There is something reassuring about games that were around long before screens. You know the shape of a checkerboard or a row of solitaire columns, and the rules carry over from the kitchen table. The difference here is that the cards never go missing and the computer is always ready to play when nobody else is.
Solitaire for One
These are patience games built around a standard deck. Klondike Solitaire is the draw-one version with seven columns. FreeCell Solitaire deals every card face up, which turns it into more of a planning exercise. Spider Solitaire uses two decks and gets much harder as you add suits, while Pyramid Solitaire is quick arithmetic: pair cards that add up to 13 and clear the stack.
If you prefer tiles to cards, Mahjong Solitaire sits over in puzzles but scratches the same itch.
Family Board Classics
These are the games many people grew up with. Checkers has forced jumps and kings, plus three computer levels. Backgammon mixes dice luck with real decisions about when to risk a lone checker. Ludo and Snakes and Ladders are dice-driven and light, ideal when you are playing with a younger sibling. Dominoes and Four in a Row round out the group, and Fleet Strike is a version of the hidden-ships guessing game sometimes known as Battleship.
Games From Around the World
This is where the shelf gets interesting. Mancala is a seed-sowing game with roots across Africa and Asia. Royal Game of Ur and Senet are race games from the ancient Middle East and Egypt. Bagh-Chal from Nepal pits four tigers against twenty goats, Fanorona comes from Madagascar, and Konane is a Hawaiian jumping game. Durak, a Russian card game of attack and defense, is the odd one out in the card section and well worth learning.
How to Choose
A few honest guidelines:
- Short break: a hand of Pyramid or a round of Four in a Row is over in a couple of minutes.
- Longer session: Spider with four suits or a full Backgammon match against the hard computer will take a while.
- Two players, one screen: Checkers, Mancala and the ancient race games all support it.
- Phone: nearly everything here is tap-friendly, which makes this one of the best categories on FreezeNova for touch screens.
If you enjoy the turn-by-turn thinking, chess variants and territory games live in our strategy games section. For solo brain work without an opponent, see puzzle games.