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To access the pre-installed games on a Windows-based PC, click "Start," "All Programs" and "Games." A list of games should appear in the next folder. Standard games often include minesweeper and hearts.
Minesweeper is a puzzle game in which your task is to mark hidden "mines" by placing flags on a grid of square tiles with the right mouse button. Left-clicking will reveal a tile, but clicking on a mine will cause you to lose the game. The goal is to use the numbers that appear on the board to find all of the mines -- each number indicates how many mines are next to a square. The numbers allow you to mark the spots where the mines are hidden and left-click on free spots where no mines are.
Hearts follows the standard rules of the card game, pitting you against three computer-controlled players. Shooting the moon (attempting to take all of the hearts and the queen of spades) can be an effective strategy against computer players, as the computer generally tries to lay its high-point cards early on. Some computers also come with Internet hearts, which allows you to challenge other players over the Web. Note that opposing players can quit the game and be replaced by computer-controlled players. - One way to access a wide variety of games on your computer is to sign up for a free gaming website. These sites allow players to log on and compete against one another in virtual versions of popular board games such as chess and monopoly; card games like hearts, spades and poker; and other games of skill, strategy and chance. Some popular online gaming portals are MSN Games, Yahoo! Games and Pogo.com. You usually must register at a gaming site by proving an email address and some other basic information, after which you will be able to build a profile and play games. The advantage of using a gaming portal is that you can become familiar with other players and make friends online, as well as build a record over time that indicates your skill level. Gaming sites are especially useful for strategy games such as chess, since you usually can find human players at your skill level.
- Along with the virtual versions of traditional games, computers offer many free games that are similar to console video games. For example, first-person shooting games, such as the "Halo" and "Call of Duty" series, are extremely popular on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. But similar shooting games, such as "America's Army" and "Alien Arena," can be downloaded and played for free. Even expansive multiplayer games like "World of Warcraft," which usually require online subscription fees, have free alternatives, such as "Ryzom" and "Atlantica Online."
