Last Updated on December 10, 2018
We have always been strong advocates of computer games. Rather than rotting the brain, computer games are interactive, teach essential life skills, and can stimulate learning. They also have been proven to enhance skills such as creativity, cooperation, teamplay, as well as encouraging innovative and strategic thinking and improving hand-eye coordination.
Linux is not championed as a viable gaming platform in many communities, in part because of its smaller user base and the relatively low number of commercially supported native Linux games that are released each year. However, there are a number of encouraging developments on this front. For example, the Unigine engine should enable developers to produce high-quality 3D games with up-to-date visuals and advanced rendering. One title to be released using this engine is OilRush. This eagerly awaited title fuses a classical real time strategy with a Tower Wars genre.
Notwithstanding these developments, Linux has an ever-expanding library of tens of thousands of free games, many of which are released under an open source license. A good proportion of these titles are entertaining, highly addictive, offer captivating gameplay, and are challenging.
To be eligible for inclusion in this list each game needed to meet the following requirements:
- Free to play (no download charge, no monthly charge).
- Does not require Wine to run. Wine is a compatibility layer for running Windows software.
- Not in the early stages of development.
Now, let’s scrutinize the 7 games at hand. For each game we have compiled its own portal page, providing screenshots of the game in action, a full description with an in-depth analysis of the features of the game, together with links to relevant resources and reviews.
| Notable Free Games | |
|---|---|
| The Mana World | Innovative massively multiplayer online role-playing game |
| Full Metal Soccer | Blend of first person shooter and sports game |
| FoFiX | Frets on Fire fork with plenty of features, customizable themes and options |
| Zaz | Simple addictive puzzle game |
| Tibia | Fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game |
| Blobby Volley 2 | Head-to-head arcade volleyball game with jumping blobs |
| Numpty Physics | Drawing puzzle game in the spirit of Crayon Physics |
Read about the other 14 free games covered in this article: Part 1, Part 3.
Last Updated: June 2018
 Read our complete collection of recommended free and open source software. Our curated compilation covers all categories of software. The software collection forms part of our series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. There are hundreds of in-depth reviews, open source alternatives to proprietary software from large corporations like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. There are also fun things to try, hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. |