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If you're on the computer and bored out of your mind what do you do? One popular option I've noticed people choose is play the games that come with the oh-so-great Windows operating system. Freecell, Hearts, Minesweeper, Solitaire, and now with XP and an onset of memory-consuming ones such as Pinball and Spider Solitaire are the choices.
My observations have led me to believe that Minesweeper(my favorite) and Solitaire are the most popular of the aforementioned games. I was just wondering if my hypothesis is true with you all.
Posts: 2756 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Pepek, true and not true. It's an exercise in logic part of the time, but even after you've opened up an area to work with the most common way to lose is to encounter some isolated spot that has no indication of what's inside.
Posts: 1114 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Freecell and Minesweeper are both great games. The others get boring very quickly. Even minesweeper does when you come to the end of what can be known about it. But Freecell never seems to lose its interest ever.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Minesweeper is very nice. While playing I picture a world where they use it as punishment for capital offences instead of court. If you blow up, you blow up. If, however, you win, then you are released from prison because you've proved your wisdom and luck.
Freecel has that @$#@$ history. I am trying to maintain a 75% win percentage. That means if I loose one hand, I have to keep playing until I've brought it back up. No. Its not addictive.
but you are all forgetting Spider.
I love Spider. My friend bought XP before I did. They became addicted to Spider, but said it was unwinnable, even on an easy level. I sat down and won. He hasn't forgiven me for that yet.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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In the last couple of weeks I've found myself playing Hearts a whole lot. No idea why, but that's my vote. Or there's always this windows game...
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I'm attempting to keep up my Freecell percentage, too, Dan -- but I set my sights much higher. I erased the history (my mother-in-law now has to play on a different computer so she doesn't mess up my record) and I haven't yet had to settle for less than 100%. Mind you, I'm only at 109 wins and no losses, but it's a good start. I once considered doing all the puzzles in numerical order, but that's a lot of puzzles.
In Minesweeper I can't even come close to competing with Mama on time, so I play by different rules. No marking the bombs with flags. I don't play it much anyway, though -- I prefer Freecell or even Solitaire. And occasionally Hearts, but after succeeding in a perfect Hearts game (shot the moon four times in a row), that hasn't held my attention much, either.
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Well, if we talk Free games that come with Windows, it has to be Hearts. But free games that Microsoft puts up for us to play on their website while in Windows, then Zuma would be the most addictive free timewaster.
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I've generally played solitaire, although lately I've found it to be getting too simple so I've taken to trying to figure out Freecell, which I now understand but still haven't won a game at.
Posts: 1158 | Registered: Feb 2004
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I was so disappointed when I got my Mac and found out that it didn't have Minesweeper or Spider Solitaire. Is there any way to download those games on a Mac?
Posts: 274 | Registered: Apr 2002
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I find spider solitaire to be very boring because it quickly runs away toward a win or a loss. So most of the game you are just playing that foregone conclusion to its end. Boring.
Also I despise the rule that says you have to have all slots filled to deal another row. How stupid to change objectives like that, from getting all cards put away to being sure to leave enough cards to fill all available holes so you don't lose. Every time I have to do that I get annoyed. Spider solitaire I find very annoying.
A great solitaire game from long ago, Windows 3.1 era, like late 80s early 90s, was Mahjongg. The tiles were gorgeous. It was a fairly mindless game but just never got old. I wish I could find that game again. <laughs> They should update it with even more gorgeous tiles and include it with the OS. It was that sort of game. Does anyone else remember it?
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Oh, and 50 50 chances come up with the unhappy chance way way more than 50% of the time! This is certainly true!
Like bumping motors for rotation. In a factory with 3 phase power, you hook the motor up randomly and there should be a 50/50 chance that you wired it with the correct phase rotation. So you bump the motor to check rotation first thing. Well, guess how often it was right the first time? Waaaaaaaay less then half the time. I should start keeping records. <laughs> Probability theory isn't a good match to experience, is it?
Another thing is the whole commutativity of addition. Like supposedly you should have the same number of items regardless of which order they are counted in, right? However, if you toss your bank statement into a drawer each month, in any random order, then in April when you go to do taxes there will be some missing. Far fewer than every one will be there. However, if you put then in precise order each month, in a folder, neatly, then at the end of the year they're all there. The order you arranged them in made a huge difference in the number you counted. Thus commutativity of arithmetic is a very limited contingent thing. Not reflective of real world experience at all.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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So I don't play all that often (99 games in almost 6 months, apparently), but I'm at 208 and 0 on FreeCell.
Posts: 6213 | Registered: May 2001
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Spider Solitaire! I used to love Minesweeper, but it's boring after you win on the Advanced level at least half the time.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Minesweeper rules, unless you play it on difficult, clear all but three squares, and have to guess at which one has a mine because their is no logical way to determine the answer... Posts: 1480 | Registered: Dec 2004
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I really enjoyed all of the games that came with windows when I was a kid (around 1993), but Chip's challenge was my favorite. I had found the whole package online and downloaded, and it was fun for a while, then I downloaded one of the 'updates' that are supposed to help your computer and it made it so that it wouldn't run the games in compatability mode. It also made it so that I couldn't play Lemmings anymore, which was sad. Now adays I either play traditional solitaire or (more often) I surf the interweb.
Posts: 349 | Registered: May 2003
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My New Year's resolutions involve giving up things, and sticking to it. (In 2000 I gave up soda.) For 2004, I gave up Spider Solitaire (and all the other games, but it was because of Spider). That was not without reason.
Posts: 1757 | Registered: Oct 2004
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Now adays I either play traditional solitaire or (more often) I surf the interweb.
