. E.g. do you like adventures where some puzzles involve fighting an adversary, or is it purely puzzles and no pugilism? Some adventures you can't be 'killed' and are always in a position from which you can win, so never any need to backtrack (e.g. Monkey Island series). I think Myst was in that category

I'm really not so much interested in adversary fighting, it's the puzzle side that really appeals to me. And I'd get frustrated if I had to backtrack much.

My sis and her bf had a playstation for a while, and I got quite hooked on a fantasy shoot 'em up sort of game (had Bruce Willis in it, can't remember the name now), but I got fed up with it when I got to a stage where I just couldn't manage a jump needed to get through a scene. I knew what I had to do, I just could not get the coordination right, and it ended up just annoying me, rather than making me want to suceed.

 

[Frazer]

I would definitely recommend a strategy game like age of empires or civilisation. The newest ones might have too high a spec for an old(ish) laptop but the older ones are still great games and can be bought or downloaded cheaply. Flight sim in my opinion is a bit overrated, its gets dull rather quickly, unless you go for the WWII style dog-fighting ones for a bit of action.

 

[Pete]

I'm really not so much interested in adversary fighting, it's the puzzle side that really appeals to me. And I'd get frustrated if I had to backtrack much.

Then, if you haven't seen them already, I'd go for the Monkey Island set for starters. There was a whole series of them, I think no.2 was my favourite (took me months to figure out the drinking contest ). You should be able to find downloads somewhere. In no.1 you had to win swordfights, true, but you win them by trading insults, not sword-strokes, and the strategy is very complex! This isn't a spoiler btw.

 

[marinyork]

All the Monkey Island games were a laugh but even the more modern 3rd one was a really good laugh. Toonstruck was a similarly great puzzle/adventure game.

 

[Plax]

I loved the Broken Sword games. Kind of cartooney point and click puzzle adventure.
I'm addicted to the Sims 2. I also love the Discworld games, but they are quite hard to come by (and the earlier games tend to only work on Win 95/98), you might be able to get Disword Noir off ebay the cheapest.

 

[frog]

At home now and had a rummage on the shelves. Mindscape's Brain Trainer. Good fun but can't really play for hours. Carol Vorderman's Sudoku. Various levels from easy peasy to throwing the laptop across the room anf going to bed in a huff. Civ 3. Now it's a bit dated so you can pick it up cheap on the carosel racks in PC World. Age of Empires and any of the Command Conquer games. The last two aren't so much fighting as resource management and denying the opponent access to them.

There is a huge on-line flight sim community. There are virtual airlines for those who want to fly the heavies and right down to the humble DHC Beaver for the bush pilots.

Finally, there is Ubisoft's Chess Master. Started off a couple of years ago at around £30-£40 but you should be able to pick it up much cheaper now. There are a varity of opponents of varying levels and you can work your way up.

I'd recommend you have a trawl around e-bay for a game you fancy. I've picked up a couple very cheaply that I'd lost in various house moves and children taking a shine to them etc.

 

[red_tom]

How about Armadillo Run? It's a physics based game where you have buy various parts to try get an rolled up Armadillo (basically a sphere ;o)) to a finishing point. It doesn't need a very fast pc, there's a free demo on the site and the full version is only £10.

 

[Arch]

Well, thanks all! Monkey Island and the Armadillo one sound especially good. I've got three offers from forummers to send me old discs they don't want - cheers to those guys... And I hadn't really thought that Games stores might have bargain racks, so I may go have a browse sometime..

Alas, I can see myself becoming an addict. There goes the last shreds of my chance of finishing the PhD....

My mate with the flight sim has got it hooked up to do missions with his mate, which sounds fun. I think he's thinking about getting it for his Dad as well.

 

[Carwash]

If you want a copy of Black and White, you can have mine. I've never had the time to get 'into' it.

'Black and White' is quite good (might have seen me playing it at Cem. Rd.?) and features the vocal stylings of Hugo Myatt (of Treguard/Knightmare fame). Can fetch my copy from home if CanRider doesn't fancy posting it from Orkney - it won't run on my Mac anyway.

And if you like puzzles, what about the 'Tomb Raider' games? I think the early ones have recently been re-released with improved graphics etc.

Oooh, or there's 'Portal'! Quite puzzly and fun! Ask PrettyBoyTim for details.