Are you pressed for time? Are you too busy to really sit down and play Halo 3, but you’ve got some downtime and want something small, quick, and fun to pass the time? These time pressed games might just fit your needs!

• Popcap Games
  • Admittedly Popcap Games is actually an entire company, but almost every game they publish is perfect for the geek on the go. Everything — from Dynomite, Zuma, and Bookworm to Bejeweled, Chuzzle, and Alchemy — is easy to pick up and play, plus they offer free games to play on their website.
• Trivia Machine
  • If you like Trivial Pursuit then you’ll love Trivia Machine. You get three levels of questions, which have a random topic, and you need to answer these questions correctly in the allotted time. It’s fast, simple, and fun. I can only get to level 3, how far can you make it?
• Funky Truck Arizona
  • Sometimes a game comes out that’s so simple its fun. Funky Truck Arizona is a simple game of balance: you drive a truck through some rough terrain and you don’t want to flip over. A simple concept, but once you start playing you’ll be amazed at how engaging this game can be.
• Battle Pong
  • While it has been around for a while, Battle Pong continues to be one of the best games to play when you only have a few minutes to spare. Battle Pong is pong, but with weapons at your disposal. Simply smack the ball into the side of the walls and you’ll get access to a random power-up, which you can then use to defeat your computer opponent. A quick, game, but far from easy, as the computer has access to the same weapons you do, so be careful.
• Blueprint
  • Taking its roots from the Sierra On-Line’s Incredible Machine, Blueprint gives players a mental challenge: how to get Ball A to Point B using only these few tools. It’s difficult, if not downright frustrating to finish some of the puzzles in the time allowed, but if you’re just looking for a game you can start playing and go, then Blueprint is for you.

While we only looked at 4 games (and one development company) everything listed will provide you with either endless hours of entertainment, or help you pass 5 minutes of downtime. These simple, easy to learn, easy to play (but difficult to master) games are just the cure for your Monday (or Tuesday) blues.

A gamer for 24 years, Jason Pullara write game reviews for Geekstreak, a site dedicated to the inner geek in all of us.

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There aren’t many games you can play in the office. For starters, office computers are often low to average spec, and, unless the computer is used specifically for graphic design or sound, there won’t be any dedicated graphics or sound cards in the computer. Then there’s the problem that any games you do play will quickly and easily be spotted by anyone walking past your PC.

The solution? Web-based, or browser-based games. There are many such games out there, and unfortunately many of them try to spruce up their own websites in an attempt to “look flashy” - this doesn’t help us office workers, as usually we will need something with a plain white background, next to no graphics, and plain text on-screen in order to be inconspicuous to anybody walking past our computer screens.

One such game out there that is played by many office workers without problem, and does not stand out, is Bushtarion. It’s free to play, with optional “fun extras” that players can purchase (entirely optional). Not only that, but there is a completely customisable “scheme editor”, to customise all the colours and layout of your game. You can browse other players’ schemes too. One of the more recent schemes I’ve noticed is called “Work”, which has an Excel spreadsheet as a background image - incredibly hard for any employee to notice you’re playing a game unless they sit right next to you and read the screen! It doesn’t use any Java or Flash etc. It can be played in any modern web browser without any special plug-ins or downloads.

There are many other web/browser based games out there of course that are text based, but they almost all include “spaceships” or “gangsters”, and for some reason all have brightly coloured backgrounds or pitch black backgrounds that would stand out a mile in any office environment.

So next time you have a few minutes to spare, have a browse through Google for “free online web game” or similar, or sign up to Bushtarion. Good luck with your Office escapades, and remember - try to do some actual work once in a while between ticks!

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