Discover the best computer games

Although many people enjoy computer games, they are equally a turn-off for others.

A lot of games are undeniably violent, with storylines that are based on war, science fiction or horror, which isn’t to everyone’s taste.

They often use complicated control systems that depend on the player having fast reactions and many assume that you’ve already played similar games. Many of the latest commercial PC games also won’t run well without a powerful and expensive computer.

There is, however, more to the gaming world than mindlessly shooting aliens or zombies, including lots of games that test powers of logic and reasoning rather than reflexes, while avoiding gratuitous violence.

Many are free, can be played on the internet using a web browser without the need to download or install software and you don’t need the most up-to-date computer to play them.

What we like about the games we are going to introduce you to in this article is that the emphasis is on simplicity of presentation instead of trying to cover up for a lack of challenge and amusement with flashy graphics and shocking content.

We’ll describe some of the games that are available and what to expect from them. If you don’t find computer games interesting, possibly for the reasons we’ve mentioned, perhaps our suggestions will change your mind.

What you need
Most so-called ‘casual’ games are played in a web browser, and need a tool called Adobe Flash Player to run.

One use for the Flash Player is to add video to websites such as Youtube but it can also be used to create entire computer games.

It’s likely that Adobe Flash is already installed on your computer but if it is not you can download Flash from Adobe’s web page. Open the web page and click the ‘Agree and inst all now’ button, then if a warning appears at the top of Internet Explorer asking if you wish to allow the download, click on it, then click ‘Install ActiveX Control’. An additional security warning may appear on your screen asking if you wish to install the software. Click Install to continue.

Adobe’s website uses a download manager called Getplus, which occasionally crashes, and can prevent Flash from being installed. If this happens, you can download Flash Player directly.

Flash Player for Internet Explorer can be downloaded here, while if you use another browser, such as Firefox, click here. When the file has downloaded, click Run to install Flash Player. You should then close and restart your web browser.

A few browser games use Java rather than Flash software. To install Java, click the Free Java Download button, then if you see a security warning, click Run to begin the installation. At the installation screen, click Install, wait for it to finish, then click Close.

Get in the game
There are more free online games available than you might imagine. Some websites offer hundreds of original games and you can try our 10 favourite free – we list them at the end of this feature.

Some examples of vast libraries of online games are MSN Games Zone, Kongregate and Newgrounds. Some of the games on offer are demos, with a few levels to play before it asks you to pay, while other games may limit you to only some of the game modes. But there’s still a huge selection of free games on offer.

Controlling most games is simple. Most are played using the mouse. Others are played using the arrow keys on the keyboard, often to move characters or objects around, while a few use both. The Enter key or Spacebar might rotate an object, while clicking with the mouse decides the direction.

Some games will display adverts underneath, while others may play one before the game begins. This is now common with many free online resources.

All browser-based games also need a working internet connection to play. If you’re playing a game in a web browser, be careful not to refresh the page, click any links, or click the Back button while playing, otherwise the game will close.