Every so often, I get the urge to try new things. In today's "column", I capsule review three freeware cross-platform games that are also available on Windows. All three of these games appear in the most recent news items of HappyPenguin.org, which is a great place to look for indie games (or Linux games, if you swing that way; I won't judge you for that), and which will almost certainly be the place where I pick up additional victims candidates for this column.

Auteria

This game should be subtitled as Auteria: The Endless Grind. Gameplay amounts to pressing the F key down, grabbing a book in real life, then reading your book while you wait for your character to finish the task at hand. Then, you move your character to a new location, press the F key down, and resume reading. I suppose the game has the advantage that it'll give you an excuse to take up reading again!



Do you want to play this? No. No, you don't. But if, for some reason, you think you really do, you can visit its homepage.

xKobo Deluxe

This game is an old favourite of mine, and to discover that someone had created a version with sound effects, OpenGL/Direct3D smooth rendering, and a whole other wad of stuff, I was very, very pleased. Thirteen and a half thumbs up (I needed the money, and the doctors said there wouldn't be any side effects).



It's worth your time to check out this breath of fresh air into this timeless goodie. Visit its homepage if you want to download it.

Ninjah

If you've ever wanted an excuse to strike the nearest solid object in frustration, you'll love Ninjah. The game is quirky and quite addictive, but you'll find yourself emitting quite a wide range of vocabulary you weren't even aware that you knew!



Don't take my word for it. Go check out Ninjah's homepage to see for yourself.