Many game publishers have their own web sites. If you like role-playing games try www.sjgames.com. They offer an enormous number (150+) of source books for role playing just about any genre that might interest you. All the common topics are covered, be it Space, Time Travel, Magic, Fantasy or Superhero adventures. But there are also more obscure source books available, on subjects like the Old West, Atomic Horrors (50's sci-fi), Vikings, Greece, Japan and the old TV series "The Prisoner". Even if you're not into gaming, these books are a tremendous source of information about their subjects. Sadly, many are out of print, but given enough desire for a copy of, say "Bunnies and Burrows" or "Imperial Rome", they may be able to find a copy for you. They also have some interesting board and card games, like "Illuminati" and "The Awful Green Things From Outer Space". On top of everything else, it is a weird, fun site, worth a look if you like games.
Computer game publishers have also taken to the web and many have very interesting web sites. I own a few computer games I'm really fond of. With baseball season on the way, I'm sure I'll be dusting off my copy of Diamond Mind Baseball, perhaps the best baseball simulator available. Their web site is at www.diamond-mind.com. DMB is a DOS-based, text-only simulator; it doesn't waste time with fancy graphics. It does faithfully represent the possible outcomes of a season, based on compiled statistics. One 1998 season simulation I ran predicted that the home run champ would hit 69 home runs -- pretty close, even if the predicted champ wasn't Mark McGwire. Baseball is statistics, but it is also filled with unpredictable events. Hot streaks, cold streaks, injuries and trades are all part of the mix and make accurate predictions impossible, but DMB includes them all, and generates plausible predictions. The DMB site is also a rich site for baseball analysis and lore. I would recommend it to all fans, even if you're not in the market for a game.
Go to www.imonkey.com for baseball from a slightly different perspective. Baseball Mogul is a baseball simulation that focuses on the mechanics of owning and running a team. You decide trades, lineups, TV deals and even how much you charge for a hot dog or a beer at the stadium. On my first try, I ran the Indians into the ground after the first year. I didn't want to give Manny Ramirez what he wanted to renew his contract, and I tinkered a bit with the pitching rotation. Boy, did the Indians dive! You can download a mostly functional demo version from the site to test drive it. You'll quickly learn how easy it is to mess up your favorite baseball team.
For free games you play on-line, there are a couple of sites I've visited and can recommend. Try www.gameserve.com; it has a few cute games. I recommend "Dogs Playing Poker" and "Rapid Fire". The former is self-explanatory; the latter is a clone of the old video game "Starcastle". There are many other games there which might appeal to you.
Another site to try is www.clevermedia.com/arcade/. Many of the games here look interesting. I've played "World Conquest" which is a clone of the board game "Risk". There are many I haven't tried yet; one that caught my eye is called the "Make Your Own Game Game". How can I pass that one up? This site also has links to other gaming sites; it might be a good starting point for building up a gaming bookmark list.
Both of these on-line sites require that you have the Shockwave plug-in installed for your browser. You may already have it; if not, it takes awhile to download and install, but it's worth it for the games. I know of no downside to having it installed.
I've only touched the surface; surf and find your own fun!
CATBAR - Brain Candy #20 - Play, Mensan, Play - Games on the Internet / Brian Rock / December 5 1999