Free Games

The games on this page are free to download and use. Being in .zip format, there is no virus risk.
There is no obligation for their use; no registraton is needed, and internet access is not required.

To download:

Click on Game Links below, click the game you wish to download, and then click the small Download symbol above the file.
Move the file from your Downloads folder to a folder of your choice, right-click the file and select Unpack (or Unzip) to unzip the files. Double-click the .exe file in the new folder to play.

The games:

Alchemy gets its name from the Alchemists of the Middle Ages, who claimed to be able to transform one material into another - for example change stone into gold.
This is a word-game in which players try to change a given word into another related word, with the minimum number of changes. Their changes may be to:

• Add a letter and re-organize the letters into another word
• Remove a letter and re-organize the letters into another word
• Change a letter for a different letter and re-organize the letters into another word

Cobble is a word-game in which players "cobble" letters together to form words. The letters have values of from 1 to 9 points. They are contained in two "racks", one shared by both players, the other for their exclusive use.
As the letters in each rack are used up, they are replaced by new letters from the "bag", which originally contains 100 letters. When the bag is empty and both players pass, the game ends. Players earn points for the length of their words and their letter-values, but may lose points for excessive time taken to find words.

Recall is intended to help develop and retain memory and recall skills. Players take turns to choose two "tiles" from a grid, trying to find matching pairs of tiles.
Before play starts, players choose between 3 sets of tiles containing hidden images of animals, letters or shapes, and the number of tiles in the grid: 18, 20, 30 or 42. For their turn, they pick 2 tiles, which are then revealed. If they match, they score points, and those tiles are removed, and they have a second try. If not the tiles are re-hidden and the other player plays.
Play ends when all the pairs of tiles have been found.

Ripple is a word-search game where two players are given a "grid" of constantly changing letters in which they try to find words. Words are groups of consecutive letters, which can run in any direction - horizontally, vertically, or diagonally - and can twist in any direction, even back upon previous letters.
Each player is allocated one of the Shift keys with which to claim a word when they see one, and the first to press then moves to each letter of their word to claim it. They have a few seconds of free time to enter their word, after which a penalty starts to apply.
The rate at which letters change may be varied between slow and very fast. Points scored depend on the length of the word, and any time-pnalties that apply

Target is another word-game, in which players try to find words from within a given Base-Word placed in a round Target. Before starting, they choose the length of Base-words to be used, either 4, 7 or 10 letters, and whether letters may be used multiple times in a word. They may also choose if discovered words will remain visible while playing, and the time allowed for each turn.
They are presented with a Target containing the (shuffled) letters of a word, and take turns to find words in the Target. The words can be shorter or, if repeated letters are allowed, longer than the Base Word - eg NABS could produce BANANAS. Repeated words score zero.
Scoring is based on the position of the letters in the Target, with the centre circle (the Bullseye) scoring highest. The first player to find the Base Word scores extra points. The game ends when both players score zero consecutively.

Worm is also a word-game. Its name relates to its involving "growing" a word from a given Seed-letter into a longer word, by adding one letter at a time.
The letters may be added to either end of the "worm" or inserted into its body, extending it with each letter.
Two players take turns to add a letter, and each addition must result in a group that could be extended from its ends into a word, but the group must not be a complete word in itself.
Before they add their letter, they can also Flip the worm end-to-end, creating a completely different worm. For their turn, a player may:

• Add a letter to the worm, at any posiion in the worm
• Flip the worm end-to-end - for example TAI (possibly for TAINT) would become IAT (possibly for DEVIATE).
• Claim a word that has been completed by their opponent's addition
• Challenge the other player's addition as not advancing toward another "real" word
• Concede that any addition they make will finish a word

Points are earned for successful challenges or claims, or lost by conceding a game.

Leapfrog is a variation on an older logic game, in which the player must "leapfrog" pegs within a grid, removing those jumped. Sounds simple? It has three levels of difficulty:

• Jump in any direection (easy)
• Jump vertically or horizontally only (harder)
• Jump diagonally only (hardest)

A Timer counts the time until you declare you've finished, and this also affects your final score.

Game Links