+4 Software of Time-Wasting

November 7, 2006 12:58 PM

GameFilter: I need a part-time game to play at work.

I'm looking for something I can play while I'm doing work on my computer. Ideally, I'd like to be able to play for about 5 minutes at a time while I'm taking quick breaks. I was thinking something along the lines of Civilization, where I could take a turn, wait for a response, then take another turn. Strategy would by my first pick, but I'm open to all genres.

Some other requirements:
-It must be able to be run in a window and minimized when I'm not playing it.
-Preferably player vs. computer (not sure if the network has multiplayer ports blocked, but nonetheless I'd rather not raise any flags with IT)
-It shouldn't have audio cues when it requires my interaction. Flashing icon in the Taskbar is ok.
-I'd rather not run it from a website (IT reasons again).

Any suggestions?

posted by backseatpilot to computers & internet (24 comments total)

Have you thought about getting a Nintendo DS or Gameboy? The DS is great for quick bursts of gaming as you can play a few rounds of Advance Wars (for example) and then close it when it's time to go back to work. It goes into sleep mode when you close it.

That way you don't have to worry about IT finding out about your nasty Nethack addiction.
posted by bshort at 1:03 PM on November 7, 2006

I found that several of the games from here worked well for this purpose. Particularly Slay and Mother of all Battles.
posted by vacapinta at 1:09 PM on November 7, 2006

If you value your productivity at all, do not install Civilization at work. If you feel that you have the discipline to play a few turns and then get back to work, it can be run in a window and minimized. There is a fairly recent expansion for civ 4, though any of the old games would also be valid options.

This comment in a previous thread has a link to a handy tool for forcing almost any game to run in a window.

Check out Silent Storm. It is turn based small squad based strategy. I had a blast with this game, though it is definitely not for everyone. Best turn based game I've played, if I don't count Civ / Alpha Centauri.
posted by utsutsu at 1:12 PM on November 7, 2006

mame?
posted by neilkod at 1:30 PM on November 7, 2006

My fear with Civilization was that I'd never get any work done. The problem with it is that the computer takes its turns so quickly, it's ready for me to make another move before I even get a chance to hide the window. And of course, since it's there waiting for me, I've got to play it...

I currently play Kingdom of Loathing to wake me up in the morning, but those turns go by really quickly. I like the idea of the game limiting the amount of play to x minutes/turns per hour, though...
posted by backseatpilot at 1:31 PM on November 7, 2006

I still play good old fashioned Rogue, from the 80s. Google a search for "Classic Rogue." Small file, can be minimized and even better when you hit the "!" key it's the "Boss Key" where it turns the entire window into what looks like an MS Dos Prompt. Hit any key to return to your game.

I've loved that game since I was a kid, and never beat it, so I still play all the time. Games for me last 5-15 minutes but you can play as much or as little as you want, (and save or just minimize)

There's a ton of variants like NetHack, ADOM etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roguelike

This link has the original game and manual. You'll have to set the exe to run in a window though, unless it's not an issue you alt-tab out of it.

And here's a page with a bunch of the original and variants.
posted by PetiePal at 1:37 PM on November 7, 2006

I really enjoyed progressquest - kept me occupied for weeks, but it was a bit problematic for those late nights where I stayed in the office hoping to "level up" before going home.
posted by devbrain at 1:42 PM on November 7, 2006

I personally love TextTwist. I know it sounds dorky, but sometimes when I'm not in the mood to play Nintendo or WoW I find it diverting and fun. Check it out here: TextTwist@Yahoo Just click launch web game.
posted by Aanidaani at 2:01 PM on November 7, 2006

My vote goes to NetHack.
posted by exit at 2:14 PM on November 7, 2006

Another vote for the Roguelikes from me; so games like this (or text adventures) work on even the sluggish old computers I have to use in my closet/office.

I play LoGD (like LORD) from an unblocked server at work, but that does require being online.
posted by cobaltnine at 2:14 PM on November 7, 2006

Yup, Nethack. Now they have all kinds of clever tiling systems, so you don't even have to put up with ASCII characters.
posted by ontic at 2:38 PM on November 7, 2006

You want Defcon in office mode. The game is realtime, and so unfolds over the course of an entire workday.
posted by influx at 2:46 PM on November 7, 2006

I currently play Kingdom of Loathing to wake me up in the morning, but those turns go by really quickly.

Haven't played in ages but it used to be pretty easy to rack up a ridiculous number of turns per day thru some arcane combination of equipment/campground gear/clan bonus/food/drink. Helps to be one of the classes that crafts food or drink so you don't have to buy everything.
posted by juv3nal at 2:50 PM on November 7, 2006

Runescape
posted by blue_beetle at 2:59 PM on November 7, 2006

Ditto on the roguelikes.
posted by craven_morhead at 3:32 PM on November 7, 2006

Another vote for nethack.
posted by nakedsushi at 3:52 PM on November 7, 2006

+1 for Nethack or Angband.

Nethack has a pretty steep learning curve. They really did include the kitchen sink with Nethack. Angband is a little easier and has less depth but on the bright side, making mistakes in Angband won't instantly kill you. Probably.

I used to play both at my college computer labs. These games were small enough to fit on a floppy and could even be run from the floppy.

If IT has locked down the office computers to a point where you can't even install programs, I think you'd still be able to play Roguelike games. You just decompress the files and run the binary. Or you could try to run them from a thumbdrive. I haven't tried either suggestion out though since I don't have to hide from IT.

Hmm...I think I have savefiles stashed somewhere...
posted by Cog at 6:07 PM on November 7, 2006

Dwarf Fortress is the greatest ASCIIish game ever. Think a UI like Nethack but with a million times more depth. Of course it is more of a simish / dungeon keeper like game than a hacknslash RPG. Once you get into it it will consume you.
posted by Riemann at 7:13 PM on November 7, 2006

A recent game that's got a lot of people hooked is Dwarf Fortress. It's a text-mode game, and looks like Nethack or Rogue, but it makes those games look almost like Tinkertoys in comparison. (and I have finished Nethack multiple times. I do NOT say Tinkertoys lightly.)

Basically, you are in charge of dwarves, building a fortress under a mountain. It runs constantly, no turns, but it's easily paused. You start with, natch, 7 dwarves, but you will rapidly get more as you get established.

The game's learning curve is nearly vertical at first. The interface is Byzantine. Just figuring out how floodgates work for farming takes quite awhile. But, ye Gods, the depth to this thing... wow. You have to build a small economy, and develop exports to trade for goods you can't make yourself. The first year is focused around trying to survive the coming winter; after that, things broaden out a great deal.

The dwarves are remarkably complex little critters, and despite just being little @ signs, they have distinct personalities. The boards are full of weird and unusual stories. Individual dwarves may like, for instance, to collect things...and when you assign them a room, they'll start filling it up with things they like. One person was talking about a married couple; the wife died from a kobold attack, and after they took away her body for burial, her clothes and equipment were left on the floor. Her husband then took those pieces to his room, rather than putting them into communal supply. It's full of little touches like that.

It's very hard to express what an incredibly complex game this is, and just how much depth it has. It's sophisticated enough that you can actually use your own real-life experience in many cases. If it works in real life, it may just be in there. As an example, there are an amazing number of strategies and methods that can be used to fight off the inevitable invaders. You can focus on arming and training soldiers, or you can build traps, or you can train war dogs. You can come up with elaborate flooding systems that will drown invaders. You can build huge ballista and fire them through battlements. You can stake out dogs as sentries by making ropes, attaching the ropes to the ground, and attaching dogs to the ropes. You can put dogs in cages that will open when a dwarf pulls a lever. It just goes on and on.

Fortunately, it's an entirely free game. Check it out!

Be warned that it's still considered "alpha", and not everything is in there yet, particularly the endgame. However, the early and midgame are so much fun, and take such a long time, that by the time you're there he may have finished. :-) Even incomplete, it is HIGHLY playable. And it would be perfect for work, because it's text mode and easily minimized.

The hardest part will be hitting 'pause'.
posted by Malor at 7:32 PM on November 7, 2006 [1 favorite]

As for turn-based games, Jagged Alliance 2 is fantastic. It's terribly realistic and tons of fun to play. Possible drawbacks, though - there is some irritating sound when you load the game up; you should be able to mute the rest of the sound, though. It's a full screen game, but with the tool mentioned above, you might be able to get around that. So if you can mute your speakers for just a minute while it's loading, it's highly worth playing.
posted by wandering steve at 8:28 PM on November 7, 2006

<3 nethack. br> (unknown creature causing you anxiety by the staircase?)
posted by corvine at 6:10 AM on November 8, 2006

and I meant disquiet, not anxiety, and that last comment seems to have been hijacked by a sewer rat, an acid blob and another staircase. damn them.
posted by corvine at 6:14 AM on November 8, 2006

Learn to play Go, the most ancient and elegantly intricate board game in the world, against a computer. It has an amazing history, and it was one of the major disciplines taught to samurai in ancient Japan.
posted by gd779 at 7:53 AM on November 8, 2006

Ahh a lot of people recommended NetHack, although I was never too much a fan. It always seemed like "everything and the kitchen sink" (which by the way has killed me more times from drinking from it than anything else) was too much and too confusing a jumble. Angband and Rogue were much simpler.

There was even a roguelike of DOOM!
posted by PetiePal at 1:07 PM on November 8, 2006