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Ask Slashdot: What Are the Best Games To Have In Your Collection?

SternisheFan writes: I am not a "gamer," per se. I grew up on "old school" arcade/Atari-type games. My question is: What are the very best games to own? Let's assume platform is irrelevant — any console, any computer, any operating system, any mobile device. I'd just like to know what you think are the most indispensable games to have in your collection. Let's expand this to include board games and other tabletop games as well. What games do you make sure to always have on hand for get-togethers?

382 comments

  1. vote to close -primarily opinion based by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    leave the circle-jerks to reddit.

    1. Re:vote to close -primarily opinion based by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      seconded, this is precisely what that community is for. Please leave s

    2. Re:vote to close -primarily opinion based by JMJimmy · · Score: 1

      Community is one thing but unfocused questions like these are just flame-bait.

      What games do you make sure to always have on hand for get-togethers

      What's the audience? D&D is an awesome must have game for a very specific audience and they might enjoy W40k but neither will work for most audiences.

      What's the intelligence level? Even the "average" audience can very widely in what they like based on the level of discourse among those participating. Balderdash is phenomenal when played by a room full of intellectuals but falls flat among a group who are always making up stuff because no one in the group ever knows the real definition.

      Are there kids involved? Does it need to be "friendly" enough as to be random? Are video games appropriate or will there be some who won't get the controllers? Men, women, or mixed? Active or passive? Is there a goal beyond just playing (ie: get to know you games or team building or whatever)? Intention to get drunk?

      The point is these types of questions are far too ambiguous and impossible to answer so they become "I like X" "X sucks Y is so much better" "Screw X and Y they don't hold a candle to Z". Only the original poster knows the specifics so X,Y, & Z might be great in their own situation but for the OP are not even remotely appropriate.

      "Must have" games: Deck of cards x2 including jokers. Beyond that its anyone's guess. Console/computer specific: Mario cart & Super Smash Brothers. (this is coming from a non-nintendo gamer)

    3. Re:vote to close -primarily opinion based by ayesnymous · · Score: 1

      LOL, what a joke SE is when half the questions on the page have downvotes and are closed due to being duplicates or opinion-based.

  2. Classics by jcfigueiredo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    River Raid

    1. Re:Classics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I played that on my phone this morning. It never gets old.

    2. Re:Classics by Grizzley9 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Chopper Command is where it's at.

    3. Re:Classics by mi · · Score: 1

      What? Hell no. Classics are: checkers, chess, a deck of cards, a pair of dice, dominoes and backgammon. Everybody has heard of them, everybody has seen them, (almost) everybody have played them in their lives...

      Anything invented in the past few decades simply has not been around long enough to become a classic.

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    4. Re:Classics by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      You forgot Mahjong.

    5. Re:Classics by Notabadguy · · Score: 1

      There's a difference between "best games" and "best games for friends."

      For best games, you can't go wrong with old school RPGs from Squaresoft back in the day. Any of them. Particular favorites: Chronotrigger and Final Fantasy III.

      For friends, get "Risk" the board game. Hours of fun.

    6. Re:Classics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      I am not going to visit your house.

    7. Re:Classics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's what she said.

    8. Re:Classics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Didn't they make Minecraft?

    9. Re:Classics by Asmodae · · Score: 1

      And Go.

    10. Re:Classics by iapetus · · Score: 1

      Hardly. Risk is a terrible game for friends - with some players being eliminated from the game long before the slow and tedious endgame, it's a bad choice for friendly gaming. There are plenty of far superior boardgames for such an environment - Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico, Agricola spring to mind as strong choices.

      --
      ++ Say to Elrond "Hello.".
      Elrond says "No.". Elrond gives you some lunch.
    11. Re:Classics by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      Nah, Raid Over Moscow for sure.

    12. Re:Classics by kv9 · · Score: 1

      Windjammers.

    13. Re: Classics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well played. I could not have done that without an Atari reference.

  3. Subjective by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    That's like asking what's the best food to have in your fridge. What is the best color is along the same lines...

    1. Re:Subjective by Mordok-DestroyerOfWo · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's like asking what's the best food to have in your fridge. What is the best color is along the same lines...

      Bacon and green. Next!

      --
      "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
    2. Re:Subjective by tompaulco · · Score: 2

      Green Eggs and Ham FTW!

      --
      If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
    3. Re:Subjective by jxander · · Score: 3, Funny

      Blue... no, wait .. Gree- AHhhhhhhhhh

      --
      This signature is false.
    4. Re:Subjective by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      But not green bacon, I hope. (Unless the green is pepper.)

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    5. Re:Subjective by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Orange is the best color.

      It's the maintenance man. He knows I like orange.

      Also, and on-topic, Deus Ex is a must-play game.

    6. Re:Subjective by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Blonde

    7. Re:Subjective by gmhowell · · Score: 2

      Orange is the best color.

      It's the maintenance man. He knows I like orange.

      Also, and on-topic, Deus Ex is a must-play game.

      Came to instigate a reinstallation. Saw that I was beaten to it. Left satisfied.

      Everytime someone mentions Deus Ex, someone reinstalls Deus Ex

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    8. Re:Subjective by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think it is a good question with many lame answers such as "this is all too subjective, i do not have anything interesting to share, hit me with a hammer, blah blah". Why bother even typing then?

      Anyway, my favorite games have been Cannon Fodder I & II and Settlers II. When I am with a bunch of people, I generally prefer not to play board games as they are boring.

  4. Get-togethers? With DnD geeks? And enough PCs? by Woodmeister · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Neverwinter Nights

    --

    Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
    -Possum Lodge Motto
    1. Re:Get-togethers? With DnD geeks? And enough PCs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      It's a shame AOL shut it down so Neverwinter Nights is no longer possible to play. Or were you talking about that lame BioWare game that is only good for the rape mods?

    2. Re:Get-togethers? With DnD geeks? And enough PCs? by mlts · · Score: 1

      NWN 1 to me (and this is IMHO, so take it for what it is worth; little to none) is a must have. However, I would also take in all the hundreds of very good player written modules as well. The OC for the game was more of a primer on how to write modules right than a decent game in itself. SoU and HotU had decent scripts, but I would say that the top tier player written content (with the CEP and CTP) was some of the best I've played. A number of persistent worlds were outstanding as well.

      NWN2 to a lesser extent. The graphics are better, but one couldn't do as much with the toolset.

      Of course, the precursors to that, BG1, BG2, are a must.

      Going backwards from there, the old Wizardrys and most of the old Ultimas are classics. Ultima 1-6 are timeless, but 7 afterward are sort of like Metallica post-"Black" album... same genre, but really different works with little to do with the previous except name.

      Wizardry 1-3 are also classics. I'd probably go for an Apple 2 emulator and the images for them as opposed to the DOSBox version, but that is just me.

      Another one is a game that wasn't that popular, but it was interesting for the time. Deathlord from EA. It was like the Ultima series... but was a lot harder, and had quite a large world to do stuff in.

    3. Re:Get-togethers? With DnD geeks? And enough PCs? by Saithe · · Score: 1

      SP campaing and modules are still playable, but maybe that's because of the GOG-patch.

    4. Re:Get-togethers? With DnD geeks? And enough PCs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In my archives, somewhere, I have a original copy of the NeverWinter Nignts that existed on AOL. Always loved that one. I also have all the "Gold Box" DandD computer games.

    5. Re:Get-togethers? With DnD geeks? And enough PCs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The ten best games ever made. If you disagree, then you're an idiot and have no gaming experience worth mentioning.

      1) Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters
      2) Deus Ex
      3) MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat
      4) Ultima VII: The Black Gate/Forge of Virtue/Serpent Isle/The Silver Seed
      5) Total Annihilation
      6) System Shock 2
      7) Wing Commander Privateer
      8) Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
      9) Another World
      10) Star Wars: TIE Fighter

    6. Re:Get-togethers? With DnD geeks? And enough PCs? by Rei · · Score: 1

      *Happy spices!* We *happy bubbles* second Star Control II; only *silly cows* do not enjoy *smelling* *pretty colors*!

      --
      Could chocolate let me finish?
  5. MAME by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    All 56 GB of them. Now if only Mac MAME could catch up with games made in late '90s.

    1. Re:MAME by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Give up already and switch to sdlmame.

    2. Re:MAME by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      SDLMame is not 'quite' there yet. It has made pretty good strides in the past year. It has some interesting quirks. However, yes a full mame set though is more along the lines of 300gig.

      Toss in a full MESS set and you are talking 1.8TB. Plus artwork for both and just buy a 2TB drive.

    3. Re: MAME by Ginger+Unicorn · · Score: 1

      I just download MAME ROMs individually as it occurs to me to play them. My ROMs folder is never more than few dozen Mbs. Buying a 2Tb HD and filling it up with what is effectively noise has never struck me as a convenient option.

      --
      (1.21 gigawatts) / (88 miles per hour) = 30 757 874 newtons
    4. Re:MAME by Centurix · · Score: 1

      That's without the CHD's, add another 250+GB

      --
      Task Mangler
  6. various card games by halfEvilTech · · Score: 4, Insightful

    For get-togethers the easiest thing to use is just plain old cards. The number of games that can be had from just a couple decks is great.
    Common games for us -
    Blackjack, Hearts, Pinochle, Poker, etc

    for more entertainment you could always Check out Cards again Humanity for those with a twisted sense of humor.

    1. Re:various card games by fritz1968 · · Score: 1

      ...don't forget Euchre and cribbage.

      --
      It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
    2. Re:various card games by Mordok-DestroyerOfWo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Settlers of Catan for gatherings of 4-6. The only issue is when alcohol gets involved, the games can become marathon sessions.

      --
      "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
    3. Re:various card games by sacdelta · · Score: 5, Funny

      Cribbage... that's where those fat cat card manufacturers get you with their fancy wood board and peg upgrades.

      --

      Brought to you by: "Al"toids - the curiously weird mint.

    4. Re:various card games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      maybe you should check out boardgamegeek. catan was a great game in its days, but it has been surpassed

    5. Re:various card games by NotDrWho · · Score: 1

      When you don't have friends, cards are really just a stack of colored paper. That's the problem I've always had with Dungeons and Dragons and multi-player games like that. When I was a kid I used to buy D&D books and modules and be fascinated with the lore and how much fun it all sounded. But when the realization hits you that you don't have anyone to play it with, it all becomes pretty useless.

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    6. Re:various card games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Settlers of Catan for gatherings of 4-6. The only issue is when alcohol gets involved, the games can become marathon sessions.

      Oh, how many nights I've lost to Settlers. (And money to seafares, americas and more)

    7. Re:various card games by BitterOak · · Score: 3, Insightful

      maybe you should check out boardgamegeek. catan was a great game in its days, but it has been surpassed

      It's been surpassed largely by its own expansion modules. My sister's family just got Explorers & Pirates last Christmas and they've been playing almost non-stop ever since.

      --
      If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
    8. Re:various card games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      5-6 player Catan is hell. The optional build phase after each player's turn bogs the game down substantially. 3-4 is where it's at.

    9. Re:various card games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I took 2nd place in a cribbage tournament, at a camp-site, in central California, against old men. My grandpa taught me how to play, then refused to ever play against me again, when, during our 2nd game ever I double-skunked him.

    10. Re:various card games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      When you don't have friends, cards are really just a stack of colored paper. That's the problem I've always had with Dungeons and Dragons and multi-player games like that. When I was a kid I used to buy D&D books and modules and be fascinated with the lore and how much fun it all sounded. But when the realization hits you that you don't have anyone to play it with, it all becomes pretty useless.

      As I read this comment, I couldn't help but hear slow, sad piano music in the background. I envision NotDrWho's childhood in black and white, while he reads the player's handbook, a single tear running down his cheek.

      for the sake of inclusiveness, if NotDrWho is not a "he" then s/he/her/g as needed.

    11. Re:various card games by OhSoLaMeow · · Score: 1

      Screw your neighbor. No, really.

      --
      They can take my LifeAlert pendant when they pry it from my cold dead fingers.
    12. Re:various card games by Wraithlyn · · Score: 1

      We have a house rule where anybody that starts bitching about something ("you blocked my road!", "my numbers never come up!", etc) has to immediately take a shot.

      It's a GREAT rule.

      --
      "Mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent present in every electron." -Freeman Dyson
    13. Re:various card games by Wraithlyn · · Score: 1

      We play 5-6 player Catan all the time and don't find the extra build phase slows anything down at all.

      When the dice are passed to the next player, anybody who wants to build something just says "Buying X at the end of your turn" and that's that. In the extremely rare case of a conflict, you just resolve the builds clockwise from the current player. There's no need to stop and ask each player in turn "are you building anything?", which is the only way I can imagine it "bogging things down".

      If anything, it speeds things up considerably (you can get new towns/cities out that much faster which immediately improves your income position, and it really cuts down on people needing to discard half their hand on a 7).

      --
      "Mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent present in every electron." -Freeman Dyson
    14. Re:various card games by ftobin · · Score: 1

      We just don't do the optional build phase. This allows people to build up larger hands, and makes a 7-roll more devastating exciting.

    15. Re:various card games by ottothecow · · Score: 1
      I find that *not* having the Special Building Phase would slow the game down even more.

      In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if 5 player games go faster than 4 player because of this.

      The extra builds let you get things done faster and keeps the game engaging for all players. I find that one of the big problems with advanced board games is the detatchment players feel between turns in games with more than 4 players. Some games solve this with simultaneous action (such as Game of Thrones where everybody places orders at the same time). Catan solves it by letting players interrupt and build. Building 2 turns after your turn gets you 4 more chances to gain resources from what you built (and prevents you from losing resources on a 7) which can only speed the game up.

      What slows the game down, especially with more players, are players who are annoying about trades. Lots of time can be spent going down the rabbit hole of players not being quick and direct about trades.

      --
      Bottles.
    16. Re:various card games by ftobin · · Score: 1

      I agree with your bit about the special build phase speeding up the games, we just skip that rule for simplicity and reducing the need for attentiveness when it's not your turn. I also agree with your points about trading -- I try to chime in and discourage people offering open-ended trades. You're free to ask "I'm looking for a brick", but not "What will someone give me for a brick".

      What we have recently found to help the game along is Helpers of Catan. These helpers reduce the absolutely necessity of trading, and often make the game more "efficient" through the small bonuses they give.

      http://www.catan.com/game/cata...

    17. Re:various card games by chilvence · · Score: 1

      Fuck me, I don't know what game you are talking about but that is just a good rule I am going to attempt to apply it to real life!

      Could this be the answer to all of lifes problems?

    18. Re:various card games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For get-togethers the easiest thing to use is just plain old cards. The number of games that can be had from just a couple decks is great.
      Common games for us -
      Blackjack, Hearts, Pinochle, Poker, etc

      for more entertainment you could always Check out Cards again Humanity for those with a twisted sense of humor.

      I want to hang out with your family.

    19. Re:various card games by Skarjak · · Score: 1

      You need to make gamer friends. If you live in a large enough city, there's bound to be boardgame gatherings you can go to. I started out playing a few games with a friend, then I moved away and met new people and couldn't really play the old games I enjoyed. After meeting people at gatherings in my city, I now have a whole new collection of games to play and people to play them with. :)

    20. Re: various card games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are over 50 games voted by the BoardGameGeek community as better than Settlers of Catan and its variants and expansions.

    21. Re:various card games by Polo · · Score: 1

      You know, the greatest thing about cards is that the games can span a range of abilities...

      From the youngest Go Fish and Crazy-8 players to the most sophisticated Poker or 52-card-pickup players. ;)

    22. Re:various card games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For get-togethers the easiest thing to use is just plain old cards. The number of games that can be had from just a couple decks is great.
      Common games for us -
      Blackjack, Hearts, Pinochle, Poker, etc

      for more entertainment you could always Check out Cards again Humanity for those with a twisted sense of humor.

      This is news for nerds. Plain ol' cards won't cut it. You have to at least change the pictures to something like elves, orcs, robots, timelords.... Just sayin.

    23. Re:various card games by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 0

      Yes, the creator of Cards Against Humanity has such a lovely twisted sense of humor that he raped a woman. No wonder you like his game so much, it's celebrating American rape culture.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    24. Re:various card games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you / anyone got a recommendation for a better game?

      Settlers of Catan is nice in the sense that it's more complex than e.g. monopoly, but simple enough that near everyone can play it. So it's nice for inviting new friends etc. for a game of Settlers of Catan.

      But preferences varies. I prefer more complex games. I've tried Twilight Imperium only once and I think I may buy that + first expansion some time soon, but perhaps you / anyone got a recommendation for a better strategy game?

    25. Re:various card games by NotDrWho · · Score: 1

      No need for sad music. I have met more than a few fellow nerds who have had similar experiences, particularly with the D&D thing. I told that story once to a group and two other guys (from my generation) came forward and admitted that they had done the same thing and thought they were the only ones. Growing up in the time and place I did, there weren't exactly a lot of D&D players around (or they were in hiding). In my hometown, you had two options for things to be a fan of: Jesus or Football. And if you weren't a fan of either of those, you were pretty much alone (since nerds were in hiding even from each other).

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    26. Re:various card games by NotDrWho · · Score: 1

      I'm tempted to do that. But I've had some bad experiences in the past with groups like that. Gaming people can be just as cliquish as any other group. And I've found a some groups in the past where you would show up and everyone would have that fucking "This is OUR party and no one else is invited" attitude in full effect, or where they wanted you to run a gauntlet for the privilege of joining their exclusive club, or where they would constantly insult any newbie for their ignorance of whatever game they were playing (as if they were BORN knowing how to play it themselves).

      We used to have to deal with this back in the fraternity in college. A lot of people decide that, once they're part of a group, then no one else should be able to join (or they should have to walk through fire to do so). So you got some guys (not most, but always a few) who would haze pledges brutally if not kept in check, and drive away prospective members with that arrogant attitude. A few of those guys could really turn something fun and friendly into something ugly and annoying.

      You would think that nerds who had been bullied would be more likely to treat their fellow nerds with friendliness and acceptance. But sadly, it's often the bullied who can become the WORST bullies themselves. Once they get any power in any realm, they can turn into the nastiest of creatures.

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    27. Re:various card games by Skarjak · · Score: 1

      I would recommend you try to seek out meet ups by people who don't appear to be steretypical nerds then. Eurogames (or german style games) are especially good for that, since they tend to have wider appeal. If you still have an interest in american games, there's bound to be someone in the group who enjoys them. I've lived in Toronto and Montreal, came to both places having 0 friends, and met people using eurogame meet ups. A good way to find people also is to go to game pubs, if there's any in your region. They don't attract the same crowd as the gamer stores. And really, just check around the gamer stores for one that looks more "clean", for a lack of better words. Sometimes they have game nights which attract different crowds of people, so you can meet people who aren't the steretypical dirty magic player.

      None of my gamer friends fit the unfortunate gamer nerd stereotype, yet we have some fun and challenging boardgame sessions together. I say if you feel a need to meet people you should try out what I told you. And don't give up the first time if you don't like the ambience, there's bound to be a game group near you that's friendly.

    28. Re:various card games by cwsumner · · Score: 1

      When you don't have friends, cards are really just a stack of colored paper. That's the problem I've always had with Dungeons and Dragons and multi-player games like that. ....

      The hobby shop where I was used to sponsor games and let people post notes about D&D games. D&D was the way to find friends. But you had to call the phone numbers, or at least show up, so if you didn't do that it didn't help...

    29. Re:various card games by Teckla · · Score: 1

      When you don't have friends, cards are really just a stack of colored paper. That's the problem I've always had with Dungeons and Dragons and multi-player games like that. When I was a kid I used to buy D&D books and modules and be fascinated with the lore and how much fun it all sounded. But when the realization hits you that you don't have anyone to play it with, it all becomes pretty useless.

      I ran into a similar issue. (1) Very small circle of friends. (2) None of them interested in playing role playing games like D&D. (3) People get married, buy houses, start pumping out kids, and aligning schedules becomes near impossible.

      You're not alone in being alone. I recommend something like an MMORPG where you can meet people and develop online friendships. My favorite has always been EverQuest.

  7. depends on who's there by rogoshen1 · · Score: 4, Informative

    If people aren't too uptight, cards against humanity is great.
    Mario kart (any version)
    trivial pursuit

    subjective lists are awesome! If you don't know your friends well enough to know what they like, you have other questions you should be delving into first :)

    1. Re:depends on who's there by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      any version

      Nah, the wii version of Mario Kart was kind of a low point.

      And I find that Trivial pursuit raises some serious objections from generally intelligent friends that they "aren't smart"(as if general intelligence had anything to do with knowing who "the football guy" for 1989 was).

    2. Re:depends on who's there by Legendary+Teeth · · Score: 1

      Rather than typical Trivial Pursuit games, I would recommend the Bet You Know It version http://www.amazon.com/Trivial-... It has a betting mechanic that has you betting whether the person answering the question will get it right or not. With enough chips you can buy pie pieces for categories you aren't good at. This helps even things out with your typical gamer group, where you may have a few people really good at trivia, and a few who are awful at it. Otherwise it's no fun if you are just going to get stomped, or crush everyone with no challenge.

  8. Majora's Mask by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Single-handedly the best N64 game, nay the best video game of all time.

    1. Re:Majora's Mask by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rather upset I got marked Troll when I was being serious.

  9. N64 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Super smash bros on n64 but the recent versions are nice too

    1. Re:N64 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Melee is the best version. Most adaptable, beginning players still have fun, pros always have new combos and techs to try on newbs and other pros alike wavedashing fluidity, melee combined the best of all the smash's. heck the ssbm tourneys are huge even today and new moves are being found even now. A masterpiece for 2-4 players. Most balanced characters of any of them awesome levels as MAN I love super smash brothers meellllllleeeeeeeee for the GameCube with wired controllers

  10. This is very Subjective. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Mario 64, by today's standards, is a pretty boring platformer.

    By 1990's standards, it, and zelda orcana of time, were earth shattering. Today?

    Some people are happy with AngryBirds, some people need Gothic 3. One game can be completed in 5 minutes, the other takes 5 months.

    Also, when you're grown up, the games you used to play that were so fantastic are faded.

    So this is a very subjective request, and really, just flamebait.

    1. Re:This is very Subjective. by Travis+Mansbridge · · Score: 2

      Mario 64, by today's standards, is a pretty boring platformer.

      Are you kidding? I just played through this again the other day. Flying, swimming, getting shot out of a cannon, riding a turtle shell like a skateboard.. Mario 64 is one of the best 3D games of all time. Ocarina of Time still stands up too.

      And while I'm here, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

    2. Re:This is very Subjective. by chilvence · · Score: 1

      I find it completely the opposite way. The games I used to play were so great that I played them until I broke them, until they were what I saw when I closed my eyes, and I can still go back to them today and genuinely enjoy them, even though I have tired myself out on them. The problem I have is I find it hard to find anything that measures up to those experiences and memories. 300 people can work on a game for 3 years and yet I can play it for 3 minutes and think "For fucks sake, this is just boring".

  11. Oh come on by tsa · · Score: 1, Troll

    Do we really need this on /.? Every gamer forum is full of threads like this. Why repeat that here? It's not news and it's not stuff that matters.

    --

    -- Cheers!

    1. Re:Oh come on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Would you like some cheese with your whine? ;)

    2. Re:Oh come on by brokenin2 · · Score: 1

      We do need this on Slashdot. I don't want the list that people from a gamer site would come up with. I'm sure it would be very different.

      It is not news.

      It *IS* stuff that matters.

  12. umm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    space empires IV

  13. Nethack by fisted · · Score: 4, Interesting

    NetHack, preferrably on a public server
    Years of time can be wasted

    1. Re:Nethack by Minwee · · Score: 2

      Why doesn't your phone have keys?

    2. Re:Nethack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I used to play nethack on an ipaq running linux. The pen touch interface was rather intuitive and user friendly.

    3. Re:Nethack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Years of time can be wasted

      Also check out Nethack4 (non official, as far as I can tell, but a lot of great improvements.)

      nethack4.org or ssh nethack43@nethack4.org pw nethack43

    4. Re:Nethack by Lotana · · Score: 1

      Having played ADOM and Nethack, I would rate ADOM higher.

      But to each their own.

    5. Re:Nethack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Years can also be spent on http://waitinginline3d.com

    6. Re:Nethack by kesuki · · Score: 1

      there is a thing called a bluetooth keyboard+touchpad/mouse url:https://www.google.com/search?q=bluetooth+keyboard
      as only one pairing is possible though that one pairing can be cloned to four or eight devices.

  14. Missing some platforms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Namely board and card

  15. Sega Genesis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

  16. The Old Standby by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A game I have been playing since its release and have repeatedly come back to, year after year, is Medieval Total War II. Everything about that game is just so engaging to me. The UI is clean and familiar, the nuances are fun and varied, the strategy is solid, and the map AI is among the best I've seen of its kind.

    If I had to ban myself from every game in my library save one, I would have to keep this one.

    Skyrim is also worth looking at.

  17. Look it up by toejam13 · · Score: 1

    You could look up games based off of their annual sales rank or based off of the number of awards they've won. Probably more accurate than asking everyone for their personal favorite. Some of the lists are broken down to genre specific categories, so if a first person shooter isn't your thing, you can always look for what is.

    1. Re:Look it up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The author (such a elite name to give soulskill) should educate himself on how to search.

  18. Atari by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'm a big fan of the old Atari stand-up arcade games, so I'd include Tempest, Marble Madness, and Centipede on my list of essentials.

    1. Re:Atari by Groo+Wanderer · · Score: 1

      Agreed. My collection includes a Guantlett 2, Tempest, Ms PacMan, Xevious, Robotron 2048, and Smash TV (not in original cabinet). The rest of the modern stiff pretty much pales in comparison.

    2. Re:Atari by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Xevious...at college back then, I spent a lot of time on Xevious..way too much time..(I was supposed to be studying physics and electronics, but oscillated mainly betwixt the Xevious machines in the arcade, the student union and the nearest vt-100 attached to the college's DEC-20..)
      I am deeply envious if you've the arcade machine, playing it on MAME aint the same...

      Mad Planets anyone?

  19. Might not be big winners by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Warcraft 3, especially because of the huge number of custom maps. There was a map for everything that could be done on the engine. The base game wasn't as great as all the custom maps made, and not just DotA. There were many good RPG's, Survival Games, and others.

  20. Old-school is best by B5_geek · · Score: 3, Interesting

    MOO2
    Civ2 - Call to power
    Descent
    NeverWinterNights 2
    Tribes (I & II)
    Seawolf
    MechWarrior
    Dark Reign

    --
    "The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." ~Plato (427-347 BC)
    1. Re:Old-school is best by Sowelu · · Score: 1

      That's the first time I've seen anyone reference Dark Reign in a 'best games' list. Or ever, for that matter. Still haven't made up my mind on whether it's a true classic of an underdog, or yet another great concept that was woefully underexecuted (see Malkari).

    2. Re:Old-school is best by NoImNotNineVolt · · Score: 2

      MechWarrior (mechwars.exe) was terrible! MechWarrior 2, on the other hand, was quite awesome. The soundtrack alone should land it on this list.

      Also, I'd add Star Control 2, which is now available as FOSS under the title The Ur-Quan Masters. This is my favorite video game of all time.

      Warcraft 2 should be mentioned also. Maybe even Syndicate.

      --
      Chuuch. Preach. Tabernacle.
    3. Re:Old-school is best by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dark Reign was AWESOME!!

    4. Re:Old-school is best by brokenin2 · · Score: 1

      That's s good list.. I'd like to add to it, and make it a little more eclectic..

      Descent
      Mechwarior
      Portal / Portal 2
      DIablo
      Wizball (c64)
      Impossible MIssion 2 (c64)
      Raid over Moscow (c64)
      The old Ultima series (like Ultima IV)
      Quake
      Quake 3 arena
      Doom (it's classic, but it is hard to play these days after having gotten used to being able to look and move up and down)
      Empire (c64 BBS - You probably can't just keep this one around to play, but it was fun when it was out there)
      Legend of Zelda

      Arcade:
      Hard Drivin (I think that was it.. early car simulator with impossible tracks.. loops etc)
      Tempest
      Missile command
      The original Tron game
      Super Mario Bros
      Donkey Kong

      Board/card:
      Cribbage is good
      Uno is nice if you don't want to have to use your brain, or you need something very inclusive
      Monopoly is a good staple to have around

      Well, that's what comes to mind quickly.. I'm sure I've still missed quite a few classics..

    5. Re:Old-school is best by brokenin2 · · Score: 1

      Per someone else's comment.. I meant Mechwarrior 2.. They're right..

    6. Re:Old-school is best by brokenin2 · · Score: 1

      Doh.. and Halo should probably have been on the list..

    7. Re:Old-school is best by polar+red · · Score: 1

      Monopoly is a good staple to have around

      NO. it's boring. it's very dependent on luck.

      --
      Yes, I'm left. You have a problem with that?
    8. Re: Old-school is best by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Star Control 2, Ikaruga

    9. Re:Old-school is best by danomac · · Score: 1

      I'll add one more: Dungeons of Daggorath. I played it on a TRS-80.

    10. Re:Old-school is best by Deekin_Scalesinger · · Score: 1

      I managed a boardwalk arcade down the shore one summer in my late teens. Hard Drivin was one of the games in there and was awesome to have the keys to :)

      --
      "As the intrepid kobold companion continues his journey, he begins to wonder... if priests raises dead, why anybody die?
    11. Re:Old-school is best by rwa2 · · Score: 1

      Doesn't exactly have to be Old-skool... the best games (or franchises, even) will change the way you look at the world. Some of the essentials:

      Simcity (4 is probably the "best" one, if you were to play no others)
      Civilization (II is the classic version, though it seems like they got a lot right with V)
      Ultima VII (runs well under the modern exult engine)
      Sims (III, no expansions necessary. You can pretend it's an architecture program instead of a dollhouse, that was originally how it was intended)
      EVE Online (do the free month, that's enough to get your fill of pretty graphics, frustrating controls, and spreadsheet/economy engineering)
      Any top-rated FPS (if you've played one FPS, you've played them all, though some have better single-player stories, and others have better team play)
      Portal (I, and then II)
      Grand Theft Auto (III:SA is the best, though I've heard good things about V. All of them are nice little satirical time capsules, though)
      Starcraft (II BW , and maybe III, just so you know what a nice RTS is like)

      Here's my running list of games I want to introduce my kids to:
      http://trumblings.blogspot.com...

    12. Re:Old-school is best by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dark Reign and Descent for the win. Glad to see i'm not the only one that played it.

    13. Re:Old-school is best by Asmodae · · Score: 1

      'a' 'space' 'r'
      'a' 'space' 'r'
      'a' 'space' 'r'
      'a' 'space' 'r'

      Oh the memories. Not sure if that's what I call good, or simply nostalgic.

    14. Re:Old-school is best by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "That's the first time I've seen anyone reference Dark Reign in a 'best games' list"

      http://www.gamespot.com/dark-reign-the-future-of-war/

      Dark reign was one of the highest rated games of 1997, it wasn't exactly unknown. The problem was the sequel was awful, so it fell off people's maps.

    15. Re:Old-school is best by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I bought MOO2 on GOG.com a few months ago and I played it until 3am last night. I expect to do the same tonight. I got it when it came out in the mid 90's and I've never stopped loving it. Such a timeless classic.

    16. Re:Old-school is best by soccerisgod · · Score: 1

      Doom (it's classic, but it is hard to play these days after having gotten used to being able to look and move up and down)

      Try one of these. You'll be surprised what you can get out of that old game :)

      --
      If a train station is a place where a train stops, what's a workstation?
    17. Re:Old-school is best by riT-k0MA · · Score: 1

      Mad monoply is fun to play while drunk :D

    18. Re:Old-school is best by Vastad · · Score: 1

      My sister and I establish one simple house rule when playing Monopoly with friends so it is over quicker and the mechanic of luck works differently: No "monopoly" is required to begin building houses and a hotel.

      Then it becomes a game where you have to balance buying everything you land on against buying houses. The luck element ends up yo-yoing cash between players as they land on each other's developed lots, but can be mitigated by smart management of finances and knowing when to risk development. The game is over very quickly as all properties become purchased.

    19. Re:Old-school is best by Vastad · · Score: 1

      No Alpha Centauri? The quotes alone by the major characters change your world outlook!

    20. Re:Old-school is best by jwhitener · · Score: 1

      Don't forget Descent 1/2

  21. depends on who's there by Unknown1337 · · Score: 2

    completely agree on both of these! I would also say yatzee and scrabble are must haves. I always find myself replaying Super Mario 1 and 3, so personally I'd include them as well.

  22. Old skool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1. Yar's Revenge.
    2. All of Infocom's text adventures.
    3. NetHack.
    4. Doom.

    Get off my lawn!

    1. Re:Old skool by Mikkeles · · Score: 3, Insightful

      '2. All of Infocom's text adventures.'

      Text adventures are still being produced. The Interactive Fiction Archive has many old and new games. Many are very good.

      --
      Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
    2. Re:Old skool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I used to think I had FPS fatigue, then I installed BrutalDoom and realized that modern FPSs just suck.

    3. Re:Old skool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      CGDC7 was IF. Pretty fun stuff. My favorite was Dual Transform. You can actually make your own IF pretty easily. There's even a natural language programming language called Inform that will allow you to make your own games just by describing (in great detail, precisely worded) what the world is like and what can happen in it.

  23. Uno, Scrabble, Apples to Apples by sandytaru · · Score: 1

    Uno for long time friends who probably won't end up hating each other. Scrabble for a small group of newer friends. Apples to Apples for larger gatherings, since it can scale up to accommodate teams.

    --
    Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
    1. Re:Uno, Scrabble, Apples to Apples by juancnuno · · Score: 1

      I don't understand why Apples to Apples is so popular. I'll play almost anything. But Apples to Apples is one of the very few games I will refuse to play.

      I have maybe ten Apples to Apples games under my belt. I just never really have fun with it.

    2. Re:Uno, Scrabble, Apples to Apples by Webs+101 · · Score: 2

      Even better is the game Apples to Apples wants to be when it grows up: Cards Against Humanity.

      --

      "Even for Slashdot, that was a very obscure reference!" - Anonymous Coward

    3. Re: Uno, Scrabble, Apples to Apples by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When used with the Doomsday engine and some basic enhancement mods, the original Doom still is a great shooter. It always has a place on my box.

    4. Re:Uno, Scrabble, Apples to Apples by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "grows up" ?! I just read through the pdf of CAH and didn't so much as smile. It's the kind of thing that might amuse 13 year old boys, but "grown up"? That can only mean you have the intellect of a twelve year old.

    5. Re:Uno, Scrabble, Apples to Apples by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It helps if everyone is drunk. Otherwise, it's an incredibly dull game.

    6. Re:Uno, Scrabble, Apples to Apples by Webs+101 · · Score: 1

      I know you are but what am I?

      --

      "Even for Slashdot, that was a very obscure reference!" - Anonymous Coward

    7. Re:Uno, Scrabble, Apples to Apples by Chelloveck · · Score: 2

      I have both Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity, and I prefer Apples to Apples. The gameplay of both is essentially the same but CAH derives most of its humor from being as scatological, gross, and kinky as possible. I understand why that appeals to people, I just generally prefer the tamer "good clean fun" version that can be played with kids and grandparents.

      Or you can mix the two and play Apples Against Humanity.

      --
      Chelloveck
      I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
    8. Re:Uno, Scrabble, Apples to Apples by sandytaru · · Score: 1

      Again, scale. There are very few party games that can accommodate twenty people and still make everyone feel included.

      --
      Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
  24. The Distant Worlds series is pretty good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here is the forum: http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=782

    That has link for you to buy the game.

    1. Re:The Distant Worlds series is pretty good by johanwanderer · · Score: 1

      Oops, posted as AC by mistake. Forum is here

  25. Star Control 2 by neghvar1 · · Score: 1

    My favorite video game of all time and all platforms is Star Control 2. Released in 1992 on PC Favorite NES: Dragon Warrior 4. Favorit SNES: Tie! Super Mario RPG & Chronotrigger.

    1. Re:Star Control 2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now completely open source and in the Debian repos as "The Ur-Quan Masters".

    2. Re:Star Control 2 by NoImNotNineVolt · · Score: 4, Funny
      Star Control 2 was the best. I still remember waaay too many of the quasispace portal endpoint locations in hyperspace.

      The FOSS remake (The Ur-Quan Masters) lacks one "feature" from the original Star Control 2 released by Accolade: in the original, it was possible to sell your last planet lander, and then to sell one more (?!), which would leave you with (practically) infinitely many more. This gives you limitless RU right from the start of the game (well, at least once you clear the moon, kill the Ilwrath scout, and gain full access to the human starbase), which makes it much easier to trigger the Yehat schizm in time to save the Pkunk.

      For those that have never experienced this masterpiece, here's one of my favorite bits of dialogue. The protagonist asks the Zoq-Fot-Pik (an alien race, or really three alien races that originated on one common world) "what was your history like?"

      Our past? Quite a broad topic for this short conversation
      but we'll share a key piece of our history with you.
      After we killed off the last Zebranky
      we faced an interesting dilemma.
      Should we proceed, and establish a culture
      which would advance in art, technology and social sophistication?...
      ...Or should we just go back into the forest
      and kick back and enjoy ourselves
      knowing that a Zebranky wasn't gonna jump out of a bush and eat us!
      Well, we DID go back into the forest.
      We stayed there for about five thousand years and had a great time
      Then, one stormy day, a Zoq, a Fot, and a Pik were walking up a steep path
      looking for something good to eat, when a bolt of lightning struck nearby.
      With a huge flash of light, the bolt of energy
      carved a strangely-shaped chunk of granite out of a cliff.
      It was a disk, with a hole in the middle!
      As the rock began to roll down the hill, toward the three terrified beings
      some dry grass got caught in its hole, and since the rock was still hot
      the grass caught on fire.
      When the rock finally got to the Zoq, the Fot, and the Pik
      they simultaneously discovered the Wheel, Fire, and Religion
      thus catapulting them on to the road of progress.

      Which has led us to this day, Captain.
      Oh! How did the flaming wheel give religion to our Culture, you ask?
      I will explain.
      You see, when it got to the threesome, the flaming wheel was going at a pretty good clip
      and it ran smack into the Zoq, killing him.
      The Fot and the Pik felt so bad
      they really liked that Zoq!...
      ...that they decided the Zoq hadn't really died when the wheel flattened him
      he had just gone to `a better place.'
      Presumably one without lethal flaming wheels.

      --
      Chuuch. Preach. Tabernacle.
    3. Re:Star Control 2 by Balinares · · Score: 3, Informative

      Oh, good example. Y'all probably know that already, but Star Control 2 is now available freely under an open source license, just under the different name of Ur-Quan Masters due to trademark issues.

      --

      -- B.
      This sig does in fact not have the property it claims not to have.
    4. Re:Star Control 2 by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      Burvixese

      The Burvixese race evolved on the planet Arcturus 1, progressing from turtle-like swamp dwellers to a benevolent, highly technological society in just over fifteen million Earth years. Although the Burvixese had the wherewithal to build crude interplanetary vessels, they preferred to remain on the comfortable damp surface of their world and explore the galaxy through HyperWave communication. Using this method, the Burvixese made contact with several neighboring alien cultures, including the Utwig, the Gg, and unfortunately, the Druuge, whom the Burvixese would have been much better off never finding. For many decades, the Burvixese exchanged information with these races, trading technological, historical and philosophical facts and theories, until the fateful year 2142. It was then that the Gg announced that they had come under attack by a unknown alien race, who appeared to want nothing less than their complete annihilation. The Gg surmised that the hostile race, the Kohr-Ah, had located them using the Gg's HyperWave transmissions. Knowing that they had little chance of survival, the Gg warned the Burvixese that, unless they restricted their own transmissions, they too might face a gruesome fate.

      Being a charitable race, before the Burvixese turned off their HyperWave transmitters, they shared the Gg's warning with the Druuge. But it was too late. The Druuge's powerful advertising beacons had already attracted the attention of the murderous Kohr-Ah, who, having finished with the Gg, began moving in the general direction of the Persei constellation, home of the Druuge. Realizing their peril, the Druuge took immediate action. They ceased all transmissions and sent a task force of their fastest ships to the moon of the Burvixese world. Once there, the task force assembled a huge HyperWave broadcaster on the moon's surface. When it was complete, the Druuge activated the unit which began emitting powerful HyperWave signals, focused directly toward the oncoming Kohr-Ah fleet. The Druuge hoped that the hostile aliens would change course toward the Burvixese planet and fail to find their own worlds. Unfortunately, this ruse was all too effective: the Kohr-Ah changed course, attacked the poor Burvixese and, sadly, destroyed them all in three days of orbital bombardment.

      -- Star Control 2 Resource Guide

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    5. Re:Star Control 2 by NoImNotNineVolt · · Score: 1

      If only Star Control 3 hadn't been such a totally epic letdown...

      :'(

      --
      Chuuch. Preach. Tabernacle.
    6. Re:Star Control 2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The selling your last lander was a) a bug, b) only existed in very early versions of the game or in the demo and not in the full game. But ur-quan master is open source. You can always hexedit the save file or hand compile the game. When you do hand compile it, you can turn on debug mode. Although it slows down the game it will also let you do things like teleport directly any location without the use of quasi space. And, of course, you can modify the source code for the ships before compiling.

    7. Re:Star Control 2 by NoImNotNineVolt · · Score: 1

      It probably wouldn't be hard to remove the check for selling planet landers...
      // if(landers > 0)

      But I had the original game on floppies. Didn't know Accolade released a later version with bugfixes.

      --
      Chuuch. Preach. Tabernacle.
  26. The best games are... by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The best games are the ones I have played between the ages of 10-18.
    The ones before that are too primitive, the ones after that are just full of eye candy and attempts to just harness a bunch of money.

    Oddly enough a lot of my favorite movies and TV shows were during that time too.

    I guess things were just better during the time where you didn't have any responsibilities.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  27. Trolling by Zalbik · · Score: 5, Funny

    I like to play a game called "Troll the Internet"

    You pick some category (music, books, movies, etc) and then ask a question along the lines of "Which is better?". You can even do it with entire categories (e.g. "What are the best songs to have in my music collection?" "What are the best books to read?")

    It's hilarious watching the infighting and attempts to justify responses to a subjective question.

    The game has gotten a bit out of hand though. I've even seen it being played on popular tech forums like "Slashdot".

    1. Re:Trolling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope. just had ice cream, your opinion is invalid. But you are right, it did get me kind of ticked off because I saw my favorite news site polluted with what I thought to be stupidity but now realize it was all a ruse to draw me in to reply and comment over 3 times to article that should be left comment free.

      I tip my fedora and bid you good die!

    2. Re:Trolling by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 1

      I like to play a game called "Troll the Internet"

      You pick some category (music, books, movies, etc) and then ask a question along the lines of "Which is better?". You can even do it with entire categories (e.g. "What are the best songs to have in my music collection?" "What are the best books to read?")

      It's hilarious watching the infighting and attempts to justify responses to a subjective question.

      The game has gotten a bit out of hand though. I've even seen it being played on popular tech forums like "Slashdot".

      Nah, I prefer old school trolling where you say something that makes the "I've got to correct this idiot..." urge overpower the "The can't be serious..." rationality. For example:

      As a scientist, I enjoy science fiction but am upset by how often they get simply science laws wrong. For example, I am a big Star Trek fan and overall find their science plausible. However, whiner the shuttle craft passes in front of the Enterprise it cases a shadow. In a vacuum. Don't they realize you won't get a shadow in the vacuum of space?

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    3. Re:Trolling by sootman · · Score: 1

      Sounds like fun. What's the best site to play it on? :D

      --
      Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    4. Re:Trolling by argStyopa · · Score: 1

      That's pretty elaborate.
      I just come on Slashdot and say stuff like:

      "Climate change is just bullshit"
      or
      "Linux is dead"
      or
      "Ballmer's a brilliant executive" ...ok yeah, that last one was no good, too obvious, nobody could believe that's someone serious.

      --
      -Styopa
    5. Re:Trolling by Zalbik · · Score: 1

      Nope. just had ice cream, your opinion is invalid

      I'm lactose intolerant, you insensitive clod!

      In any case, everyone knows sorbet is far better than ice cream.

      Your move.

    6. Re:Trolling by chilvence · · Score: 1

      I don't get it, you didn't really finish your example? It sort of just trailed off at the end there...

    7. Re:Trolling by Polo · · Score: 1

      What is the best trolling motor to get? Is there any other equipment that is a must-have for trolling?

    8. Re:Trolling by SternisheFan · · Score: 1
      Not a bad sounding game, sounds interesting. I'll have to try that one sometime.

      What emumlator works best for that game?

      ;^)

    9. Re:Trolling by captn+ecks · · Score: 1

      No, he didn't...

    10. Re:Trolling by ancientmyth · · Score: 1

      ... Don't they realize you won't get a shadow in the vacuum of space?

      How does a vacuum bend light exactly?

  28. Dark Souls/DS II, Baldur's gate II by kruach+aum · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Baldur's gate II is the best of the infinity engine games, all of which are already great. Dark Souls and Dark Souls II have the best method of story delivery in any RPG I've ever seen, as well as easily the most engaging and immersive combat. To illustrate, when I was fighting one of DSII's new DLC bosses recently I did something I hadn't done since I first picked up a controller: I moved my physical body to dodge an incoming blow, instead of pressing the relevant button. The last time I did that I was 7 years old and jumping on goombas. It's that good.

    1. Re:Dark Souls/DS II, Baldur's gate II by PIBM · · Score: 1

      You aren't playing enough good games!

      Chivalry: Medieval Warfare is perfect for practicing those movements :)

  29. *sigh* by mythosaz · · Score: 1

    I'll "me too" on this a bit.

    I own a MAME cabinet, with a (nearly) complete collection of ROMs and CHDs.
    I own an RFID enabled poker table, with the kit from VideoPokerTable.net
    I have a makeshift craps table, one Bally 70's era EM-series slot machine and an antique 36" roulette wheel.
    We're an XBox family, now with a One.
    My Cards Against Humanity set is mostly complete, only missing the extra-rare PAX sets and the misprint set, plus nearly all possible expansions, including 3rd party ones.
    I've been a Magic nerd since the 93's (with time off in the 2000's for good behavior).
    We do some of the newer deckbuilding games.

    I rarely go a week without an organized poker tournament AND cash game, a sanctioned magic match and some "fun" Magic, CAH with friends, and some light gaming on the One. When we throw a party, nearly everything else ends up getting used.

  30. Hmmm .... by gstoddart · · Score: 1

    Old Skool: The Mario Bros and Donkey Kong games are where my heart lies. 2D side scrollers.

    Tabletop: I've always loved the German style board/card games -- fun for the whole family, the outcome is pretty much random, and someone doesn't get ganged up on or eliminated early in play. The goofier the premise the better, it's the mechanics which makes them enjoyable to play in groups, and sometimes strategy is pointless or impossible.

    New Skool: I'm afraid I'm pretty much eternally hooked on Skyrim. I like not being constrained to a linear plot or where I can go.

    My wife and some of our friends are also huge fans of the Kinect games, because drunk people dancing is hilarious. Also good for a girls exercise night, while the guys play a golf video game.

    I also miss my copies of Rock Band/Guitar Hero ... because I learned to appreciate a vast amount of music and greatly expanded my music collection as a result of it. The sheer amount of punk rock I now own is directly attributable to those games.

    For those of us who are old and creaky, and grew up where video games took quarters, and had a joystick and two buttons ... many modern games left us in the dust years ago, and simply stopped being fun. I doubt I could beat a 6 year old at a first person shooter.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  31. Dominion & Munchkin by theArtificial · · Score: 2

    Dominion! This is an excellent card based game. Not difficult to pick up, a warmup game clears up things quickly, and as a bonus they've got an official electronic version online at http://playdominion.com built using html and js, and there is a chrome extension too. You can play without signing up or logging in and against bots or other players not to mention the entire base game is free. You are not hindered with the "base game" and there are several expansions which add additional cards to the game. The game itself uses 10 cards at a time which you can randomly draw to keep things interesting or if you prefer you can build decks. Dominion shines with 3+ players and maxes out at 8. Games last anywhere from 10-45 minutes. I'm actually working on an IRC port of this since everything is better on IRC >.>

    Munchkin is another great party game.

    --
    Man blir trött av att gå och göra ingenting.
    1. Re:Dominion & Munchkin by theArtificial · · Score: 4, Interesting
      --
      Man blir trött av att gå och göra ingenting.
    2. Re:Dominion & Munchkin by Sowelu · · Score: 1

      My problem with Pandemic is that if you don't work as a perfectly aligned team, you lose horribly. No personal scores equals no autonomy, with the end result that one player pretty much dictates everyone's actions. Okay, you probably make your decisions as something like a committee, but it feels like a joke to pretend that each player really has "their own" cards and pieces.

    3. Re:Dominion & Munchkin by polar+red · · Score: 1

      maybe you should try out ghost stories http://www.boardgamegeek.com/b... and yggdrasil http://www.boardgamegeek.com/b... . those are "easier". *cough* *cough*. (so I lied, sue me ...)

      --
      Yes, I'm left. You have a problem with that?
    4. Re:Dominion & Munchkin by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      I've actually played Pandemic a few times.

      And it's in a class of games which are either best played cooperatively, or which completely make the game mechanics drive the play.

      Some co-workers used to play games at lunch -- in fact, they probably still do.

      And the appeal of these games isn't "ha ha, I beat you". It's more like "Doh, Bob got eaten by a weasel, causing Sally to fall down the stairs, and when the flower pot landed on Steve's head he won." The victory/conclusion conditions change the dynamic of the play a lot -- to the extent that sometimes it's hilarious to be the one who "loses" or triggers the end of the game.

      For many of us, we prefer it when the game mechanics preclude personal scores, or when one person gets to play king maker.

      The games are much more social that way, and for many of us, that is a very big plus in games.

      In fact, for many of us, games like Monopoly suck, because it's all about beating your opponents into the ground, or other things which suck the fun out of the game. And games which eliminate players means for the remainder of the game everyone is just sort of going "well, that wasn't really fun, and it's over, but they'll be at it a while".

      It's a completely different style of play, and it is much more focused on play and having fun, than winning at all costs. And it means one person doesn't always win the game, and everyone else decides they have better things to do.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    5. Re:Dominion & Munchkin by theArtificial · · Score: 1

      It's a completely different style of play, and it is much more focused on play and having fun, than winning at all costs. And it means one person doesn't always win the game, and everyone else decides they have better things to do.

      Indeed! I'm a big fan of German style games specifically to avoid Monopoly like situations.

      --
      Man blir trött av att gå och göra ingenting.
    6. Re:Dominion & Munchkin by theArtificial · · Score: 1

      Understandable. The whole point of the game is cooperation and if you cannot get people to work together play a different game pronto. I like this game specifically because its a team building game.

      --
      Man blir trött av att gå och göra ingenting.
    7. Re:Dominion & Munchkin by ndrw · · Score: 1

      My family and friends have had quite a bit of fun with pandemic. It's nice not to have only 1 winner (when you win), it can reduce the stress imparted by games like settlers of catan (which we love so much it gets hyper-competitive). Agricola is almost a middle ground, there's slightly less direct competition, so it doesn't get quite as heated.

      We've only played the base version of Pandemic. I would appreciate feedback on the expansions. Has anyone played those? Are they worthwhile?

    8. Re:Dominion & Munchkin by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      Yup, a former co-worker introduced me to these kind of games.

      Any my immediate response was "why the hell have I had to put up with these other shitty games for so long?"

      For many of us, the games like Monopoly were no fun, and made themselves less fun when taken to their extremes.

      I like the mechanics of the game play of the German style games, and the social nature of them -- we can all laugh that you had something happen, because nobody is ganging up on you, and the conditions for someone "winning" could be completely random. Because one player getting hammered on until they're eliminated means they'll probably never play with you again.

      Playing with a super competitive "I must win at any cost" person sucks all the fun out of a game, and isn't conducive to bringing in new people, or having a quick game where the stakes don't ratchet up into someone's mania about winning.

      Screw that, I want my leisure time to be about fun, not magnifying the antisocial tendencies of one of the players. :-P

      Want a fun game? Try one where a 5 year old might beat you with a random turn of a card and absolutely no strategy, instead of one in which you can feel good about yourself by constantly beating a 5 year old.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    9. Re:Dominion & Munchkin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Defenders of the realm is much like Pandemic, cooperative game play.

    10. Re: Dominion & Munchkin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a completely different style of play, and it is much more focused on play and having fun, than winning at all costs. And it means one person doesn't always win the game, and everyone else decides they have better things to do.

      Indeed! I'm a big fan of German style games specifically to avoid Monopoly like situations.

      I just wanted to point out that the games that you're describing are almost the antithesis of German/Euro-style boardgames. Euro's place heavy emphasis on strategy, planning, and analytical thinking, with many nearly entirely eliminating luck and randomness. This means that the win-at-all-costs player will almost certainly win every time. What Eurogames have reduced, however, is direct conflict. It's all said right there in the intro of the wiki article you linked to!

    11. Re: Dominion & Munchkin by theArtificial · · Score: 1
      What? I must've missed where I claimed all of these games were "German style". I listed some games in one comment and in another comment mentioned that I liked German style games. These are not in conflict. Also, Settlers of Catan and Pandemic qualify and Catan is explicitly mentioned in what I linked, take a look under the history section again.

      The Settlers of Catan, first published in 1995, paved the way for the genre in the United States and outside Europe.[citation needed] It was neither the first "German game" nor the first such game to find an audience outside Germany, but it became much more popular than any of its predecessors.

      What are some games you like playing?

      --
      Man blir trött av att gå och göra ingenting.
    12. Re:Dominion & Munchkin by Asmodae · · Score: 1

      Want a fun game? Try one where a 5 year old might beat you with a random turn of a card and absolutely no strategy, instead of one in which you can feel good about yourself by constantly beating a 5 year old.

      Is that even really a game, by definition?

      That's like two people roll a dice, higher roll wins. There's nothing to play, no input or decisions on the part of the player, and precious little interaction between players. I don't think that would be very fun at all.

    13. Re:Dominion & Munchkin by Skarjak · · Score: 1

      I was going to suggest Dominion if no one did it. I think the best thing to be said about Dominion is that despite the deck building mechanic, it is at its core a puzzle game. It is very easy to teach (the turn order can be learned with Action Buy Cleanup Draw - ABCD) and will be fun with people who have never played boardgames before while still being a very engaging game for the more cerebral players. As far as video games go, I think we are really fortunate to have so many high quality free to play games on PC these days. Path of Exile, Hearthstone and Dota are all games I would heavily reccomend.

    14. Re: Dominion & Munchkin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      52 cards for Bridge or Belote.
      Magic the gathering EDH decks for veterans.
      A short RPG scenario when there is a motivated party.
      Some multi games on my PS3: modern warfare 2/3, ...
      Board games: games workshop, avalon hill, ...

  32. Dominion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dominion with a couple of its expansions for 4 -6 Pricey for card/board game but worth it for replay-ability and fun
    Cribbage board
    Deck(s) of cards for 4 hearts, spades, poker, w/e

    PC games (Steam - generally buy only during sales)
    Portal 1/2
    Solitaire
    Civilization
    whatever coop online game your friends are playing
    Don't play RPGMMOs, you don't have that kind of time.
    Some recent but value binned singleplayer shooter ie Metro, Dishonored, w/e
    Some recent but value binned singleplayer rpg
    add random Free to Play as you need variety
    World of Tanks
    HearthStone
    etc

  33. Tabletop staples: Chess and checkers by davidwr · · Score: 1

    Even if you never play them, if you have more than a few tabletop games and don't have these, your collection is incomplete.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  34. Portal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1 & 2
    http://store.steampowered.com/app/400/
    http://store.steampowered.com/app/620/
    Periodically they are on sale discounted (last time some weeks ago).

  35. KSP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Its been 2 years and im still addicted. Great mod community!

  36. My Favorites by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Computer Games: The original Master of Orion

    Card Games: Dominion (also on Mobile), Poker,

    Pure Board Games: Chess, Ra, Power Grid.

    My club's favorite boardgames: 7 Wonders, Dominion, For Sale, Forbidden Island, High Society, Incan Gold, Kingdom Builder, Kingsburg, Pandemic, Power Grid, Power Grid: The First Sparks, Puerto Rico, Qwirkle, San Juan, Stone Age, Ticket to Ride: Europe, TransAmerica, Tsuro

  37. Try Go (Wei-chi, Baduk). by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The most deep game ever created was Go (Baduk).

    Much more subtle than chess.

    1. Re:Try Go (Wei-chi, Baduk). by kruach+aum · · Score: 1

      Much less tractable than chess, anyway.

    2. Re:Try Go (Wei-chi, Baduk). by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Was is the key part of your statement. Magic: The Gathering is much more complicated.

  38. Commadore 64 by quipalicious · · Score: 1

    Red Storm Rising, played it for years.

  39. My Favorites... by RailGunner · · Score: 1

    Here are what I consider to be the best games I've ever played (in no particular order):

    Skyrim
    Batman: Arkham Asylum
    Doom
    Pac-Man
    Tetris
    Final Fantasy 6
    Final Fantasy 9
    Megaman 2
    Megaman 3
    The Legend of Zelda
    The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past
    The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
    Super Metroid
    Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
    Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
    God of War II

    1. Re:My Favorites... by Sowelu · · Score: 2

      Final Fantasy 4 doesn't get enough love. I really appreciate your unconventional choice of 9 though.

  40. The Orange Box by jeti · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Orange Box bundled:
    -Portal
    -Half Life 2
    -Team Fortress 2

    Seven years later, all three are still among the best games to have and play.

    1. Re:The Orange Box by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Portal maybe, but the other two are a blight on humanity

    2. Re:The Orange Box by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Half Life 1 is a good choice, better than HL2 in every way, and more of a classic.

    3. Re:The Orange Box by snooz · · Score: 1

      I would have to agree, Portal and Half Life 2 are indispensable part of a good collection. My youngest son bought me The Orange Box for Christmas years ago... I didn't start gaming till late 30s, and this was my intro, after having instructed him that games were the root of all evil. Hahaha... now I love gaming, even the first person shooters that I warned him about. Well played, young man! Well played! For youngsters I would say The Amazing Labarynth is a great family board game.

  41. Descent II - Must have. by KDiPietro · · Score: 1

    Now running the Linux distro of your choice.

    1. Re:Descent II - Must have. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Definitely. The only ego shooter I ever seriosuly played. Maybe someday I will have the time again to train for it

  42. Mech Force on the amiga by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know people that have been playing that on original hardware then emulation for 20 years.

  43. Fireball Island, Hotels, Settlers of Catan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Love me some board games.

  44. Bad Rats. by Tyrannicsupremacy · · Score: 1

    And maybe Tony Lazaro's Ultimate Super Speed Racer

    --
    http://i.cubeupload.com/T6cyLu.png
  45. Solitaire by JoeTechie · · Score: 1

    Seems everyone I know over the age of 76 plays Solitaire. Almost exclusively.

    1. Re:Solitaire by Art+Challenor · · Score: 0

      Seems everyone I know over the age of 76 plays Solitaire. Almost exclusively.

      Roger Moore plays Solitaire as 007 in Dr. No and it's the only game he plays. He's 86, so your comment is validated...

  46. For how many people? by Webs+101 · · Score: 2

    The "best" games depends on how many people you have to play, not to mention their tastes and time commitment.

    Nothing beats Diplomacy, but you need seven people, a whole day, and people who can be bastards when required.

    Other games I keep going back to are Civilization (the original board game that has nothing to do with Sid Meier), Kingmaker, Pictionary, Scattergories, and the Combat Mission series of digital war games.

    --

    "Even for Slashdot, that was a very obscure reference!" - Anonymous Coward

  47. For mixed-age crowd: Pictionary, Bananagrams, Set by timothy · · Score: 1

    You don't actually need a board game or someone's pre-made list of cards with choices, either, but the Pictionary folks have done a pretty good job at providing some ideas, sorting them into categories, etc.

    Bananagrams is the most age-independent word game I know; Scrabble can be pretty frustrating when playing with people of vastly different ages (and thus, often, vastly different vocabularies), but nearly any age can play with Bananagrams, and older players can adjust their style as they deem best suits the players as a group.

    Set: as above.

    --
    jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
  48. Go by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If we're including table top games, Go continues to fascinate me with its seemingly contradictory simplicity & complexity.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_(game)

    It's one of those classic "minutes to learn, lifetime to master" games.

    Incidentally, this the game that gave go enthusiast Nolan Bushnell his company name (Atari) back in the early 70s.

    1. Re:Go by Asmodae · · Score: 1

      Yes indeed, Go doesn't get enough love. Although it's only two player and isn't co-operative, as a two player game, it is outstanding.

  49. I Hate Bethesda Studios by crackspackle · · Score: 3, Insightful

    for taking years of my life (Fallout and Elder Scrolls Series). My love will only return as soon as you publish something else

    1. Re:I Hate Bethesda Studios by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I will hate Bethesda until Fallout 4 is confirmed.

  50. various card games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nertz!

  51. There Is One by bistromath007 · · Score: 1

    Others are complaining, rightly, that this topic is junk. It's all down to taste, and these media are too widely varied for us to give useful answers even if it weren't.

    With video games though, there is one that can be considered more or less objectively a must-play: Deus Ex. Even if you wind up not liking it for some reason, it's important. It's like not reading any Shakespeare.

    For table games, it's much harder. They're definitely worthy of being called art, but they are obviously much less "literary" in nature. There's no paradigm-shifting cultural messages to receive.

    Despite that, there is one that I think kind of encapsulates the state of the art, and depending on how your group handle it, it can be either a light party game or a total brainfry, so it's got that going for it: The Resistance. Funny thing is, I fucking hate it, so you know that recommendation has at least a little objective value.

  52. For politically incorrect afficianados... by Jawnn · · Score: 1

    (...and rather reinforcing the gamer=misogynist riff...)

    Death Race (Exidy arcade version)
    Custer's Revenge (Mystique, for Atari 2600)
    Leisure Suit Larry (Sierra)

    1. Re:For politically incorrect afficianados... by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      Postal and Redneck Rampage are quality games for that Genre...

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    2. Re:For politically incorrect afficianados... by NoImNotNineVolt · · Score: 1

      <3 LSL!

      --
      Chuuch. Preach. Tabernacle.
  53. xboing by PoiBoy · · Score: 1

    xboing is my all-time favorite game. I wasted many hours in the late '90's playing it on a Sun workstation and later on linux. It's too bad it doesn't seem to be available any more, and none of the more recent games like it are as good in my opinion.

    --
    Sig (appended to the end of comments you post, 120 chars)
    1. Re:xboing by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      https://packages.debian.org/un...

      You can easily get it for debian and the code is out there for compiling.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    2. Re:xboing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not available any more? It's in the Debian repos. What am I missing?

    3. Re:xboing by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      About ten years ago I tried building it and couldn't. It was already quite old. It's almost good enough to be worth putting together an old Slackware box ( say, 1.2.18 kernel or so, with sb16- some of us DO have hardware like that still in piles) Hmm, that's a worthwhile project, actually...

  54. Nethack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    just discovered the endless maze of nethack. Never bored anymore when I have my phone. Sometimes end up in the bathroom for too long though ;)

  55. MOO2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Masters of Orion 2 -- just one of the finest space 4X games ever.

    Table games: Risk, Rummikub, and, of course, Cosmic Wimpout

  56. From my youth, here is my pick-list. by Anon-Admin · · Score: 1

    Pacman
    Ms. Pacman
    Pole Position
    Battle Zone
    Jungle hunt
    Defender
    Dig-Dug
    Frogger
    and
    Robotron

    And they all fit on 2 150k (664block) floppies for my commodore 64 or 1 double sided 5.25" floppy. :P

  57. Don't know where to begin by Cinder6 · · Score: 1

    I have over 1000 games at this point, and I have no idea how to answer this question. The problem is that games that I like might not line up with games you like. I would call Panzer Dragoon Saga a must-play, but if you don't like JRPGs, then you won't like it. I consider Radiant Silvergun the pinnacle of the vertical shooting genre, but if you don't like those, then why would you waste $120 and go through the hassle of making sure you can play Japanese Saturn games? At the same time, I'm not big on the hardcore simulation games, so I have no idea if Train Simulator is good or not. I don't like sports games, so even though NBA Jam is widely considered one of the best of the genre, I'm uncomfortable recommending it.

    That said, I think there are a few classics that most people will enjoy if they have even a passing interest in games. Games like Super Mario World (or SMB3), Mega Man X, Metal Slug, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 are very safe bets. They're quick and accessible without being too hard or too easy.

    I think a better way to approach this question is to look at what would be the best introductory game for various genres. Here are a few of my picks.

    Adventure games: Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis; Legend of Kyrandia 2: The Hand of Fate; Myst (or Riven)
    FPS: Doom (1 or 2); Half-Life 2; Wolfenstein: The New Order
    Platformer: Super Mario World
    Shooter: Radiant Silvergun; Ikaruga
    Run 'n' gun: Metal Slug; Contra
    JRPG: Chrono Trigger
    CRPG: Planescape: Torment; Baldur's Gate 2
    WRPG: Oblivion; Skyrim

    With any list of this nature, there are glaring omissions, and many people would disagree with my choices (though I did pick popular games). One thing to note is that I pretty much picked single-player games. I think the best thing you can do is download ROM packs for various consoles and try the games out. See what you like, then research more games like them.

    --
    If you can't convince them, convict them.
    1. Re:Don't know where to begin by soccerisgod · · Score: 1

      CRPG: Planescape: Torment

      QFT. That game is just awesome incarnate.

      --
      If a train station is a place where a train stops, what's a workstation?
  58. Best Games? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Settlers of Catan, Munchkin, Risk, The Great Dalmudi, and Cards against humanity are my must haves.

    Oh wait you are talking VIDEO GAMEs and not real games.... sorry.

  59. unreal tournament. by polar+red · · Score: 2

    UT2004, certainly if you can invite some friends over.

    --
    Yes, I'm left. You have a problem with that?
    1. Re:unreal tournament. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      AS-Outback was always good for a laugh or two, or a whole day's worth with my friends.

      Once, we tried CTF-Joust with Redeemer Arena. No points were scored. Also, CTF-Joust with 16v16 bots where we actually managed to score a point.

  60. Planescape: Torment by dotd · · Score: 2

    Personally I think Planescape: Torment is the best infinity engine game by far.

    1. Re:Planescape: Torment by kruach+aum · · Score: 1

      Good story, terrible gameplay.

  61. Legos... in a game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Creationary is amazing. Like pictionary, but you build the objects out of Legos instead of drawing them. Think you are a good builder? This is a good way to find out.

  62. Subjective list of some faves by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow this is broad! I'll throw out some of my faves. Fluxx (card-based and very fun); Cards Against Humanity (ensure no prudes present, or it can be uncomfortable, to say the least); Carcassone (depending on the size of the group). PC-based: Baldur's Gate; Monkey Island; Grim Fandango; Wing Comander; Civilization (any of them will do). Nintendo based: Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, Metroid. OK, gotta stop now, and rebuild my amazon and GOG purchasing lists now...

  63. Party Games by twistedsymphony · · Score: 1

    I have a full-sized Dance Dance Revolution machine, always a hit at parties. If you don't have the space then Rock Band is a good party game too, basically karaoke + plastic instruments for the introverts. Other video games I like at parties are You Don't Know Jack and Typing of the Dead (for Sega Dreamcast as it supports 2 players) and Wii Sports. For Board games Apples to Apples and Cards Against humanity are popular party games but I find that The Resistance is a lot more fun once A2A and CAH have been played to death.

    1. Re:Party Games by Sowelu · · Score: 1

      For anyone looking for nice dance pads instead of full machines... Since Cobalt Flux ones are hard to find now, Precision Dance Pads seems to be the current best-in-class. (Spent many hours researching, might as well share results.)

  64. Party games by Sowelu · · Score: 1

    When you have to entertain large groups of people, and you don't want to worry about any of them having to sit down and learn a new time-consuming game, keep copies of The Resistance and Are You a Werewolf around. (Yes, Werewolf is fine with scraps of paper, but the cards are fun.) You can explain them in minutes, and they make people a heck of a lot more social than most board games. The Resistance is better if you don't want any players to be eliminated, but you should only use it in groups that already know each other...it's a lot of fun to see the evil scheming side of people, but it makes terrible first impressions.

  65. Games on hand for get togethers. by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 1

    All of my friends are assholes, so i only have Mario Kart 8 and Dokapon Kingdom around for game night.

    also now I don't host game nights.

    --
    Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
  66. Depends which decade... by bswarm · · Score: 1

    70's Pong
    80's Tempest, Mario Series
    90's Sonic Series, Gran Turismo
    00's Gran Turismo again
    10's Nothing Special

  67. Games I keep going back to. by StrangeBrew · · Score: 1

    -Civilizations 3 or 4; -Uno (for mixed age family games); -Medieval 2- Total War

  68. Since many people are responding with board games by pr0t0 · · Score: 1

    Board Games (broad-ish appeal, nothing heavy):
    Cards Against Humanity
    Zombie Dice
    Settlers of Catan
    Ticket to Ride
    Pandemic
    Dominion
    A couple of Magic the Gathering starter sets
    Plain old deck of cards

    PC:
    Diablo II - This is the only game I think I consistently install from one PC to the next. It usually involves one of my friends saying "Hey, we should start an old-school D2 night once a week!" Because of this, I think every PC I've had since 1997 has had Diablo on it at some point.

    RPGs:
    Pathfinder, or whatever your favorite flavor of D&D is
    Shadowrun

    Android/iPhone:
    Clash of Clans

    --
    I'm sorry, but your opinion seems to be wrong.
  69. Starcraft (The Original) by ChefJeff789 · · Score: 1

    I'll go ahead and hope that this is already posted on here somewhere, but you've got to include one of the greatest monoliths of strategy gaming (any game that becomes a country's national past-time, had continuous support for more than ten years, and put eSports on the map for a lot of people deserves a mention). Starcraft (the original, with Brood War if you'd like) is one of the most well-balanced and well-respected strategy games out there, so if you like RTS at all, this should be included. Also, it runs perfectly on ancient machines, so if you can find a few friends with a PC of any kind, it's easy to get a LAN party going. Plus, no always-online requirements, and you only have to own one copy of the game to play it legally with friends! Many fond memories... Also, Munchkin is a blast.

  70. Top 20 for me by munclesonkey · · Score: 1

    Tabletop/paper and pen: Axis and Allies (any version) Shogun/Samurai Swords/Ikusa Settlers of Catan Carcasonne (any version) Stone Age Agricola Chess Rifts (Palladium books) Go Puerto Rico Computer: WoW Diablo 1-3 Age Of Empires 1-3 Hearts Of Iron (any version or anything Paradox makes basically) Total War games (Shogun, Medieval, Rome, Empire) Civ (any version been playing since it was just Civilization) Master of Orion (1 or 3) Neverwinter Nights series Baldur's Gate series Runescape (don't laugh too hard)

  71. This must be a test of humanity by alien intellect by Ghosthorseman · · Score: 1
    @RailGunner has a good list. I might replace Final Fantasy 9 with Final Fantasy 3 or 5, but the Zeldas, Metroid, and Castlevanias that he mentions are strong choices.

    And I'll agree with others that Mario Kart is a good choice. I was always partial to the older Battle Mode part of the game. I think that will serve you well in your interstellar travels.

    Let me add Pikmin3 to round out the list. It's beautiful and intelligent and endlessly playable. I'm sure your machines can design algorithms to solve some of the levels, but the zen of it is to play until the ancient parts of your brain kick in and guide you to the right solution.

    I hope humanity passes the test. But if not, could you take me to live in the intergalactic zoo?

  72. old school ?? by Archfeld · · Score: 1

    #1 STOP USING 'old school', you aren't, and you sound like a douche bag.
    #2 DICE - Zilch, 10,000, liar's dice...etc
    #3 A deck of cards, Canasta, Bridge, Poker, Pinochle.
    #4 Risk, Stratego, Masterpiece, Chutes and Ladders for the youngsters, and of course Monotony, aka Monopoly.
    #5 Dungeons & Dragons, or more preferably Gurps, but any pen and paper RPG is awesome.

    --
    errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
    1. Re:old school ?? by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      #1 STOP USING 'old school', you aren't, and you sound like a douche bag.

      OK, Grandpa, yes, we know it's all been downhill since the hoop and stick you used to play with ... but, really, the Atari 2600 came out in 1977, and really is considered "old school" by pretty much everybody as far as video games are concerned.

      While you might be nostalgic for the old steam powered games of your youth, anybody up to the age of 50 considers the Atari 2600 as old school. Because prior to that was Pong, and actual mechanical pin-ball.

      Now, do you need a blanket or a cup of tea? You're disturbing the children, and they're not actually on your lawn. ;-)

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:old school ?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      :> To gstoddart and Archfeld alike. Very subtle, both of you and again, a seldom and good laugh on /..

    3. Re:old school ?? by Archfeld · · Score: 1

      LOL, nah I can do without the tea or a blanket, but I could use a Newcastle. I had a pong machine, and a radio shack/tandy 16k computer as well, but my 1st machine was a heathkit I built in math class as a junior high student. I had a Atari 2600 and sadly I can still muscle memory my way through Adventure, long live the yellow Duck.
      Now excuse me while I go play a game of pinball on my vintage Delta Queen, STILL 2 plays (5 balls) for .25.

      As for age, it doesn't matter how old you are the phrase old-school makes you sound like a self-absorbed retard. Sadly looking at my comment I have to say the phrase douche bag isn't much better so I'll have to take the heat for that as well.

      --
      errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
  73. Pinball by Nyall · · Score: 1

    Attack From Mars
    Monster Bash.

    --
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification
    1. Re:Pinball by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funhouse
      Twilight zone
      Creature from the Black Lagoon
      Shadow
      Tron
      STTNG
      DrWho
      Bride of Pinbot
      Dracula

    2. Re:Pinball by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      you forgot

      RMF (Revenge From Mars Pinball)

      TSPP (the simpsons pinball party)

      LORT (lord of the rings)

      Shadow

      ACDC LE

      Banzai Run

      Batman (stern)

      Big Bang Bar

      Big Guns

      Black Night 2000

      Roller Games

      CV (Cirqus Voltaire) With 2.0 Roms

      Cactus Canyon with Continued mod

      MM (medieval madness)

      JP (Jurassic park)

      Last action hero

      DM (Demoltion Man) With the shear roms

      IJ (Indiana Jones) (not the stern one)

      JM (Johnny Mnemonic) Better then the movie

      Jolly Park

      Metallica LE

      NGG (No good gofers)

      Radical

      Road show

      Safe Cracker

      Scared Stiff

      Star Gate

      Sopranos

      Star Trek LE

      Star Trek TNG

      Addams Family gold

      White Water

      Xmen

      and more

    3. Re:Pinball by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah Pinball Arcade (aka TPA) ROCKS. load up your playstation with it and hold your own tourneys with friends. my current favorite five are creature from the black lagoon, monster bash, ripley's, scared stiff, and theatre of magic. zen pinball is also noteworthy, with their unique star wars and marvel tables, although they just don't feel or play the same way as TPA's recreations of real-world tables.

      since the original poster though didn't specify games for group-play, i'd note that the only other two games i have for the ps are, of course, GTAV and Bioshock Infinite (which includes the original Bio). i'm the same way - old-school and picky about what i'll spend my time and money on. i like engaging, unusual, unique stuff; not into any of the scads of button-mashers out there.

      on the computer, i still hold onto Darwinia and Multiwinia - chris delay/introversion has a unique take on games, and though i don't seriously get into every release (his latest, prison architect, is fascinating but not really 'fun' for me to play), it's always interesting to see what he puts out. i also still like to occasionally pull up Myth II and Diablo II. along with of course the prerequisite MAME and Stella (Atari 2600) emus, and there's tons more other emus out there also to play with.

    4. Re:Pinball by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the fuck is a LORT?

    5. Re:Pinball by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      typo

    6. Re:Pinball by kaatochacha · · Score: 1

      Good lord. In College I could NOT stop playing Twilight Zone Pinball!

  74. Battletoads by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...

    1. Re:Battletoads by HalAtWork · · Score: 1

      Only if you hate yourself, in 2 player there's a game breaking bug where you can't get past the snake level. Not that it matters because you can't get past the speed bikes unless you're some sort of savant

  75. The Great Dalmuti by lorinc · · Score: 1

    The rules are simple and you can play with almost any number of people. Even people who don't like to play games often give a try.

  76. Portal. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Portal.

  77. Nethack by Bander · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I don't understand how you kids can play Nethack on a phone.

    This old nerd needs all the keys.

  78. The List by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (in no specific order)

    Super Mario Bros. 1 & 3
    Bubble Bobble
    Tetris
    Gauntlet
    Metroid
    SNAFU
    Monkey Island series
    Planescape: Torment
    Asteroids
    Rampage
    Rise of Nations
    Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles
    Xenogears
    Joust
    Unreal Tournament 2004
    Kerbal Space Program
    Battlefield 2142
    Metal Gear Solid
    Pac-Man
    Shadowrun (Sega)
    Space Engineers
    Wing Commander series
    Freelancer
    Civilization
    Mortal Kombat II
    X3
    StarCraft
    1942
    Armored Core
    Fallout
    Tekken Tag Tournament
    Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

    Just give me all the games, please...

  79. Perfect Dark and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    PD on the N64 and TS:FP on the PS2 (or GameCube). Best multiplayer first-person shooters ever written, bar none. The only alternative would be GoldenEye (N64) for its single player mode, but Perfect Dark is the sequel and is a much better multiplayer.

  80. Since no one seems to want to answer... by uCallHimDrJ0NES · · Score: 1

    ...seems to me somebody should address the question that was asked. My personal favorites have NOTHING to do with my answer, though many of you will find that unbelievable. From my experience:

    Jenga
    Darts
    Wii Sports (Wii)
    Mario Tennis (N64)
    Mario Kart 64

    --
    Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.
    1. Re:Since no one seems to want to answer... by ndrw · · Score: 1

      If you don't mind hating your friends after the game, Mario Party can be fun.

    2. Re:Since no one seems to want to answer... by uCallHimDrJ0NES · · Score: 1

      Yeah, not bad. Kind of patience-trying, though. Lots of waiting.

      --
      Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.
  81. On iPhone... by gwstuff · · Score: 1

    Here's a listing of some of the most popular multiplayer games on iPhone. I've enjoyed playing all of these in groups.

  82. Re:Party games - Super Bomberman! by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

    Super Bomberman for the SNES w/ 4-way tap. Done!!! That's all you need.

    --
    Life is not for the lazy.
  83. Here's my list by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Blazing Star, arcade version (SNK MVS)
    Pulstar, arcade version (SNK MVS)
    R-Type, arcade version
    Rygar, arcade version
    Slap Fight, arcade version (aka A.L.C.O.N.)

  84. Jump the Shark by fleabay · · Score: 1

    is that a game? Seems like Slashdot is trying to win that one so it must be.

  85. plug for Steve Jackson by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Munchkin, Illuminati, the games are addictively fun. And a huge factor for losing friends.

  86. Deck of cards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    has almost as many games available as any console out their

  87. Chip's Challenge by Marginal+Coward · · Score: 1

    Many years ago, in the old DOS days, I loved a nice little game that most folks probably have never heard of called Chip's Challenge. Anybody remember that?

    Evidently, a modern imitation of it called "Tile World" is available. Maybe I'll have to try that sometime.

    1. Re:Chip's Challenge by Dragonslicer · · Score: 1

      I remember playing the Windows version of it. And now I want to play it again. I might have to check out the new implementations.

  88. If you like old-style arcade games, by pecosdave · · Score: 1

    Modern awesome ones to have (not going to name super obvious classics or reading other comments first):

    Beat Hazard has everything that was great about old arcade games made for a modern systems and interlaced with music you provide.

    I consider World of Goo to be a must-have.

    As for social meat-space games Cards Against Humanity is a favorite, but not exactly for all company.

    One of my favorite board games as a kid isn't being produced anymore and I can't think of another that screams it needs to be considered so, meh.

    --
    The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
  89. Obviously Tempest by tempest69 · · Score: 2

    Throw in:
    Battlezone
    Stargate (defender upgrade)
    Joust
    Doom
    T-Mek
    Descent
    Mortal Combat
    Virtua Fighter
    Space Lords
    Police 911
    Crazy Tax
    Nethack
    Rtype
    BattleTech (mech pods version)

  90. old school a little bit... by Frederic54 · · Score: 2

    Out Run, Space Harrier, Arkanoid, Ghost'n'Goblins, Commando, Boulder Dash, Sokoban, Tetris, etc.

    --
    "Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
    1. Re:old school a little bit... by Creepy · · Score: 1

      Space Harrier and 1942 both had a design flaw in that if you just keep circling you never die. I beat Space Harrier with that and gave up on 1942 after about 4 hours of play because I had to go home (and handed the game to some kid with a whole bunch of lives left). If I recall correctly, even when dip switched to hard 1942 was still easy. The flaw was fixed in the sequel.

      I liked Rush 'N Attack more than Commando, but probably my all time favorite "classic" arcade game is Bosconian. It was never super popular, but it did win a bunch of awards. First game with a continue timer, too. I also absolutely loved Rolling Thunder, but hated the sequel (graphics on the original looked better, IMO) and never played the Genesis second sequel. I also loved Shinobi (I liked side scrollers a lot, can't say I'm as big of a fan these days).

  91. IL2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you are into combat flight simulators.

  92. Everdrives by nowsharing · · Score: 1

    Pick a system that relates to you and your friends' nostalgic gaming eras: NES, Genesis, N64, etc. Track down a nice console for cheap on craigslist, and then just buy an Everdrive for it. The Everdrive is a flash cart that allow you to jack up an SD card with roms and play them on the real hardware. For the price of five to ten common games, you could instead buy an Everdrive and have every game ever made.

    I personally avoid subjecting friends to Atari or emulated games.

  93. Eclectic Mix by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

    My Essential (old-school) Games:

    - Camageddon (the first one, or the High Octane re-release, which the Android version is based on)
    - Final Fantasy VII
    - Kirby
    - Nethack
    - Crazy Taxi (way more fun than it should be!)
    - Die Hard: Arcade
    - Time Crisis II
    - Mortal Kombat II
    - Street Fighter II
    - Tony Hawk Pro Skater II (for the soundtrack as much as the gameplay)
    - Battletoads
    - BattleTech
    - Command and Conquer (original)
    - Frogger (original)
    - Spyro the Dragon (original)
    - Breakout

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    1. Re:Eclectic Mix by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      Non-computerized:

      - Shit-tonne of old school Magic: The Gathering cards (pre-Urza)
      - Chess board
      - Deck of playing cards
      - handful of 6-sided die

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  94. DEFCON by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can ask if your guests would like to play a nice game of chess. Inevitably they will decline. Then you may ask if they would like to play a game of global thermonuclear war.

  95. Scud storm incoming! by slashmydots · · Score: 1

    You just can't beat C&C Generals Zero Hour. It's the most fun RTS I've ever played. It doesn't stress you out like Starcraft II and is isn't thoroughly unintelligent like Tiberium Wars and isn't clunky like Red Alert 2.

  96. the best game of all: by slashdice · · Score: 2

    Hide The Salami.

    --
    Copyright (c) 1990 - 2014 Dice. All rights reserved. Use of this comment is subject to certain Terms and Conditions.
  97. If wanted to waste hours of my time... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Age of Mythology

  98. Mass Effect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    all three of them.

  99. Monster Slugathon Fantasy Wargame by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Titan ... by Avalon Hill

    It's a board game, but there is a port to Apple.

  100. Best Games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Galaga. Ches. Poker. Does this meat smell funny? How long can you hold this lit road flare. Beer Pong. There are thousands of them.

  101. Axis and Allies Board game by Maxwell · · Score: 1

    let the all nighters begin.

  102. My favourites by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What follows is a list of the games I've found most entertaining for each of the formats I've had access to. Contemporary titles are not included as a) I havent found any recent games as captivating and b) If they had, the memory would be so reason that it would hard not to be biased towards it.
    PC: Half Life or Command&Conquer (the very first one). Ultima Online is a good contender if MMO's count.
    NES: Kirby's Adventure or Link II
    SNES: King Arthur's World or Final Fantasy 5
    Playstation1: Metal Gear Solid (hate me if you want, I never liked FF7 as much as everyone else, it seems)
    Playstation2: Grand Theft Auto 3 and its derivatives
    Pen and Paper: Dungeons&Dragons (ruleset 3.5, with all prestige classes, without exhalted deeds or book or vile darkness)

  103. D&D by MagickalMyst · · Score: 2

    Dungeons & Dragons RPG (Gary Gygax era).

    --
    Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
  104. HO Scale Trains by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My box of HO scale trains that my Dad got me is the best game I got. The sad part is my Dad died three years ago so my dream of us setting it up when he retires is gone. I can still set it up some day though hopefully before I go and just remember the good times.

  105. M.U.L.E. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I still love the c64 version best, but Planet MULE still gets played on and off quite a bit.
    www.planetmule.com

  106. I'll bite by Charliemopps · · Score: 2

    My list:

    Rogue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R...
    Seriously been playing this game since the early 80s and have never "Won" there are thousands of variants but there's a particularly nice Android version: https://play.google.com/store/...

    Ultima 7/7.5: http://www.gog.com/game/ultima...
    Revolutionary when it came out. My friends and I in high-school literally sat their with our mouths hanging open the first time we launched the game. The MMO based on it was one of the first I'd call a true mmo: http://www.uo.com/ (let the flame wars begin on that statement, just so you know ahead of time: I don't care)

    https://www.everquest.com/ -- first 3D mmo worth its salt. Huge time sink though.

    Robocraft -- Build robots out of legos... then blow them up. Super fun. It's my current game. http://store.steampowered.com/...

  107. PS[123] Games by buggsdummy · · Score: 1

    Raystorm Next Tetris

  108. For (video) games that I actually still own... by eepok · · Score: 1

    In no order as order changes per mood:

    Knights of the Old Republic (1 & 2)
    Dragon Age: Origins
    Everquest
    Counterstrike (all versions)
    Half-Life (1 & 2)
    Portal (1)
    Syberia (1 & 2)

  109. pc games by Thunder_Princes · · Score: 0

    loved the original Zork, going way back. currently i would say i love Eve, League of Legends (what is funnier than a rage quit), WoW is still lots of fun, especially when new expansions take place, though the gaming culture is mean there. i have to admit i played Angry Birds until i became an epic pro. oh, and for arcade i still like Deer Hunter.

  110. X-Com & The Operational Art of War by MarkvW · · Score: 1

    No doubt about it. X-Com is the greatest game ever created in the entire history of mankind. Even once I figured out how to win in the first turn it was still fun to play.

    Next would be TOAW. It's the best war boardgame ever made. If it's been improved upon, please let me know.

    I also loved Delta Force Land Warrior--until the cheaters destroyed it.

  111. Total Annihilation, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Total Annihilation. Real-Time Strategy. Multiplayer with multiple computers. Check the web for easter egg to take it from 4 player skirmishes to 10 player skirmishes, and similarly to tweak resolution (via registry editing) up to 1600x1200 (or whatever you have). I have it running under Mac OSX with WINE.

    Worms 2 Turn based 2D cartoon combat. Multiplayer with hotseat swaping. I have it running under MacOSX with WINE too. Was not able to get it running under Windows 7. (Perhaps we should port WINE to windows.)

    Dungeon Keeper. Real Time resource management.

    Plants vs Zombies. Row-based real-time strategy. Offline version is better. More options and activities. It's like $10 at Walmart. But click that link and play it now!

    Diablo II. (No longer supported under MacOSX natively, but works with WINE for me.) ($20 @ Walmart.)

    Starcraft/Warcraft.

    Back in the day, Elite on the Apple II.

    Solitaire. With the ability to back up and take another set of choices, the game becomes far more interesting.

    1. Re:Total Annihilation, etc. by riT-k0MA · · Score: 1

      I was looking for this comment. TA and DK practically defined my later childhood. So many good memories...
      TA's new successor is Planetary Annihilation (AKA TA V2).
      DK's new successor is War For The Overworld (AKA DK 3).

  112. BattleZone ][ by dubbayu_d_40 · · Score: 1

    FPS+RTS was awesome. Buggy launch killed it but still maintained by one of the original programmers.

  113. Re:For mixed-age crowd: Pictionary, Bananagrams, S by ndrw · · Score: 1

    Bananagrams is the most age-independent word game I know;

    We have a good time with bananagrams as well, I just have to remember not to be too happy when I do better than my kids.

    Set: as above.

    I absolutely loved it when my 9 year old daughter would beat me at set. Well, after the initial pain of losing went away.

    Anyone else like Rummikub? Similar to these games, anyone can play and do well, it just takes a little bit of a different way of looking at games when you can re-arrange the tiles to suit your needs...

  114. Parcheesi by tquasar · · Score: 1

    It would take hours for me to learn this game again, it is difficult to play. My brother Pete had a collection of challenging board games and our dad threw them in the trash after Pete moved out to goto UC Berkeley. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  115. Just be honest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Tell your new ‘friends’ you’re not really a gamer and you really just want them to fix your computer.

  116. Board games by steveha · · Score: 1

    For group get-togethers, here are some great board games to have on hand.

    Can't Stop -- 2 to 4 players. An elegantly simple "push your luck" game. You only need to make one decision: keep going, or stop?
    http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/41/cant-stop

    Incan Gold -- 3 to 8 players. This is a reworked version of a classic called Diamonte. It's another "push your luck" game, but it's very different from Can't Stop in that it's group game. The whole group plays in parallel: they all decide whether to keep going, or stop, and all reveal their choice simultaneously. This means that the 8-player game doesn't really take longer than the 3-player game!
    http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37759/incan-gold

    I'll second the vote for Pandemic. But if you want something a little simpler than Pandemic, with a less depressing theme, you can play Forbidden Island (2-4 players). Forbidden Island was designed by the same guy who designed Pandemic, and uses many of the same game mechanics. I love the art, which reminds me of Myst; and it is inexpensive and doesn't take up much space in your closet. Very suitable for kids.
    http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/65244/forbidden-island

    All of these suggestions are good for convincing non-gamers to try playing a board game.

    P.S. When I was a teenager, some friends and I used to play Wiz-War, and had a blast. It's a simple game: either steal two treasures from other players, or be the last player standing. There is a deck of cards, which includes all kinds of crazy spells you can cast.

    Once when I was playing, another player hit me with Slow Death, which makes you lose one hit point for each card you draw; I countered with Reversal, which reverses the effects of a spell, and started drawing two cards each turn (the max). I thought this was a good thing, but the other players were now very worried about me, and they all ganged up on me and just killed me. So the Slow Death worked after all, in a fashion. :-)

    The game is now available in a deluxe edition (which I haven't played yet).
    http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/104710/wiz-war-eighth-edition

    --
    lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
  117. My recs by SailorNash · · Score: 1

    NES: Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!, Contra, Ninja Gaiden, Mega Man 2 & 3, Blaster Master, North and South, River City Ransom, Double Dragon, Bionic Commando, Final Fantasy, Super Mario Bros. 3, Castlevania 2 & 3, Bayou Billy, Batman, Guerilla War, Shadowgate, TMNT: The Arcade Game, Terminator 2, Rampage

    Game Boy: Gargoyle's Quest, Metroid II, Tetris, Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Dr. Mario, Duck Tales

    SNES: Super Metroid, Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV and VI, Breath of Fire, Super Mario World, Starfox, Secret of Mana, Street Fighter II Turbo, Contra III, Earthworm Jim, Mario Kart, Killer Instinct, Final Fight, Demon's Crest, Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge, NBA Jam, Super Ghosts & Ghouls, Magic Sword

    N64: Goldeneye 007, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Smash Bros., WCW/nWo Revenge, WWF Wrestlemania 2000, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

    PSone: Final Fantasy VII, Tekken 3, Wipeout 3: Special Edition, Star Ocean 2, Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo, Driver, Tenchu 2, Final Fantasy Tactics, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

    PS2: Dynasty Warriors 4, Samurai Warriors 2, Guitar Hero series, God of War series, Okami, Soul Calibur 2, Katamari Damacy, Primal, Psychonauts, Evil Dead: Fistful of Boomstick, Spawn, the Punisher

    PS3: Skyrim, Dynasty Warriors 7, Arcana Heart 3, BlazBlue series, Tekken 6, Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F, Flower, Braid, The Walking Dead: Seasons One and Two, Portal, NCAA Football series, Dragon's Crown, Marvel Ultimate Alliance series, Borderlands series, Mirror's Edge, Fat Princess, Castle Crashers, Hard Corps, Transformers: War for Cybertron, Rocksmith, Brutal Legend, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

    PC: King's Quest, Quest for Glory, Uplink, Star Wars/TIE Fighter, Warcraft 2, Starcraft, Diablo, Shogun: Total War, Battle Chess, Zork, Neverwinter Nights

    Board: Settlers of Catan, Arkham Horror, Kill Doctor Lucky, Fireball Island, Cosmic Encounters, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Pandemic, Risk: Legacy

    Card: Munchkin, Sentinels of the Multiverse, Ninja Burger, Before I Kill You Mr. Bond, Chrononauts, Cards Against Humanity, Magic the Gathering

  118. RISK by ghinckley68 · · Score: 1

    and the older the game board and pieces the better

    --
    Linux modi 2.6.26-2-parisc
  119. Planescape: Torment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    With Planescape: Torment in the ring this is not even a contest!

  120. Stonekeep by Paxinum · · Score: 0

    Stonekeep - Excellent dungeon crawler. The graphics is still the best game graphics I have ever seen, the music and feeling is superb, and the story is great.

  121. I don't by oldmac31310 · · Score: 1

    watch films/listen to music/appreciate art/play sports (etc.) what are the best of these in their genre? Let's expand it to include life the universe and everything. Just tell me what's the bestest shit ever.

    --
    http://www.acetonestudio.com
  122. And of course by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cribbage, Chess, Mario Kart, Civilization and of course drinking huge amounts whiskey and passing out.

  123. Myst by nightcats · · Score: 1

    I don't play anymore either, but I recall really liking the Myst games. The graphics, music, and the puzzles were all terrific.

    --
    Development is programmable; Discovery is not programmable. (Fuller)
  124. Now THAT's good trolling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ha!! I LOLed

  125. NOT Subjective by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The correct answer is a card game: 52 pickup

  126. Quirkle is cool by disposable60 · · Score: 1

    A Tabletop game that challenges anybody over about 5 (assuming normal vision)

    --
    You're looking for quotes? See my journal.
  127. Cards Against Humanity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    'Nuff said!

  128. My 2 by wickedsteve · · Score: 1

    After Burner II (1987 Arcade) Call of Duty (2003 PC-Mac) Descent (1995 PC-Mac) Discs of Tron (1983 Arcade) Gears of War (2006 XBox 360) Heavy Barrel (1987 Arcade) Mass Effect (2007 XBox 360) Metal Gear Solid (1998 PS1) Myst (1993 PC-Mac) Omega Race (1982 Arcade) Phoenix (1980 Arcade) R-Type (1987 Arcade) Section Z (1985 Arcade) Sinistar (1982 Arcade) Space Harrier (1985 Arcade) Spy Hunter (1983 Arcade) Steel Talons (1991 Arcade) Time Pilot (1983 Arcade) Uncharted (2007 PS3) Unreal Tournament (1999 PC-Mac) Zanac (1987 NES)

  129. Gateway games! by ageoffri · · Score: 1

    For quite some time my gateway game has been Ticket to Ride. Easy to learn how to play. Doesn't take hours to finish and the game has a good visual aspect. For a more fun party time, I would say Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity. Just taking a quick look at my collection http://boardgamegeek.com/colle... , another good one to have is Acquire, plays quick and easy rules. I also like to pull out 7 Wonders for light gaming. For more involved games my go to's are either Eclipse or Twilight Imperium. Just depends, 2-3 hours or 10+ available?

    --
    -- Slashdot, making the Left look conservative since 1997.
  130. Here is my (incomplete) list: by alaskana98 · · Score: 1

    Not saying these are the best games, but these are some of my favorites from some classic systems: -Atari 2600: Hero, Pitfall, Pitfall 2, Combat, Frogger, Yars Revenge -NES: Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3, Bionic Commando, Battletoads, Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, Mega Man 2, Castlevania 3, Dr. Mario -SNES: Super Mario World, Pilotwings, Final Fantasy 2 (IV), 3 (VI), Secret of Mana, Street Fighter 2, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, E.V.O -N64: Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarnia of Time, Cruisn' USA -Arcade: Daytona USA, Star Wars (the original vector one), Willow, Attax, Street Fighter 2, Final Fight, M.E.R.C.S, Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, Virtua Fighter 1, 2, 3 -3DO: The Need For Speed, Gex, Wing Commander 3, Star Control 2 -Gameboy: Tetris, Super Mario Land, Gargoyle's Quest, Final Fantasy Adventure, Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker -Sega Saturn: Virtua Fighter 1, 2, Daytona USA, Street Fighter Alpha, X Men: Children of the Atom, Panzer Dragoon 1, 2

    1. Re:Here is my (incomplete) list: by HeckRuler · · Score: 1

      Do you want a M.E.R.C.S jamma board?
      I gutted an old busted arcade cabinet for a mame machine. The monitor was dead, but the sound fired up, so the board is... probably... ok.
      I've got no use for it and it's been cluttering up my basement for a while.

    2. Re:Here is my (incomplete) list: by alaskana98 · · Score: 1

      Yes, that would be fantastic. I'm pretty interested in the CPS 1 hardware, on which M.E.R.C.S runs and always thought it would be cool to have one of those boards. You can message me at alaskana_98@yahoo.com if you are still interested in getting rid of it. Thanks!

  131. Origin's Ultima Series by peter.kingsbury · · Score: 1

    I grew up on Ultima IV and V, and when Ultima VII (Black Gate + Forge of Virtue) came out... well now. I'll just happily exist in this virtual world forever.

  132. Secret of Monkey Island by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Secret of Monkey Island

  133. We don't own games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't think he got the memo. We don't own games anymore, especially when we can't resell them or when they can be taken away or deactivated at a moments notice.
    I will no go cry quietly in the corner...

  134. kerbal space program by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Its rocket science the video game!

    Best thing since sliced hookers

  135. Super NES by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    - Super Mario Kart
    - Legend of Zelda
    - Super Mario World

    And that's it.

  136. BANG! by neo-mkrey · · Score: 1

    The card game (for groups of 7 is best).

  137. OIDS by johnrpenner · · Score: 1

    OIDS — for the Atari ST, and the Mac OSX (powerPC) — combines the best elements of Defender, Lunar Lander, Asteroids, Gravitar and Thrust, with its inertia based movement, and level editor. one of the best early games. :-D

    Mac OSX version by David Hewit: http://www.xavagus.com/

    Atari ST ROM by David Hewit: http://www.atarimania.com/game...

  138. two classes of games by ftobin · · Score: 1

    My wife and I very commonly play games with our friends. We break games up into two types: party games, and "long-form" games.
    The party games are meant for slightly larger groups, with high iterations.
    Long-form games are good for 4-6 people, spending the night playing one game in a more "serious" manner.

    Favorite party games:
    * Catchphrase (great party-starter)
    * Turbo Cranium
    * Charoodles
    * Imaginiff

    Favorite long-form games (3-4 hours):
    * Settlers of Catan (with at least Seafarers or Traders & Barbarians)
    * Ticket to Ride (Europe)
    * Carcassonne

    We tried Pandemic, a co-op game, but it wasn't that big of a hit. I'm hoping we try Robinson Crusoe: Cursed Island soon.

    1. Re:two classes of games by ottothecow · · Score: 1
      You should try Lords of Waterdeep.

      Don't let the D&D tie-in scare you off (it literally has zero bearing on the game besides giving a general "theme" and providing names and artwork to put on the cards/board).

      Best with 3 or 4 players (a little off with 5 but workable). Super easy to learn and teach, especially if 1 player already knows the "detailed" rules...everything is laid out on the board so other than basic gameplay, there is nothing to remember (e.g. If you place your piece on this space, you will get 2 orange blocks, as shown by the picture of two orange blocks). I think there is an iphone version, so someone can get acquainted with the rules prior to introducing the game to the group.

      --
      Bottles.
  139. Very short list by Argos · · Score: 1

    Robot Odyssey
    The Space Game (Flash)
    The Ancient Art of War
    Wesnoth
    Trap Master (Flash)
    Stars!
    Fracas (Bomberman clone)
    Tetris

  140. Marathon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Marathon!!

  141. No adventure games? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can't believe no one has mentioned:

    The Secret of Monkey Island
    Full Throttle

  142. Valve Combo by ottothecow · · Score: 1
    For PC games, looking at modern games you might actually play: Depends who you play with, but if you want to be able to have games that you can play with friends (online or LAN) that are pretty standardly owned across large groups of people...hard to go wrong with the basic Valve Stack.

    Helps that there are crazy steam sales all of the time, and many of these games can be had for 99 cents.

    • Counterstrike--might as well have 1.6, CS:s, and CS:GO...I held off from CS:GO, but it is really quite delightful to play with a group of friends who aren't hardcore CS players. The institutionalized version of Gun Game, and the smaller arena maps are great in a small LAN party situation.
    • Team Fortress 2. TF2 is great, and it is free. Harder to play with just a small group, but you can all join a big server together and have fun.
    • Left 4 Dead 2. Great coop play with 4 people and devastating versus play with 8. Excellent LAN game, but no problems playing online either.
    • DOTA 2. Not my favorite game, but it is free and widely played. AI is very good, so you can play decent LAN games with any number of players (either coop vs AI or split into teams with AI filling in the gaps) without feeling like you are carting around an idiot (which is how playing 3-player L4D2 often feels).

    I am sure there are more games you could add to the list, but if you have those 4, odds are you can find a game in common with pretty much every PC gamer out there.

    --
    Bottles.
  143. Turn-based strategy lite, fantasy division by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I prefer turn-based strategy games.
    I do not enjoy the more complex ones that require large amounts of micromanaging.
    And I gravitate towards the ones that have fantasy elements.
    In this "sweet spot" I would recommend the following titles:

    Heroes of Might and Magic III and V
    Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes (NOT the original Fallen Enchantress)
    King's Bounty Armored Princess and/or King's Bounty Warriors of the North
    Warlock - Master of the Arcane
    Age of Wonders Shadow Magic (Age of Wonders III has recently been released, but I have had no hands on experience with it.)

    King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame. This is a mix of turn-based and real time (which judicious use of the pause button makes more turn-based)

    I also greatly enjoyed playing Skyrim.

  144. Well why not by HeckRuler · · Score: 1

    Might as well throw in my own picks:

    Final Fantasy VII (Just because it was my first RPG, which dates me)
    Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
    Metal Gear Solid
    Final Fantasy Tactics
    Chrono Trigger
    Super Mario Brothers (Just for it's legacy)
    Zelda
    X-COM
    Civ (the first, and possibly IV)
    Nethack/Slash'EM/DungeonCrawl
    Whatever the latest RTS game is: Dune / Warcraft / Starcraft / WC3 / C&C /SC2
    Scorched Earth
    Exile
    Natuk
    Dwarf Fortress
    Spleunky
    Minecraft
    Portal
    Gish
    Tori-Bash
    Kerbal
    Thief

    Wait... Boardgame/tabletop?
    D&D
    Shadowrun
    Paranoia
    Chess

  145. Finding cool stuff by TiggertheMad · · Score: 1

    Don't over think this, the question is fishing for cool games that are worth investigating further. Just drops some names for people to go look up.

    As a kid, had played all the good video / rpg games, and could talk about them in depth with others. Nowadays, I don't think I could even name all the game genres...

    --

    HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
    1. Re:Finding cool stuff by JMJimmy · · Score: 2

      http://www.trueachievements.co... as this thread illustrates, one person's gem is another's turd. Or the reverse http://www.trueachievements.co...

      It's not over-thinking it, it's just basic common sense. A decade or so ago when I worked at a video store I had a massive following (turned out to be 50% of the business) because I recognized the simple fact that when someone asks for a recommendation, they don't want what you thought was good, they wanted what they think is good. Customer who comes in and loves b grade horrors isn't going to like Downton Abby, but they'll love Eight Legged Freaks. Games are no different. I can swear up and down that Bioshock, System Shock 2, and Masters of Orion 2 are some of the best games ever made - but if the person prefers RPGs they're not going to agree with me.

      Not saying don't ask these types of questions but if you're going to ask the community about this sort of thing be more specific as overly broad questions serve no one but those seeking to argue.

  146. No Catan, please by damaki · · Score: 1

    If you want to go for fun tabletop games, forget this smoking pile of s*** that is Catan. It was nice 15y ago, now it's just clunky, random and too complicated at the same time.
    So, if you want all fun and no brain, Munchkin, Dobble or Smash Up. If you got time on your hands (2 or 3 hours), Talisman is still pretty intense. If you want something brainier, but still fun, 7 Wonders is a quick learn and fun. Rab and his cardboard children features on RPS would be a good pointer for other cool tabletop games.
    For console party games, Mario Kart, Rayman Raving Rabbids, good ole Super Bomberman 4 or 5, or even Street Fighter IV will do the trick.

    --
    Stupidity is the root of all evil.
  147. Games are for children by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Me, I like a quarter ounce of pharmaceutical cocaine and a couple of teenage
    hookers, in the back of a G-V at FL 360.

    Try to find a computer game which matches that, you fucking losers.

                                                                                                          - Mark Cuban

  148. Cooperative board & card games by RPI+Geek · · Score: 1

    I find myself strongly favoring the cooperative board and card games I've played in the last few years. Sentinels of the Multiverse, Forbidden Island & Forbidden Desert, Hanabi, and Pandemic are excellent and the experience of working together is something that I never thought I'd find outside of a computer game.

    --

    - "Nobody came out that night, not one was ever seen. But Old Man Stauf is waiting there, crazy sick and mean!"
  149. NetTrek by jsepeta · · Score: 1

    I wish someone would update this for Windows or OS X. I played this for hours with my buddies in the ND computer lab back in 1990-1991.

    --
    Remember kids, if you're not paying for the service, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT THAT IS BEING SOLD.
  150. There are a few by hamishfor · · Score: 1

    I'm probably on the younger end of the scale according to /. - however my list would personally look like this: I don't think games should be included if I wouldn't enjoy playing it today. Good games should traverse time with ease, time is a true test of a games fundamental design. Guitar Hero (perhaps controversial, but its phenominal success and light hearted fun captured millions) DotA (wc3 mod, genre defining anyone?) Half-Life (could include Counter-Strike here) Pokemon (red/green, hand held adventures) Doom (or Quake, I had wolfenstein, but I believe Doom was more fun) Starcraft (or Dune II, hard one... personally I love Dune II, but the fact SC is still played today speaks volumes) Morrowind (3D RPG) Streetfighter II Civilization Super Mario Bros

  151. Pandemic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Pandemic. the board game

  152. Well Lessee by Greyfox · · Score: 1
    Cards against humanity if you're having friends over. Unless they're Mormons. Then, cards against humanity with all the expansion packs.

    I've probably put 80+ hours into dwarf fortress. And I haven't even started doing megaprojects yet. I did have a king set up residence once, before everyone died.

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  153. Firaxis made an X-Com remake and sequel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Firaxis made an X-Com remake a couple of years ago, based on the Unreal 3 engine. Firaxis made a sequel worthy of the original X-Com. I didn't think it would happen, but it did. Firaxis was living up to its reputation.

  154. Portal, South Park Stick of Truth, Monkey Island.. by HnT · · Score: 2

    Portal
    Porta2
    SouthPark Stick of Truth
    Monkey Island 1+2 (+3)
    HalfLife (Source), Opposing Force, HalfLife2
    Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
    Unreal Tournament '99
    Quake, QuakeWorld, Quake2, Quake3Arena
    F.E.A.R.
    Splinter Cell and/or Thief
    Sam & Max
    Neverwinter Nights
    Gianna Sisters

    --
    "Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." - Mark Twain
  155. subjective list below, by genre and platform by mr_mischief · · Score: 1

    These are in no particular order of preference, as I heavily prefer these to most other games. I'll try to put them in broad categories and mention the platform.

    • Megalomania - arcade style falling threat shooter - Atari 2600
    • Gauntlet - cooperative overhead maze runner - arcade (some home systems may suffice, but the arcade is the best)
    • Pitfall - side-scrolling platformer/runner - several, but 2600 is mine
    • Axis and Allies - WWII board game - board game, Avalon Hill then some other companies. There are decent computer implementations. The Hasbro PC version is good except the AI is weak.
    • chess - board game
    • Spades, Euchre, Oh Heck - trick-taking card games - get Hoyle and a deck of cards, really
    • Poker, especially Hold 'Em and Omaha - betting card games - get Hoyle and a deck of cards, really
    • Fallout, Fallout 2 - isometric overhead CRPG - DOS (1 only), Windows, Mac OS, OS X (1 only), OnLive (I've played only on DOS/Win)
    • Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas - first person (with camera changes to 3rd over-shoulder if you like) CRPG - Windows, PS3, Xbox 360
    • Half-Life, Team Fortress Classic - first-person shooters - Windows, Linux, OS X, PS2 (Half-Life only)
    • Half-Life 2 - first-person shooter - Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, OS X, Linux, NVIDIA Shield
    • Unreal Tournament or Unreal Tournament 2004 (take your pick) - first-person shooter - Dreamcast, Linux,
      Mac OS, Mac OS X, PlayStation 2, Windows
    • Trivial Pursuit - trivia board game - board game or one of many computer implementations
    • Asteroids - 2d space shooter with wrap-around threats from all direction - arcade, 2600, others
    • Super Mario Brothers - platform run and jump - NES
    • Bionic Commando - platform run, jump, swing, and shoot - NES
    • Genghis Khan - tile-based, turn-based strategy and tactics - NES, very playable on Wii virtual console version
    • Final Fantasy - multi-character sing;e-player RPG-like adventure - NES
    • Savage Worlds - pen and paper RPG - I've been playing RPGs for more than two decades, and this is my current personal favorite ruleset
    • Scorched Earth or some version of Worms - 2d power and angle turn-based artillery with weapons upgrades - various
    • Scorch3d - 3d reimagining of Scorched Earth - probably various, but I've played it on Linux
    • Starcraft - RTS - Windows
    • Total Annihilation - RTS - Windows
    • Spring - RTS - Linux, Windows (at least)
    • Supreme Commander - RTS - Windows
    • Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance - RTS - Windows
    • Nuclear Dawn - FPS with minor RTT/RTS aspects - Windows, Linux
    • Awesomenauts - 2d platform shooter - Linux, Windows, OS X
    • Risk - board game - board game with many computer interpretations
    • Boggle/Super Boggle - tabletop letter dice grid word-hunt game - special
    • Scrabble - crossword board game - board game, but lots of computer implementations
    • Castles 2 - castle building, defense, and siege game - DOS/Windows
    • Stronghold series - castle building and defense game - Windows
    • Apples to Apples - party card game
    • Cards Against Humanity - like Apples to Apples gone horribly inappropriate - lots of implementations since it's Creative Commons
    • Colonization or FreeCol - Civiliation-style expansion game in the settling of the new world - DOS (Col), multi (FreeCol)
    • Civilization series - complex simulation of competing civilizations - Windows (but check out FreeCiv
    • Alpha Centauri - Sid Meier's Civ series ... IN SPACE! - Windows (watch for another space-faring Civ title, Civ Beyond Earth)
    • Master of Orion series - simple interface, complex 4X games in space - DOS, Windows
    • Mortal Kombat series - 2d fighter - lots
    • Killer Instinct - 2d fighter - SNES (others? IDK)
    • Street Fighter series - 2d fighter - lots
    • Eternal Champions - 2d fighter - Genesis
    • Mechwarrior 4 - first-person mech combat - Windows
    • Armored Core - first-person mech combat - PS/2
    1. Re:subjective list below, by genre and platform by mr_mischief · · Score: 1

      I should also mention:

      Combat - vehicle combat game - Atari 2600
      Othello / reversi - board game - also many computer implementations
      pente / fives - board game - also many computer implementations
      Portal - dimensional perfuckery - Windows, Linux, OS X
      icebreaker - bouncing balls and building walls - lots
      AssaultCube - quirky shooter with many solo and team modes - Linux, Windows, OS X

  156. Hands Down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oregon Trail

  157. common by Redbehrend · · Score: 1

    I thought you guys were nerds... nexus, xcom, everquest, battle tanks over dialup lol I could go on forever...

  158. Cards Against Humanity by supertall · · Score: 1

    Side-splittingly funny.

  159. games? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We just make sure to have several bottles of wine and the stove cooking food. The merriment and laughter just follow after that.

  160. Koules. by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

    Does anybody else remember Koules? It's sort of a breakout game, but your market get moved around by the ball and you can get bumped off the screen. It's hard to describe, but I want it back. The Home Page for Koules indicates that it's for X and for OS/2. I remember having difficulty building it for 'modern Linux' with sound support about ten years ago.

    It's really good and I've never seen another game like it. It was a binary package, I think, on Slackware in the 90's, I believe that was where I first encountered it.

    1. Re:Koules. by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      OMG, it's ported to Android. I guess I should have googled before posting.

  161. You're missing the point! by Weaselmancer · · Score: 3, Funny

    I MUST OWN THEM ALL HRRRGRRBLLL DIGITAL HOARDING

    *ahem*

    Sorry about that. I tend to get a little foamy when I digitally hoard. Anyways, counter to your point it's fun (for me, YMMV of course) to have as many as you can get. Sometimes I'll fire up MAME and simply pick out old games at random. Some I remember, some I never have seen before. It's like being an archaeologist in your own past. I'll do the same thing with C64 archives and Amiga archives (look for Amiga Tosec). Scores of Atari 2600 games. All the video discs for Daphne (the videodisc game emulator). Dragon's Lair, anyone?

    It's a wish come true for younger-me. I used to mow lawns just to save up and get an Atari cartridge. Now I can download Stella and inside of ten minutes have ALL of them. Fun! And yes, someday I will make a MAME cabinet. Oh yes. It will be glorious.

    So basically TL;DR it's really fun to poke around with. And really, with the price of storage these days you can store the entire library of an entire genre on a few blu ray discs. A 3 Tb hard drive is about $100 at NewEgg. Why not have them?

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
  162. Required (modern) reading by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mother 1, 2 and 3 (titled as "Earthbound" in the US)

  163. Duke Nukem, dammnit! by AndyKron · · Score: 2

    Duke Nukem, dammnit!

  164. Classics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Zork - c64
    Mission Impossible - c64
    Turrican - c64
    Armalyte - c64
    Sentinel - c64
    Pools of Radiance/Curse - c64
    Defender of the Crown - c64
    IK+ - C64
    Silkworm - Amiga
    Bubble Bobble - Amiga
    Cannon Fodder - Amiga
    Utopia - Amiga
    Settlers - Amiga
    Populous - Amiga
    Super Cars 2 - Amiga
    Bards Tale 3 Thief of Fate - Amiga
    Syndicate - Amiga
    Mutant League Football - Sega

    Killer Instinct - SNes
    Ridge Racer - playstation

    Star Control 2 - PC Best game Ever (nerd, twit, loser)
    Syndicate Wars - PC
    Command and Conquer 1 - PC
    MechWarrior 2 with addons - PC
    Wing Commander 1-4 PC
    Freespace 2 - PC
    Xwing vs Tie Fighter - PC
    Morrowind - PC
    Thief - PC
    Minecraft - PC
    Total Annihilation - PC
    Dark Reign - PC
    Lemmings - PC
    Ultima 7 - PC
    Battlezone 2 - PC
    AoE2 - PC
    Dungeon Keeper 2
    Homeworld 2 - PC
    I War - PC
    Space Hulk (first one) - PC
    Warlords Battlecry 2
    Need for speed 3 hot pursuit
    Supreme Ruler 2020 - PC
    Diablo 2 - PC
    Fallout 2 - PC
    UnrealT - PC

  165. Wise and Otherwise (plus, Dragon Age Origins) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Two selections. First, an actual physical table-top game: Wise and Otherwise. Hard to find but the single funniest game ever for those both verbally proficient and well-endowed with a sense of humor. Hint: don't try to be too serious, it's much more fun with a group of people who care nothing (or almost nothing) for winning and more about a group of people laughing until they cry, over and over and over again. Been playing this game for at least 12 years now with family and friends and none of us have every tired of it...

    Second. Dragon Age Origins. A game with characters so real and compelling that people have stopped playing for months to agonize over decisions they feel might "hurt" these digital creations. Plus a great sense of aesthetics and excellent story. Can't recommend it enough.

  166. Old arcade genre games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not exactly vintage but not too modern either - Two comes to mind:
    1) Captain Claw
    2) Worms Armageddon

    Claw is a 2D scrolling adventure while Worms is a strategic action game. Had hours of endless fun with both.

  167. Favourite PC Games By Hours Spent Playing Them by Delosian · · Score: 1

    Most played PC games list (from most to least): Rome: Total War (most number of hours played by far) Master of Orion 2 (love this game to bits, but a pity that you can't terraform toxic planets) Deus Ex 1 (perhaps my most favourite game, replayed it from start to finish dozens of times) Skyrim (Still haven't finished it; I never get around to finishing the main quest line before another game comes along to steal my attention away) Fallout 3 (and New Vegas) Starcraft 1 (favourite LAN game of old) Freelancer (favourite space shooter of all time, EVE doesn't even compare to this game IMHO) Mass Effect 1, 2 & 3 (about equal amounts of time on each, #3's ending was a let down) Hitman (loved them all, Blood Money is probably my favourite) Counter-Strike (second favourite LAN game, still play Counter-Strike: Source from time to time) Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 (KOTOR) (Force Choking and Force Pushing enemies off cliffs after a hard day at work is a great stress reliever) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 1 & 2 (see comment above, should be played on PS3, PC version is a bad port) Star Control 2 (love the story line, was saddened by how bad Star Control 3 was) Civilization 2 (used to play as a LAN game, almost always played as the Germans, the Panzer tank was just too much fun to Blitzkrieg the enemy with) Rome 2: Total War (playing it now, hopefully they will get all the bugs out some day soon, finished as the Romans and as the Spartans)

  168. Haven't seen several classics. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Super Mario World
    The Legend of Zelda
    Gauntlet
    Ms Pacman
    Galaga
    Space Invaders
    Contra / Super C
    Fallout 1/2
    Romance of the 3 Kingdoms IV
    Masters of Orion 2 (ok so it was mentioned)
    Ascendancy
    Civ 2

    Super Tecmo Bowl

  169. Old school? Quake3 by nej4ugi · · Score: 1

    Quake III Team arena, of course. Or QuakeLive nowadays which in some ways is even better than q3. Say what you wanna about cards, RPG and like but nothing builds up your rage and adrenaline like quake. Mix up with few friends and some alcohol and you've got yourself a pretty bloody gorefest.

  170. Variety is key by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Old, but unparalleled:
    Chrono Trigger
    Super Metroid
    The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
    Wing Commander (series)

    New, and easier to get:
    Mark of the Ninja
    XCOM: Enemy Unknown
    FTL: Faster Than Light
    Thomas Was Alone
    Bastion
    Deus Ex: Human Revolution
    Dust: An Elysian Tail
    Portal 2
    Trine 2
    StarCraft II
    Divinity: Original Sin

    But "for get-togethers" is different:
    Standard 52-card deck is useful:
    - Hearts or Spades
    - Rummy
    Trivial Pursuit
    Mario Kart (Double Dash is best for groups)
    Mortal Kombat (or similar)

  171. Ignorance or Malice? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh god please don't let this be a new trend of advertising research. The chance a biz exec can put together two neurons to ask a question that actually caters to this community approaches none.

    "Hurr nerds like games let see what they identify with"

    Or it could be the site just becoming bland. Back to HN.

  172. The most played games in duration by advid.net · · Score: 1

    Those games are remarkable because:
    - with those I've spent the most hours of my whole recreational time
    - for those I'll always say Yes if I have the opportunity to play (unless mentioned otherwise)
    - they have been ported on new platforms, have clones, etc (for the old ones), and that matters.
    (from old to recent)

    Lode Runner on Apple //e
    Boulder Dash on Apple //e
    Conan on Apple //e
    Transilvania on Apple //e
    RISK tabletop
    Monopoly tabletop
    Duke Nukem 3D on PC
    Age of Empire on PC
    Civilisation, for me it was CivNet, on PC
    StarCraft on PC
    Half Life on PC
    DVONN tabletop
    Worms Armageddon, on PC
    Bridge Builder on PC/Mac (any clone)
    OGame on Web (I stopped to play however)
    Hordes on Web (I stopped to play however)
    Uncharted, the 3 and also the 2, on PS3
    DarkSiders, the 2, on PS3
    Star Drone on PS3
    Terraria on PS3 (on going)
    Kerbal Space Program on PC (on going)
    Path Of Exile on PC (on going)

  173. LucasArts adventure games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was a kid back then and didn't have a lot of money to buy games, but i bought a few of the LucasArts adventure games because they were that good.
    Monkey Island 1 & 2, Indiana Jones series, Day of the tentacle, ... - still fine games today.

  174. Deus EX and Deus EX HR by sproketboy · · Score: 1

    ntr

  175. List of best games: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Tiny Barbarian DX
    Proforce
    Forced
    Hammerwatch
    Mercenary Kings
    RUNNING WITH RIFLES
    Strider
    UnEpic
    Deadlight
    Legend of Grimrock
    Monaco
    Prison Architect
    Rogue Legacy
    Space Pirates and Zombies
    Volgarr the Viking
    Wargame: European Escalation (Not ALB or RD get to same level).

  176. Singing by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    Karaoke, or if you insist on it being a competitive game one of the many console karaoke games.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  177. Games Suggestions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Board Games: Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, Ticket to Ride
    Card Games: Pretty much any invented card game, just pick the ones you like.
    Nintendo based hardware: Any Zelda or Mario game for each hardware platform.
    N64 Perfect Dark, Goldeneye
    PS: God of War, Twisted Metal, Tomb Raider
    PS2: Lego Star Wars 2
    PS3: Skyrim, Last of Us
    Old School PC: Pharoah's Revenge, Zork adventures, Genesis LPMud (check out Gog.com for more)
    PC with graphics: Descent, Doom, Quake, Mech Warrior, TES: Oblivion, Warcraft, Starcraft, SW Dark Forces
    Present: Project Zomboid, Don't Starve

  178. Small list of some video games by ChoGGi · · Score: 1

    Split Second (the first one only) servers are down so no MP, but playing against a buddy is the really fun part
    Rubber Ninjas is also another fun 2 player (local only)
    Continuum is a fun little MP top down space shooter
    Been playing Firefall a while; f2p rpg shooter (PvE/PvP)
    Trine 3 player platformer (make sure the wizard isn't too drunk)

  179. From the arcade days? by Xman73x · · Score: 0

    Centipede, Millipede, Pacman, contra etc

  180. How come by LienRag · · Score: 1

    Nobody mentioned StarCraft?

  181. Half Life, Civ V, Settlers by tedgyz · · Score: 1

    If you are looking for an FPS game, then the Half-Life series is #1 in my opinion and many others.

    For turn-based strategy, Civilization V is the best.

    For board games, Settlers of Catan is the greatest.

    --
    "No matter where you go, there you are." -- Buckaroo Banzai
  182. what about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Discs of Tron, Karate Champ, USA vs Russia Hockey, 720, wire-frame Star Wars, Dr Who pinball, Elvira pinball, Operation Wolf, Paperboy, Excitebike, C64 World Games, Ultima IV....Zork...

  183. Time Splitters: Future Perfect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Time Splitters: Future Perfect is a great party game, while at the same time offering a hilarious single player campaign. Years after the series has been effectively abandoned, my friends and I will all want to get a few rounds of Bag Tag in whenever get together.

  184. Re:For mixed-age crowd: Pictionary, Bananagrams, S by kaatochacha · · Score: 1

    Rummikub used to be my family's go to game for vacations. Now a simple game of dominoes is it,

  185. Portal! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Portal is a single-player first-person 3D physics puzzle game that is interesting, challenging the first time through, fun, and the AI -- "GLaDOS" (Genetic Life-form and Disc Operating System") who "helps" you through the game -- has a very dry sense of humour that appeals to a wide range of audiences. I haven't met anyone who played it and didn't like it.

  186. Great Classic Game Giveaway by teleriddler · · Score: 1

    Junta is one that I did not see here and for all of you who are commenting about Settlers of Catan and Diplomacy, give this one a shot. In other news the CTO of our company has recently decided to give away his entire classic game collection to the best blog post about a hackathon. More details here: http://www.windward.net/great-... He wrote the game Enemy Nations back in the 90s and if you haven't checked that out, you should give it a shot. TR

  187. X wing series by Cowclops · · Score: 1

    I've seen a lot of good posts but haven't seen anyone mention x-wing and it's sequels. Tie fighter is one of my favorite games of all time, and the original x-wing and x-wing alliance are excellent too. They strike a great balance between realistic tactics and complex missions without being too much to learn. They clearly put a lot of effort into designing each mission. You can't really call it a simulator, but it's more sim-like and less arcade like than games like rogue squadron and whatnot. A very rewarding experience.

  188. From the 'Ask Slashdot' submitter... by SternisheFan · · Score: 1
    As the submitter, and before this /. story gets closed out, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to all who posted here.

    I laughed at some posts, learned from most. No, this was not meant to be a troll, or a marketing gimmick. It was an honest question from me. I've been greatly helped by everyone's responses. I thank you all. ;^)

  189. one more.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Skies of Arcadia", for the SEGA Dreamcast. :D

  190. DOS: XCom. Amiga: Titans of Steel, Killing Game Sh by Keybounce · · Score: 1

    For any platform?

    XCom, the original. Can be made better with XComUtil (a tool to work around some of the shortcomings of the game's UI. Yes, this is an old-school, low-res DOS game.

    If you like magic: the gathering, then the original M:tG game (based on 5th edition cards) is great on old, slower computers, but runs too fast to be playable on modern computers. (Microsoft Windows, worked on 3.1 and 95, if I recall)

    On the Amiga: Titans of Steel was a Mech Warrior game with actual time-based physics and time-based heat (instead of turn-based heat). No more "I have generated 15 units of heat, and sink 10, so I'm only heat 5, and take no penalty". Now it takes time to sink that heat -- and all the old FASA mech designs turn out to be horrible when you have real heat issues to worry about.

    Finally, Killing Game Show (Amiga) -- you need the original disk, the crack did not work properly -- is a platformer with a "timer/clock" to keep you going. But it has one wonderful feature -- when you die, it replays the level you died on. So you can see where you made your mistake. And, *** You can take over during the replay***. So you can take over *before* you make your mistake and avoid having to do all the drudge work over and over again.

  191. Obviously it's all a matter of PERSONAL opinion... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Everyone will have other favorites, here are mine:

    Quake
    Quake 3 Arena
    Command and Conquer, Red Alert 2 - Yuri's Revenge
    Diablo
    Diablo 2, Lord of Destruction
    Diablo 3, Reaper of Souls
    Space Quest 1, 2 & 3
    Kings Quest 1

    And there are many more ... :)

  192. Civilization, MechWarrior, Fallout, Warcraft, PvZ. by NerveGas · · Score: 1

    The best.

    --
    Oh, you're not stuck, you're just unable to let go of the onion rings.
  193. control f mud - Phrase not found by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    MUDs can't really be collected, I guess that's why no one suggested it. Nonetheless he could go play with the original Lars MUDlib or the new LDMUD or ROM or Diku or...

    All of these can be installed quickly and played around with for some quick kill/die/make a wizard char/god fun.