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Casual PC games for an old woman?

DHS OdiumDHS Odium Registered User regular
edited January 2010 in Help / Advice Forum
So my mother-in-law is visiting this weekend, and bringing along her broken computer so I can fix it up. I built her this computer years ago, out of spare parts. From what she describes, it sounds like the mobo or cpu is dead. That doesn't actually matter for this thread - I have enough spare parts to reconstitute it, and make it better than it was before.

She's expressed some interest in playing some games on it. From memory, the parts I have will bring it up to a 1.8Ghz Duron, 512 SDRAM, ~20GB HDD, and I have a GeForce 5000 series card I think for it as well.

Not recent by any means, but it will run XP and be much better than the 700Mhz P3 and low ram it has now. I have a lot of PC games but nothing I think will really interest her, she likes casual, and puzzle games. She has a DS, and pretty much exclusively plays Clubhouse Games, and Brain Age for the Sudoku. I think I have Sims 1 lying around. That's about it.

Any suggestions? They cannot be online or browser based games, she doesn't have the internet, and won't in the immediate future. Besides the built-in card games, anything that's preferably free, that I can download from my place to put on it, and that would work well with the specs?

Wii U: DHS-Odium // Live: DHS Odium // PSN: DHSOdium // Steam: dhsykes // 3DS: 0318-6615-5294
DHS Odium on

Posts

  • CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Most off-line casual games are not free, but fairly cheap. They usually work fine with any old computer - they are designed to work with low system specs.

    These are some of the most popular:

    Diner Dash
    Bejeweled
    Mystery Case Files
    Zuma

    They can usually be found in the bargain games section of supermarkets and game stores, as well as online.

    Try http://www.bigfishgames.com/

    CelestialBadger on
  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    DHS Odium wrote: »
    Any suggestions? They cannot be online or browser based games, she doesn't have the internet, and won't in the immediate future.
    I don't have any game recommendations, I just wanted to let you know that it is possible to save many flash games off the internet and play them while disconnected. You go into temporary internet files, sort by size and find its .swf file. Copy it to the desktop and associate it with an internet browser and you should be all set.

    The only problem is that some flash games require internet connection because the site wants you to visit and see all the ads, so you would have to test the game on an un-networked computer.

    Just wanted to broaden your options a bit, I know there are a lot of free casual flash games out there.

    Oh wait, I do have a game recommendation! Jardinains 2! You don't need to play the first, it's just Arkanoid. Break the blocks, bounce the cute gnomes around and get the falling powerups. Perfect for moms and grandmas!

    UncleSporky on
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  • 1ddqd1ddqd Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Any tower defense game should be more than enough to entertain her.

    That, or Diablo II

    1ddqd on
  • CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    1ddqd wrote: »
    Any tower defense game should be more than enough to entertain her.

    That, or Diablo II

    Guys 18-35 like that kind of game. Most elderly ladies would be O_o

    Casual games actually aimed at women 35+ would probably make you go o_O

    CelestialBadger on
  • HypatiaHypatia Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Popcap Games:
    Plants vs. Zombies
    Insaniquarium
    Peggle

    Others:
    Argon
    Eets
    Tetris

    Hypatia on
  • SwashbucklerXXSwashbucklerXX Swashbucklin' Canuck Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    My mother loves Jardinains (a breakout clone with garden gnomes, no, really) to death. There's a free version, too.

    SwashbucklerXX on
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  • NightDragonNightDragon 6th Grade Username Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I know mahjong is pretty popular with the older generations of my family :) ...it's also a game that can be played without a timer, so it's a bit more relaxing.

    Bejeweled, Tetris, and Alchemy might be good choices, as well.

    NightDragon on
  • PirateJonPirateJon Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    1ddqd wrote: »
    Any tower defense game should be more than enough to entertain her.

    That, or Diablo II

    Guys 18-35 like that kind of game. Most elderly ladies would be O_o

    Casual games actually aimed at women 35+ would probably make you go o_O

    My mom-in-law (50s?) is a hardcore EQ2 player and guild officer. I mention this because everybody's different and automatically deciding someone won't like a game due to gender or age is discriminatory. I'm sure she or the OP are capable of making that call by themselves.
    Any suggestions?
    FreeCiv - http://freeciv.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
    Bargain bins at Bestbuy or wherever have lots of low end PC games for cheap - under $5 and such.

    PirateJon on
    all perfectionists are mediocre in their own eyes
  • SlagmireSlagmire Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I'd agree with most everything from Popcap - easy, fun games that don't eat a ton of resources. Bejeweled is an obvious pick, and I'd probably say any of the Bookworm titles would be good too. Plants vs. Zombies on the other hand, as fun as that game is... I'm dubious on whether an elderly woman would enjoy it as much.

    I'm sure there are video game collections of card games available as well.

    Slagmire on
  • DHS OdiumDHS Odium Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I don't think anything too complex or niche in subject matter would work very well. I'll be seeing her later on today so I'll ask and get a better feel for what she might be interested in. I know PopCap games are quality, Plants Vs. Zombies has eaten my entire free time this week, but as great as it is I can't see her playing it.

    DHS Odium on
    Wii U: DHS-Odium // Live: DHS Odium // PSN: DHSOdium // Steam: dhsykes // 3DS: 0318-6615-5294
  • subediisubedii Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I suspect World of Goo ought to be playable on that machine, and it's a pretty awesome game.

    You can try the demo, the game itself is also DRM free if you're getting it direct from the dev website (2D Boy).

    Would she be interested in the Myst games? GOG.com have those now.

    subedii on
  • DasUberEdwardDasUberEdward Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    DHS Odium wrote: »
    I don't think anything too complex or niche in subject matter would work very well. I'll be seeing her later on today so I'll ask and get a better feel for what she might be interested in. I know PopCap games are quality, Plants Vs. Zombies has eaten my entire free time this week, but as great as it is I can't see her playing it.

    I second bookworm adventures.

    DasUberEdward on
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  • subediisubedii Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Actually, do you think she'd be interested in "The Incredible Machine" style games? Those are available at GOG as well now IIRC.

    subedii on
  • PhistiPhisti Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I plug Portal every chance I get... seems to fit the bill in this case. Could be a game a 50-something puzzle fan would enjoy.

    Phisti on
  • subediisubedii Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    The problem with Portal is the Steam requirement. In theory you can take it offline, but that can be finicky for certain people.

    subedii on
  • ScosglenScosglen Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Not to mention that computer is barely up to grade for running a source game.

    Scosglen on
  • NogsNogs Crap, crap, mega crap. Crap, crap, mega crap.Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Bookworm!

    Nogs on
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  • SiskaSiska Shorty Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Heroes of Might and Magic 1-3

    Siska on
  • CelestialBadgerCelestialBadger Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    PirateJon wrote: »
    My mom-in-law (50s?) is a hardcore EQ2 player and guild officer. I mention this because everybody's different and automatically deciding someone won't like a game due to gender or age is discriminatory. I'm sure she or the OP are capable of making that call by themselves.

    Bah. There are plenty of exceptions, but the older lady in the OP's post is not one of them. If he had said "Please recommend a game for an elderly female D&D player, enjoys SCA events, sci-fi conventions", I'd have recommended Diablo or Warcraft or Everquest. But he asked for casual games for a casual gamer. That kind of person is just going to be a bit puzzled by Diablo and it's ilk.

    CelestialBadger on
  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Tumblebugs.

    I don't know who made it, but my mom played the shit out of this forever.

    It's one of those color matching games where you shoot a colored ball at a line of them and 3+ straight removes them from the line.

    Jasconius on
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