USING PROGRAM - GAMES IN WINDOWS

Windows comes with a variety of games to play. There are board games, card games, multiplayer Internet games, and even games for kids.

You'll find them all in the Games folder. To start playing, just open the folder and double-click a game icon.

Open the Games folder by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button. In the search box, type games, and then, in the list of results, click Games Explorer.

The games you'll see will depend on the edition of Windows 7 you're using. Some titles are available only in premium editions of Windows. In other editions, games are turned off by default. To learn more, see Where are my games?

(a) Internet games

Several popular multiplayer games from Windows XP have returned with a new look. These titles—available only in premium editions of Windows 7—allow you to play online against human opponents. You'll need to be connected to the Internet to play this type of game.

(b) Internet Backgammon

Backgammon is a two-person board game with a straightforward goal: be the first to move all your pieces around and off the board. For more information, see Internet Backgammon: how to play.

·         Number of players: 2

·         Difficulty levels: Beginner, intermediate, expert

·         Typical playing time: 10 to 30 minutes

(c) Internet Checkers

One of the oldest and most popular games in the world is back and better than ever. The perfect way to spend a lazy afternoon. For more information, see Internet Checkers: how to play.

·         Number of players: 2

·         Difficulty levels: Beginner, intermediate, expert

·         Typical playing time: 10 to 20 minutes

(d) Internet Spades

Spades is a popular, fast-paced card game that demands teamwork and strategy. You guess how many "tricks"—rounds—you and your partner will win. Guess too low, and you’ll lose big points. Guess too high, and you'll “bag out”! For more information, see Internet Spades: how to play.

·         Number of players: 4

·         Difficulty levels: Beginner, intermediate, expert

·         Typical playing time: 10 to 30 minute

(e) Board games

Windows 7 comes with several board games too, so you can have fun practicing your strategy, reasoning, and memory skills.

(i) Chess Titans

Chess Titans brings the classic strategy game of chess to life with three-dimensional graphics and animation. Highlighted squares show where your pieces can move. Choose a porcelain, marble, or wooden board, and rotate it any way you like. For more information, see Chess Titans: how to play.

Chess Titans is available in premium editions of Windows 7.

·         Number of players: 1 or 2

·         Difficulty levels: 1 (beginner) to 10 (expert)

·         Typical playing time: 10 to 60 minutes

(ii) Minesweeper

Minesweeper is a deceptively simple test of memory and reasoning—and one of the most popular games of all time in Windows. The goal: uncover empty squares and avoid hidden mines. Click one, and you lose! For more information, see Minesweeper: how to play.

·         Number of players: 1

·         Difficulty levels: Beginner, intermediate, advanced

·         Typical playing time: 1 to 10 minutes

(iii) Mahjong Titans

Mahjong Titans is a solitaire game played with tiles. Remove matching pairs of tiles from the board. Remove them all and you win! For more information, see Mahjong Titans: how to play.

Mahjong Titans is available on premium editions of Windows 7.

·         Number of players: 1

·         Difficulty levels: Varies by tile layout

·         Typical playing time: 10 to 30 minutes

 

(f) Card games

(i) FreeCell

Whether you play along or against computer opponents, card games are always popular. Windows 7 includes several card games.

FreeCell is a form of solitaire played with a single deck. The key to victory lies in the four free cells in the corner of the table—hence the name! For more information, see FreeCell: how to play.

·         Number of players: 1

·         Difficulty levels: One level

·         Typical playing time: 10 to 20 minutes

 

(ii) Hearts

Hearts is a card game that you play in rounds against three computer opponents. Avoid taking the undesirable cards—all hearts and the queen of spades—unless you're planning to shoot the moon! The player with the lowest score wins. For more information, see Hearts: how to play.

·   Number of players: 1 (against 3 computer opponents)

·   Difficulty levels: One level

·   Typical playing time: 10 to 20 minutes

 

(iii) Solitaire

Solitaire is based on the most popular variant of solitaire, Klondike. To win, you must build four stacks of cards, one for each suit, in ascending order from ace to king. For more information, see Solitaire: how to play.

·         Number of players: 1

·         Difficulty levels: One level

·         Typical playing time: 1 to 15 minutes

 

(iv) Spider Solitaire

Spider Solitaire is a variant of solitaire that uses two decks' worth of cards. The object: remove all the cards from the table in the fewest number of moves. Remove cards by making a complete stack in descending order (king to ace). For more information, see Spider Solitaire: how to play.

·         Number of players: 1

·         Difficulty levels: Beginner, intermediate, advanced

·         Typical playing time: 1 to 15 minutes

(g) Children's games

(i) Purble Place

Purble Place is actually three games in one: Comfy Cakes, Purble Shop, and Purble Pairs. Designed to teach children memory, pattern recognition, and reasoning skills, at higher difficulty levels the games challenge players of all ages. For more information, see Purble Place: how to play.

(ii) Comfy Cakes

This game puts you in Chef Purble's bakery, where you must complete an order for a batch of cakes. The bakery's customers are very particular, so you'll need to make the cakes exactly as ordered, with the right combination of shapes, batters, fillings, icing, and decorations.

Work fast because the cakes will keep on coming!

·         Number of players: 1

·         Difficulty levels: Beginner, intermediate, advanced

·         Typical playing time: 1 to 5 minutes

(iv) Purble Shop

This game tests your powers of deduction. Your goal: to make your Purble's face match the mystery Purble behind the curtain. Choose hair, eyes, nose, and lips from the shelves, then learn how many—but not which—features you got right!

·         Number of players: 1

·         Difficulty levels: Beginner, intermediate, advanced

·         Typical playing time: 1 to 5 minutes

(v) Purble Pairs

In this game, your goal is to find all the matching pairs of pictures before time runs out. Flip a tile over to reveal a picture, then find its match. Use a "sneak peek" token for a quick glimpse of all the tiles on the board!

·         Number of players: 1

·         Difficulty levels: Beginner, intermediate, advanced

·         Typical playing time: 1 to 10 minutes

(h) What else can I play?

Ready for more? There are thousands of games available for Windows.

You'll find some of them listed under Other Providers in the Games folder. Learn about others on the Games for Windows website.