Hari's Corner

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Random Linux games for your enjoyment

Filed under: Software and Technology by Hari
Posted on Mon, Nov 20, 2006 at 20:43 IST (last updated: Thu, May 7, 2009 @ 21:15 IST)

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Ok, I'm writing a column at LinuxQuestions.org about Random Linux apps and games, but I decided that I'd share them here as well for your benefit, since the LQ.org articles section is kind of hidden and out of the way.

First of all, who says Linux doesn't have great games? Some of the most addictive games I've played are on Linux and not all of them are graphics-rich either. Enjoyable games don't need to be heavily loaded with rich 3d graphics and sound -- they just need to have fairly easy control mechanisms and involved gameplay. Here are some of my discoveries featuring a few lesser known but very enjoyable Linux arcade games.

Wormux

Website: www.wormux.org

A FOSS game along the lines of the classic Team17 game, Worms, Wormux recreates some of the fun and enjoyment of tiny creatures blasting each other on a 2d map. Although far from complete and lacking the polish of the originals, it looks promising to fans of this genre.

Ri-li

Website: ri-li.sourceforge.net

A toy train game where you have to collect all the wagons on the map with a concept very similar to Snake Race, it is an easy to play, yet extremely addictive game. While it's controls are very simple, it is deceptively engrossing and has nice music as well.

SuperTuxKart

Website: supertuxkart.berlios.de

A very nice Kart racing game featuring many tracks and players to choose from. Fun and addictive for fans of cartoonish racing games.

KGoldRunner

Website: none (?)

Part of the KDE games package, it is a very involved running and digging action/puzzle game which involves collecting all the gold pieces in a level and escaping the enemies who relentlessly pursue you. This is a very addictive game and can vary from very easy to extraordinarily challenging, based on the level design. Also comes with an integrated editor which allows you to create new level sets.

I will be covering more FOSS apps/games in the future, both here (in the blog) as well as in my column at LinuxQuestions.org! In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for apps/games to be featured in my column, please post a comment here or send me an e-mail.

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6 comment(s)

  1. nice! Almost makes me want to get a linux box (stupid mac!) http://docs.kde.org/stable/en/kdegames/kgoldrunner/index.htmlis the closest to a url for kgoldrunner- which sounds like a clone of the good ol' addicting lode runner. thanks, hari! And I agree about LQ Articles being hidden.

    Comment by titanium (visitor) on Tue, Nov 21, 2006 @ 09:38 IST #
  2. Titanium, I'll be covering more delicious Linux apps in the future. I think the best advocacy technique is not in reiterating that Linux is great and all, but to actually show people what Linux has got.It's an ongoing project for me, both here and at LQ.org.

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Tue, Nov 21, 2006 @ 09:41 IST #
  3. Neverball and Frozen Bubble must not be left out - they're two of the best games ever! :P Then there's SuperTux, TuxRacer, etc..Nice list! ;)

    Comment by J_K9 (visitor) on Wed, Nov 22, 2006 @ 16:43 IST #
  4. I was trying to highlight some of the lesser known games. Everybody knows about Frozen Bubble, SuperTux and TuxRacer :P

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Wed, Nov 22, 2006 @ 16:48 IST #
  5. thanks for this great list, finally, some good stuff to kill time.

    Comment by Jogos (visitor) on Wed, Jan 23, 2008 @ 02:47 IST #
  6. Thanks for dropping by Jogos. Glad you found this list useful. :-)

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Wed, Jan 23, 2008 @ 11:48 IST #

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