As many of you are aware, the Web is in a constant state of dramatic change. You may find that some of the Web sites we've covered here have since changed their addresses or closed their doors entirely. This is a fact of Internet life, so don't be disappointed. Simply recheck the URL, try again later (there may be a network or server problem), or zip over to Lycos and find another site related to your interest. This minor obstacle may even result in some fun surfing and the discovery of other cool sites!

Acknowledgments

Sean McFadden would also like to thank Katharine English for her professional encouragement and his family for their continuing support.

Introduction

Action/Arcade games are those which rely more on hand-eye coordination rather than story or strategy. These are often called twitch games and are generally faster paced and reflex-oriented. Adventure games involve the player in a journey of exploration and puzzle solving. The games usually entail a linear storyline in which you, the protagonist, set out to accomplish a goal or purpose through interaction with other characters and various objects.

Role-playing games (or RPGs) are similar to adventure games but rely on character development (usually involving statistics), conversation, and strategic combat more than puzzle solving. Huge epic quests and fantasy worlds are common and storylines are not always linear as in traditional adventure games.

Strategy games are a wide-ranging gaming genre but emphasize logical thinking and planning. They often stress resource and time management, which takes precedence over fast action and character involvement. War games are a subset of Strategy games that re-create historical battles or made-up conflicts between at least two parties. Strategic tactical direction and organization are necessary, and the game creators usually place the decision-making skills and execution of commands in the player's hands.

Sports games artificially simulate a single player or team's game from an instructional or playing perspective. Realism of the game is significant as fast action and strategy are often both necessary. Simulation games (or Sims) endeavor to realistically simulate a given animate or inanimate object. Most often Sims place the gamer in a first-person perspective and recreate machinery such as planes and tanks. There are, however, examples of Sims that attempt to mimic even the animal kingdom such as the Sanctuary Wood's game Wolf or Lion.

Lastly, Puzzle or "Classic" games include usually older leisure games such as card, trivia, word, tile, or board games. Chess, checkers, backgammon, Mahjongg, and Klondike Solitaire are perfect examples. They have also been known to describe more "simple" computer games as in older arcade favorites or games that may lack a deep story or player commitment; Tetris and Sid & Al's Incredible Toons are good examples. It is important to mention that some games may overlap categories but we have sorted them as suitably as possible (is Papyrus's NASCAR Racing a sports game or a racing simulation? Well, both, but you'll find it in our Sports section because, after all, it is a sport. You get the picture!).