Free Pack-In Games on Desktop Computers

Free Pack-In Games on Desktop Computers
On
July 06, 2015
Desktop Computers often come with some low-budget pack-in games. Those are the kind of games you just play when you're bored at work, or just to pass some time quickly. Here's a short list of some of those games, let me know what games you're missing :).

Solitaire 3.1 (Windows 3.1, 1992)
Solitaire (also known as Klondike) is probably the most played desktop game ever. Microsoft has included the game as part of the Windows operating system since Windows 3.0, starting from 1990. Interestingly, Microsoft first included the game to familiarize users with graphical user interfaces (not common at the time of MS-DOS) and the use of a mouse and techniques such as drag-and-drop.



Minesweeper (Windows 3.1, 1992)
Minesweeper was included in the standard install of Windows since Windows 3.1 in 1992. Even after all those years, I still suck at the game. Minesweeper was dropped as standard install in Windows 8, but is still available in the Windows Store as free app.



Hover! (Windows 95, 1995)
Hover! was included on a CD-ROM with Windows 95. This 3D first person perspective game, developed by Microsoft themselves, was meant as a showcase for the multimedia capabilities of the PC/Windows 95 at the time. The game is a combination of bumper cars and capture the flag and is now also available for free for Windows 8 in the Windows Store.

Spectre VR (Apple Quadra/Performa 630, 1994)
Spectre VR was originally developed for the Apple MacIntosh, and was included as software with the Apple Performa 630 (aka Quadra 630). The game is a little similar to Hover!, but with less colors. It's a 3D tank battle game, with easy on the eye square vector visuals. I remember playing this one quite a lot, despite never really knowing where to go in the game.



Nanosaur (iMac G3, 1998)
Nanosaur, developed by Pangea Software (who were specialized in the development of software for Apple Computers) was included on a CD-ROM with the original iMac (now also known as the iMac G3) in 1998. This game was mainly aimed at children and it was also created to show the power and possibilities of Apple's QuickDraw 3D technology (with which the game was created) and the new iMac at the time.



Cairo Shootout (Apple MacIntosh, 1987)
It's such a long time ago, I'm not quite sure about this one. But I think it was preinstalled on one of my first Apple MacIntosh computers. It's a very simple arcade style shooting gallery game, and the mouse is used to aim and shoot. Can anyone else recall this game being preinstalled on an early Apple Mac?



Batman the Movie (Amiga 500, 1989)
The Amiga 500, originally released by Commodore in 1987, turned out to be the most successful Amiga model ever. In 1989 it was released with the Batman Pack in the United Kingdom. This package included Batman the Movie, New Zealand Story, Interceptor, and Deluxe Paint 2. Batman the Movie, an enjoyable platform game with racing segments, was developed by Ocean and based on the 1989 Batman movie.

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