Free, Fun, Physics games!

Not sure if you are a gamer. I like to play computer games, but the time available for this is a lot less these days than it was in the days of Space Eggs, Sneakers, Castle_Wolfenstein, Olympic Decathlon, The Oregon Trail...and don't forget all the Infocom cames like Zork I, II, III, etc!

A side note - did you know that many of the Apple ][ classics can be played online in your web browser! Go to Virtual Apple - and find the disk you want to load. Castle Wolfenstein - ah - hear the amazing sounds again coming from that 2" speaker inside that Apple ][ plus computer case: - "Halt! Comandant!" Or - Apple Adventure - return to the Colossal Cave! These text and early 280x192 pixels screens had tons of great game play. Games today may look incredibly realistic - but without the gameplay - there is no fun.

Back to the main story - Physics games. These games may not have a detailed storyline - in fact the most enjoyable games are where you can create things and watch them interact. The first game I found in this genre was Crayon Physics.



This program was developed by Petri Purho. He has quite a few free games he develops in a week's time. Check him out at Kloonigames.

Another fun physics game I found is called Phun! This program was developed by Emil Ernerfeldt. It takes Crayon Physics type play to a new level. There is no goal in this game - you just create shapes, springs, wheels, hinges, water....and let the physics of the objects do the rest. I think the little boys in all of us (you know - who like to destoy things) love this game.


I think there were a few other games in this category that I have tried - but these two stand out. If you want to try - but don't want to download anything - a Crayon Physics look-a-like is available to play online. Find it here - at Magic Pen. Have fun playing with physics in the computer... Or maybe just get out the Legos or Erector Set and watch live physics in action.