Chris DiBona demos some of the addictive distractions packaged with Red Hat 8.0.

PC gaming is getting better for Linux users. Games such as Quake and Unreal Tournament can be played natively on Linux machines. Others, such as Jedi Outcast, can be played via Transgaming Technologies' WineX emulator.
That's all well and good, but what about "Tetris," "Tetravex," or plain old "Solitaire"?
These games, while small, are some of the world's greatest diversions. Got a few minutes to kill? A game of "Minesweeper" is a wonderful distraction. As it turns out, when it comes to small-time time-wasters, Linux users are a lucky lot with a ton of titles to choose from.
On Friday's episode of "The Screen Savers" we'll feature some of the most addictive little games and a few of the larger time-wasting wonders that come with an installation of Red Hat Linux 8.0.
Tetris clones
In the Tetris-like games category we have a number of offerings, including KSirtet, KSmiletris, and a fun little twist on "Tetris" called KFoulEggs. As you can probably tell, I'm concentrating mostly on KDE apps, as KDE is what I run.
Mahjongg mayhem

Card sharks
  • Patience
  • Poker
  • Skat


Board games
  • Go and Reversi-style games
  • Chinese checkers (Kenolaba)
  • Chess
  • Backgammon (personal favorite)

More action
If these games are too slow for you, I suggest checking out some of the faster-paced games included with Red Hat, such as the fun little arcade game KSpaceduel, which is based on the old "SpaceWar" games from the mid-1970s, and "Kasteroids," an "Asteroids" clone.
Even more action
These little games are pretty fun, but there are a few even cooler games that come with Red Hat, including Chromium, a space shooter, Tux Racer, a sledding penguin game, and Freeciv, a free version of Civilization.
"Tux" and "Chromium" require a 3D accelerator, which I might demo on the show. In an upcoming show I'll show off the FlightGear flight simulator.
Find more games for Linux
The games that ship with Red Hat are only the beginning. Freshmeat.net and Happypenguin.org have even more free games for your Linux machine. Most of these games, including the very addictive Frozen-Bubble, are included on the Knoppix Linux demo CD, so if you don't feel like installing Linux, you can still play all these great games.

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Chris DiBona is the director of special projects for OSDN.