Top 30 best free games you should play today

Whether you play games all the time or just want something to fill a few quiet moments here and there during the day, passing the time doesn't need to be expensive.

Yes, you need to break out your wallet if you want the latest big AAA shooter, but the free route is becoming increasingly interesting. Many older games are now opening out in search of a wider audience, and more and more companies are finding ways to profit from free releases.

For indie developers, it's the perfect way to make a name for themselves, either just for the glory or to build an audience for future games.

US company 2D Boy, for example, launched onto the scene with Tower of Goo, a game that involves building a tall tower out of bouncy balls of stretchy slime. This free download morphed into the amazing full title World of Goo, which took the net by storm.

We've gathered together 30 of the best free games around, covering releases new and old from every genre. With so much choice, you're guaranteed to find at least one you like. Give them a go - there's nothing to lose.

1. Spelunky

Spelunky is about anger, hate and, most of all, death. It looks like a simple enough platform game - an Indiana Jones pastiche set in a cavern full of tricks and traps - and it is. There's nothing complicated about it. Every enemy is avoidable. Every trap can be dealt with.

The catch is that every time you play, the entire game is randomised. In one game you'll stumble through screen after screen of spiked horrors and swarming monsters; in the next, the software will bend over backwards to give you gold and help you on your way.

The trick is learning the ropes, figuring out how to get past every obstacle, and then doing so perfectly as and when the game throws things at you. You will die. You will die a lot. But the important thing is that in death, you learn.

You discover ways of stealing from the shopkeepers who inhabit the levels, or find out that the damsels you can rescue for a health-boost can just as easily be taken to the nearest sacrificial altar, or thrown around to trigger traps before you go down yourself.

You learn how each randomised world ticks and which equipment will give you a fighting chance. And then you'll die some more. And scream. And restart. Again.

www.spelunkyworld.com

2. NetHack

Much like Spelunky, this open-source classic makes heavy use of randomisation to give you a new adventure every time you fire it up. However, instead of being a platform game, it's an epic RPG with the unofficial motto, 'The dev team thinks of everything'.

Do you want to blind a basilisk with a custard pie? Abuse shape-changing spells to lay deadly eggs that can be used as weapons? Get blasted by your patron deity if you try praying to them when they're in a bad mood? It's all in here, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

First released in 1987, NetHack isn't the prettiest game around. There are graphical mods out there, but it's still best played using ASCII characters, and until you can tell your Ps from your #s, it's somewhat confusing.

Unlike Spelunky, chances are that you'll have been adventuring for a while before you die. With only one savegame on your side, which is deleted if you snuff it, it only takes a single careless mistake to lose days of progress to a tough monster or a swig of a health potion that turns out to be poisoned.

With that risk comes great reward, though: retrieve the legendary Amulet of Yendor, sacrifice it to your deity and become king of the nerds.

www.nethack.org

3. Quake Live

This is how far the web has come: one of the best deathmatch games ever created is now available to play from within the confines of your browser.

Well, technically, no, it's not actually in it - Quake Live uses a plug-in and then goes full-screen when you play - but the spirit is still there.

Any modern computer is now able to handle Quake's modest demands, and the game's blisteringly fast action makes it quite unlike any modern shooter. Forget realism. Forget objectives. Sometimes, all you need is a rocket launcher, a perfectly timed shot and the lamentation of the noobs as time permits.

Beware, though: if you haven't played id Software's classic shooter for a while, the frenetic pace of the online action might be terrifying.

www.quakelive.com

4. Beneath a Steel Sky

A classic adventure from British developer Revolution, and one that serves two purposes. First, it's fun - a comic-style sci-fi adventure with a wry sense of humour.

Second, it's a great way to experiment with ScummVM - a tool that enables you to play classic LucasArts games on modern systems. BASS isn't the only free game that runs in it, either.

If you're still thirsty, check out Lure of the Temptress, Drascula (sic) and Flight of the Amazon Queen.

www.scummvm.org

5. Desktop Tower Defence

It's not just a game, it's a whole genre. The idea is simple. In most RTS games, you build units such as soldiers or tanks and pit them against your enemy's army.

In Desktop Tower Defence games, you put down fixed turrets, each with different abilities, with the aim of stopping the enemy making it from one side of the screen to the other. It sounds easy and, like most casual games, for the first few levels it is.

The tactics come in finding ways to force your enemy down specific paths, and using your limited resources to build and upgrade a death-course that can take them all down. It's addictive and simple to play.

No wonder there are a million clones out there, from free Flash games to commercial offerings such as Plants Vs Zombies and Defense Grid: The Awakening.

www.handdrawngames.com/DesktopTD/Game.asp

6. Digital: A Love Story

Remember the excitement of logging into your first BBS? What if you'd found something more than just files and chatter and naked pictures of assorted Star Trek actresses?

To explain Digital: A Love Story would be giving away too much, so let's just say that it's a great nostalgia trip with a bit of future-gazing thrown in for free. Played out entirely on 1988-style bulletin boards, it starts when you respond to an email from a lonely-sounding girl called Emilia.

The relationship plays out as a hacker's romance as you jump between BBS systems to uncover a conspiracy, mostly interacting by firing off emails to the characters. You never get to see what you've said, only the responses, which adds an unusual but effective disconnect to the conversations.

It's not a long game - only an hour or so of action at most - but it's a testament to the writing that you quickly get sucked into what is basically just typing out a lot of phone numbers. The authentic-sounding music and sound effects help: the sweet siren song of a modem connecting still sends a chill down the spine.

www.scoutshonour.com/digital

7. Neopets

Neopets doesn't feature just one game to complete; instead, it's stuffed with hundreds of minigames. Each of these is located in a different area of Neopia, a virtual world that you must explore with your trusty Neopet (which you design and name yourself) by your side.

From the nerve-shredding heights of Terror Mountain to the sweet delights of Faerieland and the pirate-themed festivities of Krawk Island, there's enough content here to keep you entertained for months.

Our favourite games include Dubloon Disaster (recover gold Dubloons from the sea without getting blown up by sea mines), Faerie Bubbles (pop the bubbles by matching colours - but beware of the tricksy combos) and Hannah and the Ice Caves (guide Hannah safely through each cave to collect the treasure).

If you tire of the games, there are plenty of other distractions scattered throughout Neopia. Attempt to steal treasure from ice worm The Snowager; have a snack at Tyrannia's Giant Omelette; adopt a Pet Pet so your Neopet doesn't get lonely; or get lost in one of many secret side-quests.

Just don't feed your Neopet that iced fishcake you found - it won't like it. Trust us.

www.neopets.com

8. Neptune's Pride

Do you have good friends? Want to lose them all over the course of a month? Then this is the strategy game for you.

The idea is that you only need to log in every now and again to direct your intergalactic fleet around the universe. Your friends, hereafter referred to as 'former friends', do the same.

It's very low maintenance - in theory. Really, though, get hooked on it and you'll spend every waking minute deciding who to stab in the back, worrying who's preparing to return the favour and thinking about all the other tactical options you only get when all your opponents are fleshy humans with access to out-of-game instant messaging clients and private email boxes.

Read the diaries to see a typical game played out from start to finish.

np.ironhelmet.com

9. Online poker

Who said you needed a massive bankroll to play poker online? If you know where to go, it's possible to earn fairly large amounts of money without investing a penny through multi-table tournaments known as freerolls.

All of the major online cardrooms run tournaments like this to lure in new users in the hope that they'll become addicted and pump fistfuls of their hard-earned cash into the site for many years to come.

But it's not all doom, gloom and conspiracy theories. Many of today's top poker icons built their bankrolls from cents to millions by playing freerolls. As long as you don't have too much of an addictive personality they're a great way to learn the game, kill some time and, if you're lucky, earn a pound or two.

Sites to keep an eye on are Full Tilt, Pokerstars and PartyPoker - they're always running promotions. For a day-to-day breakdown of freerolls and their UK times, visit: www.bit.ly/dv2giR.

10. Dwarf Fortress

If you find games like SimCity or Civilisation a little too simple, Dwarf Fortress is the game for you. Technically, its full name is Slaves to Armok: God of Blood: Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress, but absolutely nobody calls it that.

It's a mixture of NetHack and SimCity, played out (by default) using ASCII characters, with the focus on building a functional dwarf mine. If that sounds simple, it's only because you haven't played it.

From the dark horrors if you dig too deep to the need to manage the psychological condition of your dwarves and create an economy out of nothing but a hole in the ground, the only thing more impressive than the number of ways you can fail is seeing how much people have done with the simulation engine.

Here for instance is one forum's game, served up in episodic Lets Play format: www.bit.ly/bDkn81. Excellent, yet bewildering.

www.bay12games.com/dwarves

11. Alien Swarm

Why play this one? One word: Valve. It used to be an Unreal mod, but now it's been picked up, polished, and released for free by the PC world's best games company. That at least deserves a download, right? Team up with three friends to survive a deep-space alien infestation. When you're done, expect mods to be ready.

www.alienswarm.com/index.html

12. Canabalt / Canabalt Typing Tutor

Get ready to stare at the screen until your eyes dry up and fall out. Canabalt is a one-button game where you have to precisely time your jumps to get past the collapsing buildings, obstacles and other instant-killers awaiting you. If that's not enough, Canabalt Typing Tutor Edition is the same game, but now you never know which button you're going to have to hit to make the jump. Ouch.

www.adamatomic.com/canabalt

adamatomic.com/canabalt/edu

13. The Wikipedia Game

How many steps does it take to get from Sarah Palin to Winnie The Pooh? This excellent web game challenges you to find out. The winner of each round is the one who Wikis their way from A to B in the fewest steps. Terrifyingly addictive, and possibly even a little educational…

wikipediagame.org

14. Desktop Dungeons

Ah, the quest you can complete without running your appetite for monster-slaying. Desktop Dungeons is as simple as heroics get - really, the entire game is about fighting your way up the local monsters' organisation chart without picking a fight with something capable of crushing you back. It's Rogue without the complexity, but very moreish. The perfect way of killing a boring lunchtime.

www.qcfdesign.com/?cat=20

15. Coma

Platform games have been getting very arty of late. If you're an Xbox 360 gamer, we hope you've already checked out the beautiful Limbo - but if not, Coma offers a similarly beautiful (and much less spidery) world of dreams and make-believe to work your way through. Absolutely stunning attention to detail makes it one of the prettiest Flash platformers around.

www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/541124