Enjoy some holiday games for your Mac

As the holidays approach and go by, I find myself at the end of this year’s series of columns in which I suggest some of the best technology gifts. But I would be remiss if I neglected to point out three shareware entertainment products that will bring joy throughout the year to most any computer user.

All three of them are only for the Macintosh OS X platform. Look, there are tons of computer games out there for the Windows PC and they’re easy to find. But these particular games by comparison are somewhat obscure and could easily be missed. And besides, I figure that Macintosh owners deserve some holiday cheer as well.

Every copy of Windows includes the venerable and highly addictive game of Solitaire. It’s proven to be so popular that applications have been written to remove it from company hard drives, as it has been known to eat into employee productivity. Apple Computer owners need not worry about that addiction since the only included game on a Mac is Chess. Yet I discovered a Solitaire game for the Macintosh that is one of the most beautifully rendered pieces of animated entertainment I have ever seen in a card game.

Titled Solitaire Forever, this collection delivers more than 100 different versions of the game and displays each one of them using a visually pleasing three-dimensional presentation.

After choosing from solitaire versions such as Klondike, Seahaven Towers, Yukon and Aces Up, you see a levitating, translucent pane of glass on which the playing cards are displayed. The motion is liquid smooth since its developer takes advantage of Apple’s OpenGL graphics engine. Click on any card and it flips over or glides onto the proper location. The eye-candy factor is way up there, and if you’ve ever had a yearning to make your Windows-loving friends jealous, this is the game you should be showing them.

You can download and play Solitaire Forever for free without registering. This try-before-you-buy policy lets you play four of the games without limits.

You can play any of the other games to try them out, but they will time-out after 2 minutes. Buy it for $25 and you’ll be in Solitaire heaven forever. There’s also an iPhone version that delivers the same quality as its computer counterpart.

For more details, visit www.solitaireforever.com.

Recommendation No. 2 is Absolute Backgammon. This Backgammon game has evolved over the years into a nicely rendered game, skillful playing abilities and most importantly, a great way to move the pieces on the board.

That last option has proved to be a killer on other backgammon offerings I’ve played. This game lets you move the pieces in a manner that doesn’t try to mimic how a good Backgammon player would move the pieces on an actual board. Most games force you to click on and drag the pieces to the location.

With Absolute Backgammon, you simply click on the pip to where you want the corresponding piece to go. This really lets you concentrate on the game without the distraction of having to move the tiles using an awkward mouse technique. The latest version offers spoken cues, voice recognition, lets you set up the board situation, has computer recommended moves and dozens of other features.

And of course, the doubling cube is there as well. Because after all, without a doubling cube it absolutely isn’t Backgammon. $25 will unlock the game, otherwise you can only play each game on a limited-time basis, which is more than enough time for you to know that you’ll really want to own this game.

To get the game, go to www.bestbackgammon.com/absolute.

Finally there’s Mahjong. And while there are many different offerings for this tile-matching game, none of them comes close to the one from BoneHead Software entitled Mahjong Solitaire 2.

This too is a game that’s beautifully rendered. You can select from the traditional set of tiles or from several others, including sets for kids and playing cards. The action is smooth and you get a feeling that you are playing with visually real and solid tiles.

A 3D mode lets you visually rotate the tiles so that you can get a better look at each tile and its positional relationship to the other pieces.

You can play against the clock, turn on a variety of musical selections to further enhance your gaming experience or just simply play against the computer. Other variables you can play with include different tile layouts, levels of difficulty, different backgrounds and different playing options that allow for seasonal tiles.

Many claim that Mahjong keeps the mind sharp and improves your overall well-being. While those claims may be hard to prove, I can say that this game will make your Macintosh all that it can be. The cost is $14.95.

To buy it, go to http://www.mahjongsolitaire2.com.

May you all have the happiest of holidays and remember that playing games will keep you young.

Craig Crossman is a national newspaper columnist writing about computers and technology. He also hosts the No. 1 daily national computer radio talk show, “Computer America,” heard on Business TalkRadio, Monday through Friday, 10 p.m.-midnight. For more information, visit his website at www.computeramerica.com.

2010, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services