Geek: All Work and No Play Makes Our Kung Fu Dull ...

We look at three of our favorite games.

What is that famous, old saying? “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” Actually, the way we remember it from The Shining, no play made Jack a homicidal, family annihilating maniac. While we can’t say that we’ve ever given into the voices in our head, here at Kung Fu Drafter we definitely find it necessary to have play time. And that is fine because we just happen to love good games. But good games cost lots of money. Or do they? Another old saying goes something like this: “You get what you pay for.” Well that is one old saying that we just don’t believe in because we happen to know of some great games that are free or cheap!   N, the super fun flash game of stick ninjas ...

First on the list of fun time distractions is one of our all time favorite free games, N. That’s right, just one little letter has the power to bring hours and hours of challenging fun. You play the role of a tiny stick figure ninja out to clear maze after maze, collecting gold coins along the way. It may not sound like much fun. It may not even look like much fun. But just give it a chance and you are going to find yourself ensnared by its simple charm and humorous little physics engine. Just one thing, be prepared to die. Repeatedly. Frustration and failure are all part of the fun in N. Download N for a continuously good time on the PC or purchase a copy for your Sony PSP or Nintendo DS. We suppose you could even get it on Xbox360 Live, however that may work.

Come play and feel the Quake ...

Next on the free game list is Quake Live. Old time videogame players like us probably remember when id Software’s Quake ruled the FPS scene. Geeks, nerds and fanboys all over the world weren’t just playing Quake; they were living the Quake lifestyle. Long hours, hidden in the dark and tanned only from the radiant heat their super powered gaming rigs put out, these players were the FPS elite. Quake wasn’t just bleeding edge, it left players exsanguinated. Flash forward 13 years and now you too can enjoy playing this former king of the mountain for free and in your browser! Just go to the Quake Live site, create a player account and you are in fragging the wits out of players who probably weren’t alive when the first Quake hit store shelves.

Play it once. Get hooked for life ...

The last game on our list isn’t a videogame. Hey, we turn the electronics off every once in a while and sit to play other kinds of games. The game we always turn to first? Well it has to be Settlers of Catan, of course. This deceptively simple game can be bought at bookstores, toy stores and comic stores. But watch out, prices do vary so shop carefully. This classic German game of resource management is equal parts simple and charm. Two to four players can sit and enjoy a game on the randomly assembled game board in the span of a lunch hour. That is what we like to do at the Kung Fu Dojo. Weekly battles rage with cardboard pieces and playing card resources inches away from multi-thousand dollar CAD workstations. And don't even get us started on the expansions. We can definitely say if there was no electricity, let there be Catan!

So there you have it. We are outted as the gaming fools that we are. We may love videogames, but there is a special place for those special board games and all the little pieces that they come with. Of course, since there is electricity, we are still thinking about buying Left 4 Dead ...

- KFD -