Linux has finally come of age and is now a legitimate gaming platform. The release of quality commercial titles such as Left 4 Dead 2, Portal, and Day of Defeat bring real credibility to Linux as a first-class gaming platform. The bid to lure gamers away from Microsoft’s platform has also been strengthened, in part, due to the official launch of Steam for the Linux operating system back on February 14.
Computer games grow larger, more sophisticated and increasingly complex. Traditional blockbusters continue to dominate the commercial gaming market. However, for many people who have time and budget constraints, small open source or freeware computer games still offer an attractive alternative.
The purpose of this article is to focus on free Linux games that garner very little attention, certainly far less than any of the commercial counterparts on Steam. All of the games featured here are worth trying out. Whilst many of them lack some of the polish and finesse of their commercial brethren, they are still good fun to play.