What to play in the evening. What to play with your child in the evening (Archive)

Distracting your child from computer games and various applications on tablets and smartphones is sometimes a difficult task for many parents. But at the same time, parents cannot always offer an interesting alternative for children in the form of active or board games. Today we will tell you what you can play with the whole family so that no one gets bored.

Playing outdoors not only brings health benefits, but also develops qualities in children such as dexterity, strength, ingenuity and creative thinking. These games can be played on the playground, in nature, on the lawn in country house, and you will need very little additional props.

Ball up!

For this game you will need a ball, with which the driver stands in the center of the circle created by other players. He throws the ball as high as possible with the words “Ball up!” (you can come up with your own signal word), and at this time the players run away from it as far as possible (you cannot hide behind trees or other objects). When the driver catches the ball and shouts “Stop!”, the players must freeze in place and not move (if someone does not stop at the signal, they must take three large steps towards the driver). Now the driver’s task is to throw the ball and stain one of the players with it, if he manages to do this, then this player becomes the driver next game. If it was not possible to stain anyone, then the driver again stands in a circle.

Canvas Basketball

You will need a piece of tarpaulin, in which you should cut holes of different diameters (just not smaller than the existing ball), cover their edges with colored tape and assign a value in points to each hole. Then the players take turns throwing the ball, the winner is the one who scores the maximum number of points in 10 throws. You can complicate the task and make each throw at a greater distance from the tarpaulin than the previous one.

Street twister

This game can be purchased in a store, or you can draw the outlines of circles on the asphalt yourself using colored chalk (if you don’t mind your lawn, you can draw circles on it with special water-based paints that wash off after rain). You decide the size yourself playing field and the size of the colored circles, and if you want circles of the same size, take a cardboard box, cut a hole in it and use it as a stencil.

Cobweb

Find two trees or pipes standing next to each other in your yard and stretch two ropes between them at the top and bottom to create a “window.” Now let the children (and adults too) jump through the “window” so as not to touch the ropes. This develops dexterity and coordination of movements in children, teaches them to jump in height and determine by eye the distances between objects. Then the task should be complicated: between two ropes, stretch a few more like a web, now let the participants climb through the obstacle without touching the ropes or breaking them.

Push-pull

This is an unusual running competition because you have to run in pairs. The players stand with their backs to each other, holding hands. Now each pair must cover the distance from one landmark and back, without tearing their backs away from each other and without breaking their hands. First, one participant runs forward and pulls the other player with him, then they run back in reverse - the one who pushed becomes the one who pulls, while trying to move synchronously with his Siamese twin. The winner is the pair that covers the distance there and back faster.

Ice riches

In hot weather, this game will delight children. Freeze ice cubes in a mold, first placing a small toy or other “treasure” (this could be, for example, flowers or plant leaves) in each mold. Or you can color the water with food coloring, then you will have multi-colored “precious stones” with riches. Give them to children and let them try to melt the ice with their hands, warm breath or other means. Just be careful so they don't accidentally swallow the surprise!

In order not to cause overwork in the child, you should alternate active games with calm ones from time to time.

Fanta

This is old good game, which both children and adults love to play. Each player collects one item and puts it in a bag. One of the players is blindfolded and must come up with a task for the owner of each item pulled out of the bag by the presenter. You can do it another way: before the start of the game, each participant writes notes with tasks and puts them in a bag, then the bag is passed around in a circle and everyone must pull out their task for this con. You can come up with anything you want: sing a song while sitting under the table, give flowers to the first person to enter the room, or even take the iron out for a walk.

Hat

All participants come up with words, write them on pieces of paper and put them in a hat. Then they are divided into pairs, and here the fun begins: in one minute, first one member of the pair, then the other must explain to each other as many concepts as possible, which are written on pieces of paper pulled from a hat. If you are playing with children, you should, of course, avoid words like “reverb,” “hydroelectric,” and “somnambulist.” The pair with the most words guessed in 2 minutes wins.

Crocodile

Before the start of the game, a presenter and an explainer are selected. The presenter says a word to the explainer, and he, with the help of gestures, facial expressions and movements, must explain it to everyone else. The person explaining is prohibited from making any sounds, showing or using surrounding objects, but if the word is difficult to explain in its entirety, then it can be shown that he is explaining it in parts. The player who guesses what is being said becomes the explainer in the next round, and the one who made faces in front of the participants in the last round guesses the word.

Leaning Tower

In stores the game is sold under the name “Jenga”, but you can make it yourself. To do this, you will need about 50 wooden blocks, 25 centimeters long and about two wide and high. Then you should build a tower, alternating longitudinal and transverse laying of bricks. Players then take turns carefully pulling out one block at a time and placing it on top of the tower. This must be done as carefully as possible, otherwise the tower will collapse. The player whose actions caused the collapse is considered the loser.

Games and entertainment “on paper” have been familiar to people since
school desks They are distinguished by their simplicity and the fact that they can
capture and interest from the first minutes. For such games you
all you need is a sheet of paper (depending on each: checkered, lined
or blank), as well as a writing pen or pencil.

Games on paper:

• Tic Tac Toe - a classic game for which
  you need to draw a grid of 9 cells. Decide on
  partner who will draw what (crosses or toes). Start the game
  Each move you make is one sign. The winner is the one who managed to draw three
  of the same sign horizontally, diagonally or vertically.


• Sticks - For this game you will need a sheet of
  cell. On it you need to draw a geometric rhombus. Exercise
  each player - draw sticks inside the rhombus, which would occupy one
  side of the cell. If someone manages to find an unlocked cell
  (that is, sticks on three sides), he immediately draws the fourth, and inside
  your sign - a cross or a zero. The one who draws on the playing field wins
  more characters.


• Hand - you will need a checkered piece of paper (you can do this
  or use in line). Outline your hand, inside its outline you
  numbers from 1 to 100 should be written in different places (confused). Same
  Your partner does the same on his piece of paper. Then you exchange
  leaves. The task is to take turns finding a number from 1 to 100 and circling it
  him after the discovery. While you are looking for it, your partner is drawing
  there are zeros around the outline of the hand. The one who draws a complete sheet wins
  zeros in the “free territory”.


• Sea battle - in order to start the game, you
  two battlefields should be drawn (for each player). The field looks like
  in the form of a square 10 by 10 cells each (the top line is indicated
  letters: from a to i, and the left vertical from 1 to 10. Inside the field, each
  the player draws ships: 1 of 4 cells, 2 of 3, 3 of 2 and 1
  single). Your task is to shoot across the enemy field, calling
  coordinates, for example: “a-10” or “g-7”. The first one wins
  will “sink” all enemy ships.


• Words - A long word is written on a piece of paper.
  The task of each player is to come up with as many small words as possible from
  long word. The one whose number is the largest will win.
  For example, the word “parallelogram” and the words from it: “pair”, “gram”,
  “Lego”, “goal”, “frame” and so on.


• Word crossword - Write in the middle of the sheet
  long word. Your task is to add small or other words,
  which would consist of several letters of the original. The one who wins
  will be a maximum of words (1 word - 1 point), a long word (more than one
  letters - 2 points).

What cards can you play together?

Many people like to play cards, because they allow you to completely forget about time and have fun.

Interesting card games:

• Fool - This is an old and familiar game to everyone. There are two
  types: “Ordinary fool” and “Flip-up”. The goal of the game is to beat the card more
  the highest of the same suit or any trump card. Each player receives 6 cards
  and as they are dropped, it replenishes its set. The one who has
  We're running out of cards.


• Queen of Spades - players should have equal
  number of cards. Among them, all must be paired. Each one in turn
  the player draws a card from his partner without looking and, adding a pair to it, throws it away
  (for example: 9 cross and 9 diamonds). Among all the cards there is one -
  "Queen of Spades". The one who will have this card (it is the only one with
  which has no pair, since 1 queen is discarded from the deck immediately) and its
  the winner at the end of the game will be the losing side.


• Trump card - lay the deck face down
  in front of you. Designate a trump card (any suit) in advance and take turns
  turn over one card at a time. The one who is lucky enough to play trump card,
  takes the entire stack of turned over cards. The one who has the cards will lose
  more.


• Drunkard - place the deck face down in front of
  yourself. Start turning over the cards one at a time. The one whose card will be
  more, will have to take the entire inverted pile. The loser in
  at the end there will be more cards.

Outdoor games for two at home without a computer: what to play?

An alternative to “harmful” computer games can be:
interesting active games that can be played at home or outdoors
air.

Games:

• Edible or not edible - the task of this game
  is simple: everyone should guess what object their partner will name. IN
  Depending on this, he either catches or hits a small ball.
  The one who beats off the “edible word” or catches it loses
  "inedible"


• Crocodile - it's simple and very interesting game, V
  to which everyone must show the word with gestures and movements. Pronounce
  Words and sounds cannot be made. The one who doesn't guess the word loses.


• Cold or hot - your task is to hide
  some object at home or on the street. The partner is looking for him, and you help him
  do this by telling "hot, warm or cold" as it goes
  approaching the hidden thing.


• Note - the game is simple and interesting: one participant
  writes words on his partner's back with his fingers, and he guesses the letters and
  makes up a word. The one who composes the most words wins.


• Broken phone - for this game you will need
  a large number of children. Everyone sits in a row. The first child comes up with
  word and communicates it to his neighbor, but quickly and quietly. He passes it on
  exactly as I heard it. The latter speaks the word he hears loudly. If
  the word eventually turned out to be “spoilt”, everyone voices what they heard and
  this way the loser is revealed.

What games can adults play at home, in an apartment, without a computer?

Adult games are characterized by more complex thought processes, since they are mainly designed for logic.

Games:

• Backgammon - for this you will need dice, checkers and
  special field for the game. The winner is the one who flips the checkers first
  circle and returns to its place.


• Chess -logic game, the meaning of which is to seize someone else’s territory and destroy the “enemy’s army.”


• Checkers - the game is designed for white or black checkers to move to the opposite field and “destroy” the opponent’s checkers.


• Guess who I am (Tarantino) - the game is very simple and
  fascinating at the same time. The names of the world are written on pieces of paper
  personalities (actors, singers, politicians). The leaves are mixed and each one is not
  looking at it, he selects one for himself, then attaches it to his forehead. Everyone's task is
  guess what kind of personality he got by asking leading questions.


• Mafia - complex turn based game in the detective genre.
  The game should use regular or special cards, can't get by
  without the help of a leader.

What games can a husband and wife play at home, in an apartment without a computer?

• Lotto - a classic game with which time is literally
  "flies unnoticed." To do this, you will need a special set of tickets and
  bag of barrels. The first person to fill their ticket with
  in numbers.


• is a logic game in which you have to
  remove the blocks from the constructed tower, taking them out from the middle. Task -
  If you don't break the tower, the one whose tower crumbles will lose.


• True or false - each player tells
  two stories, one of which is fiction, and the second is true. The second task
  player to find out what is what. The one who knows his best will win
  partner.


• Associations - your task is to guess a word
  and name all associations with it to your partner so that he
  guessed right. Whoever guesses the most words wins.


• “What movie?” — To do this, players must be
  real movie buffs. Describe the main character's story without naming him
  name, and your opponent will guess the movie. The more correct
  answers, the more points.

What games can a guy and a girl play at home, in an apartment without a computer?

Games:

• Towns- the task of each player to name the city on
  the letter that was the last in the already named word. You can also change
  The theme of the game, for example, is not the names of cities, but the names of flowers or dishes.


• Strip cards - for a young couple, even an ordinary “Fool” will be much more interesting if everyone takes turns taking off their items of clothing.


• Puzzles - buy a large puzzle picture and
  try to spend time together piecing it together. At this time
  you can discuss many life issues and tell interesting
  stories.

Collecting puzzles is an interesting pastime

What games can you play at home, in an apartment alone without a computer with a friend?

Games:

• Fortune telling for the betrothed - interesting pastime
  for two young girls, especially since there are no options for fortune telling
  today there are many: on cards, wax, coffee
  thicker, by phone call and so on.


• I believe it, I don’t believe it, your friend asks you a question about
  which you must answer correctly and incorrectly, and her task is
  choose the correct answer. The winner of the game will be the one who has
  more guessed answers.


• "Weak" - in any game (be it cards, lotto or
  palms) may be “weak”. This is the very punishment that follows
  do. As a rule, this is a funny or shameful activity that
  not easy to implement.

What games can you play at home, in an apartment alone without a computer with your brother?

Games:

• Domino - interesting and exciting game for folding dominoes.


• Mosaic - you can put many interesting pictures together.


• Constructor - build castles, houses or entire cities together.


• active game with a special playground.

What games can you play at home, in an apartment alone without a computer with your sister?

• Monopoly - An interesting, exciting logic game with many tasks and elements.


• Modeling from plasticine or plasticine dough - modern play dough or plasticine will allow you to create interesting figures and have fun.


• Puppet theater - Funny stories with toy characters will certainly amuse you and help you have an interesting time.

What can boys and girls between 10 and 14 years old play together without a computer if they’re bored?

• Paper dolls - To play, you should draw and cut out dolls, and also come up with paper clothes for them.


• I am a designer - Girls really like the game, so
  how it makes you feel like a real designer, creating
  fashion collections and showing off to your friend.


• In a rubber band - This is a fun and active game in the fresh air.


• To the hairdresser - It is very interesting to create hairstyles and styles for your girlfriends for girls.

What can you play together in the hospital?

• Guess the melody - You need to sing a familiar song with your voice, and your partner in the game must guess it.


• Coloring and drawing - A fun and relaxing experience that everyone will enjoy.


• In the questionnaires - compiling interesting questions about hobbies and answering them.


• Poetry- each player writes one line, which continues the previous one in rhyme.

Participants are divided into two teams. The first team calls the second player. He is given a word, which he must show solely with the help of facial expressions and gestures, without saying anything. His teammates are trying to guess what he is depicting.

A limited time is given for guessing, for example a minute. Then everything is repeated with a player from the other team.

In a more complex version of “Crocodile”, a phrase is made. For example, a quote from a famous song or quatrain, a proverb, a saying, and so on.

2. Hat

The game involves two teams, which must have the same number of players. Each participant writes 5–6 words on cards (small pieces of paper) (one word per piece of paper). Then the cards are put into a hat.

The first player draws a card from the hat and, at a signal, begins to explain the word written on it to one of the players. You cannot mention words of the same root or consonant; you can use metaphors, synonyms, and abstract explanations. The second player's task is to express his versions and manage to guess the word in 20 or 30 seconds. If it works, the card remains with the team, if not, it is put back in the hat.

Then the players of the second team guess the word in the same way, and so on until the hat is empty. The team with the most cards wins.

3. What is he doing?

This is a kind of variation of “The Hat”. Players are divided into teams. Each of them writes some action on a piece of paper, for example: change a diaper, flip pancakes, ride a Ferris wheel, pass an exam, dance in the fan zone at a rock concert, and so on.

The player draws out the task and tries silently, only with gestures and facial expressions, to show this action to his teammate.

The rest of the rules are the same as in “The Hat”: the team with the most artistic and quick-witted players who have scored larger number cards.

4. Contact

One of the players is appointed as the leader. He thinks of a word - a common noun in the nominative case and singular - and names its first letter. The rest of the players can ask the leader leading questions, meaning a specific word.

For example, the word “cow” is guessed. The player remembers the word starting with the letter “k” and asks the host: “Isn’t this a place that children really love?” (carousel). If someone guesses what is meant, he says: “Contact!” Both players count to ten and say the word in unison. If both named “carousel”, the presenter opens the second letter “o”. If the second player made a mistake and said, for example, “ship,” everyone thinks further.

The presenter’s task is to understand as quickly as possible what word the player has guessed and name it while the “contacting” participants count to ten (“No, this is not a carousel”). If he succeeds, the second letter does not open.

The game continues until someone guesses the hidden word. In this case, the winner becomes the leader.

5. Answer in 5 seconds

Participants are divided into two teams. Each one comes up with a musical task and challenges a rival player. For example: name three rock styles; three musical heroes; three songs that are good to listen to in a traffic jam; three associations with the word “radio” or “rhythm”; three musical professions; three objects that are on stage during a performance, and so on. The player must answer within five seconds.

The tasks can be changed: not musical ones, but, for example, sports, geographical, natural or even local history tasks.

6. Danetki

Game with very simple rules. The presenter imagines a situation and briefly describes it. For example: “A man jumped out of a plane, but remained alive. How did this happen? Players can ask questions to which the host can only answer “yes” or “no.” For example:

Did he fall into the ocean?
- No.
- Was he with a parachute?
- No.
- Was he saved in the air by another parachutist?
- No.
- Was the person on a moving plane?
- No.
- Was the plane on the ground?
- Yes.

Situations can be invented of any complexity. The main thing is that they have at least some logic. The one who solved the situation becomes the leader.

7. Who am I?

Each player writes the name of a popular hero or the name of an item on a small piece of paper. After this, the sheets are shuffled and distributed to all participants. They stick them on their foreheads without looking.

The players sit in a circle. Each of them can ask questions. For example: “Am I human?”, “Am I with huge legs?”, “Am I green?” Once the answer is “no”, the right to ask questions passes to the next player in a clockwise direction.

This is a knockout game: whoever guesses that he is a stool or Sherlock leaves the circle. Everything continues until there is only one left who cannot guess what kind of inscription is on his forehead.

8. Twister

Three or four people can play twister at the same time. To play you need equipment - a white field with circles of green, yellow, blue and red, arranged six in four rows. Plus a flat roulette divided into four sectors: each of them corresponds to a specific hand or leg and is further divided into sections of four colors. The presenter spins the arrow and tells which sector and which particular arm or leg the player should move to.

You can make a twister field yourself on the grass using a cardboard box with a circle cut out in the bottom and spray paint in four colors. And replace the roulette with cards with the inscriptions “right foot”, “left hand”, “red”, “blue” and so on, which the presenter pulls out of a hat or box.

If you don’t want to part with your smartphone even in the fresh air, you can download apps to play with others.

9. Alias

A game similar to Crocodile, but with certain limitations. Participants are divided into pairs and sit opposite each other. The first player receives a word in the application, which he needs to show to his partner using synonyms, gestures, translations into foreign languages and so on.

For each word guessed, the pair receives a point. If the process does not proceed, the word can be updated - in this case the team loses a point. A minute later, the smartphone is given to another couple. Those who score win greatest number points.

10. Spaceteam

Spaceteam is team game for groups of up to eight people who shout nonsense consisting of technical terms to each other. This continues until their ship explodes.

People who have a day job, children, or even just a dog tend to value their time. And for them, completing some RPG with a hundred hours game content may take a couple of months. In such conditions, the launch of which will obviously take no more than a few evenings looks much more attractive.

For people who don't have time to spend all day playing their favorite games, but who don't want to cut out their favorite hobby from their lives, we've compiled a list of the best short games for PC. Regardless of whether you prefer puzzles, speed games, face games or light RPGs, most likely you will be able to find something to your liking and enjoy spending the evening after a hard day at work.

List best games for one evening's entertainment

The surrounding world begins to move only when the player himself moves. This stylish and unusual first-person shooter takes place in a series of intricate multi-level arenas, in which the player must disarm, stab or shoot all the enemies in the room in a very limited space.

After the last enemy is dealt with, all actions performed by the player are played in reverse order, evoking associations with the Matrix, which is rightfully so. A complete playthrough of Superhot won't take more than three to four hours, and in that short time it realizes the full potential of its original concept without becoming repetitive.

This first-person walking simulator takes players through the pristine woods of northern Wyoming, while telling the story of the relationship between Henry, a local caretaker, and his colleague Delilah. The plot in it is more linear than you expect after the first glance at the scale of free game world, but the exploration of picturesque nature and the secrets hidden in it is truly captivating, and the quality of the voice acting of the characters allows you to fully feel the emotions that arise between the main characters.

Don't try to search for information about it, just launch it and start playing. At first glance, the game seems to be a simple first-person farmer simulator, but things quickly take a very unexpected turn (and this despite the fact that if the game really was a farmer simulator, then it would not be bad either). Moirai is distributed free of charge, and its completion takes no more than 10 minutes, but the amount of impressions it brings exceeds all expectations. A game for those who value both their time and their money.

Considering the amount of content per unit of time presented in the games in the series Far Cry, they all stand complete passage. However, if there is always not enough time for this, then Blood Dragon has absorbed all the best that was in Far Cry 3, while condensing it into 5-6 hours of game content dedicated to the study of curious things populated by robotic dragons, cyber sharks and even the character of Michael Bay. Insider jokes like these won't suit everyone, but the game's mixture of sandbox and shooter genres is superbly implemented. And if you like the charming madness of Blood Dragon, then, in that case, pay attention to the full-length Far games Cry – there’s more than enough goodness there.

A first-person spatial puzzle game from Valve. The gameplay is based on a fairly simple idea, which is to place two portals and use them to move from one part of the level to another, while avoiding various obstacles and achieving the goal. However, this idea is presented in such original and varied iterations that the game manages to continue to surprise throughout its four to five hours of playtime. A more versatile and independent sequel further developing this idea was released in 2011 ( original game was released as part of the Orange Box compilation, along with Team Fortress 2 and 2), however, it still failed to surpass the first Portal.

Limbo and the second game from Danish studio Playdead, Inside, are extraordinary platformers with puzzle elements. Perhaps the first game turned out to be a little more holistic, but we guarantee that completing both will expand your understanding of the possibilities of gameplay and game design in just one evening. It's difficult to say anything more about these games, because everything that makes them unique needs to be experienced first-hand.

Abzu

Abzu gives you the opportunity to try on an aquanaut costume and go explore the colorful underwater world, filled with rainbow-colored sea creatures, rich plant life and plenty of caves to explore. Walkthrough storyline The game takes no more than a couple of hours, but the superbly realized world of Abzu, living its own life, is worth staying longer in it, exploring all the nooks and crannies.

The game's creative director, Matt Nava, also had a hand in creating some of the finest art styles in video games such as Flower and Journey.

The game clearly answers the question of what would happen if Monty Python's Flying Circus were created by David Lynch and then adapted as computer game. This is what Jazzpunk is like in its humorous and absurdly unconventional nature. The game has a fairly linear plot, but the player is free to explore the world of Jazzpunk at his own discretion and without any restrictions.

Tom Francis, formerly of PC Gamer, created this great stealth puzzle game about hacking security systems and stealing government secrets. In addition to being great, the game can offer a carefully designed system of gradual complication of game mechanics, obstacles and enemies, keeping the player in suspense until the very end.

The final levels include riddles so intricate that moments of insight bring incomparable pleasure. And escaping from the crime scene by jumping through a third-floor window only reinforces the feeling of intellectual triumph.

Early The version Stanley Parable appeared as a mod for 2, created on the Engine engine, but over time the game grew into something independent and completely unique. Following the instructions of the narrator's voice, voiced by the incomparable Kevan Brighting, the player gets acquainted with the daily routine of Stanley, a typical representative of the office plankton layer.

However, you are free not to listen to the annoying narrator, acting contrary and thereby seriously infuriating him - this often forces Brighting's voice to address the player directly and break the so-called fourth wall. This kind of disruption to the game's normal flow is not only extremely funny, but also gives food for thought about how video games generally work, and how this type of storytelling differs from others.

This fun and unpretentious physics platformer never takes itself too seriously. Once on a low-poly planet with exactly the same flora and fauna, the player will have to help a Botanical Utility Droid named BUD grow a huge star plant, which will give the main character the opportunity to return home. The game is completed in a couple of hours, however game mechanics, which make up the gameplay of Grow Home, will encourage you to return to it again and again. And the animation of the BUD climbing up the plants will always bring a smile to your face.

The combat system is one of the main components of any RPG, and Undertale is no exception to the rule. However, its passage is possible without any violent actions as such. Each of the possible paths provides the player with unique opportunities and has its own characteristics, but peaceful tactics not only make the choices made in the game actually affect something, but also opens up more dialogue options with the strange, quirky and multi-faceted characters of the game.

During your short stay in the world of Undertale, you will meet many memorable monsters, but especially pay attention to the relationships and skirmishes of Papyrus and Sans - these guys are simply inimitable.

A meditative and incredibly tactile - for a computer game - series of puzzle games, entirely dedicated to opening boxes with a secret. The mechanisms of the boxes consist of complex systems of secret compartments, intricate clock mechanisms and magical lenses. As individual parts of the puzzle are solved, the remaining components of the box can change and combine with each other, forming new complex structures.

The idea is simple, but it is implemented amazingly. At the same time, the game has some tension, pumped up by an endless system of mysterious rooms and boxes full of unknown secrets.

A world that takes place under the roof of a huge estate, strewn with notes and diaries, cassette recordings and fragments of unfulfilled dreams. This is a tragic story of the relationship between two people, told through the various objects that once connected them. As more and more rooms open, you will piece together the mosaic of the destinies of the inhabitants of the estate and discover the most intimate secrets of this family.

Dear Esther is a thoughtful story steeped in poetry, told by a narrator as the player explores a deserted island. The exploration of mysterious elements of the landscape, as if they had accidentally arrived on the island from somewhere else, is accompanied by equally random excerpts from letters written by the main character to his wife.

The island doesn't interact with the player in any way, but instead you'll have a two-hour walk along its faded, wind-swept shores and crystalline caves to a delightful neoclassical soundtrack.

In this adventure puzzle platformer, the player will have to take control of two brothers, and this is implemented in such a way that each stick on the gamepad is responsible for controlling one of them. Using this custom interface, you'll need to guide kids through a fantasy world filled with difficult terrain and unfriendly monsters.

The journey with the brothers makes you laugh, makes you cry, and lasts not a second longer than necessary to get the most vivid impression from the game.

All Hallows' Night has arrived, and monsters have taken to the streets of the city. In this nostalgic game that evokes old JRPGs, you'll have to command a group of kids dressed up in Halloween costumes that allow them to transform into their characters during turn-based battles. Battles take place in three different fantasy worlds, populated by the quirky characters that have become the hallmark of the Double Fine studio.

Being, in essence, a shortened version of a full-scale stealth action game with an open world The Phantom Pain, Ground Zeroes is a complete level with a high replay value. In the role of the silent saboteur Snake, you will have to infiltrate a secret CIA prison, free the prisoners and find out about the plans of the local villain Skull.

In terms of plot, it is closely related to the events main game and inaccessible to the uninitiated, but the diverse stealth-oriented gameplay makes Ground Zeroes a completely independent work, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the world of the voluminous - but no less magnificent Phantom Pain.

The game world consists of a small but incredibly detailed copy of a British city, from which absolutely all the inhabitants (except for the main character) disappeared overnight, leaving behind only strange ghostly lights. Following them, the player, through a series of flashbacks, witnesses various scenes that preceded the mysterious disappearance.

These provincial passions in their content resemble plot The Archers, one of the BBC's longest running radio dramas, running for over 65 years. However, elements of fantasy and mysticism give the game a unique atmosphere.

Easy to understand and short, it contains many secrets and unexpected plot twists. The essence of the gameplay is to study video recordings of the interrogation of a woman suspected of committing a crime and compare the evidence. At first it is not clear who she is, or why she is being interrogated, or where a guitar suddenly appears in her hands, but we will avoid spoilers by only advising you to go through this entertaining detective story on your own.

Clear proof that even games with graphics and animations from RPG Maker can touch a nerve. The plot of To The Moon is reminiscent of the events of the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in its attempts to penetrate deep into the subconscious of the main characters in order to understand the true nature of their relationship. This sad and charming game is perhaps the most touching game ever created in the style of 16-bit pixel art. And not the least role here is played by the heart-tugging soundtrack.

Perhaps a slightly less successful rebirth of the series than the console Championship Edition, which never received a PC port, CE DX nevertheless provides an incredibly fun new take on the original Pac-Man concept. A series of ghost kills increases the pace of the game to incredible speeds, and energizers appear in huge quantities in the maze after completing each level, thereby turning CE DX into a half-arcade, half-puzzle.

Achieving a high score requires experience, strategy and attentiveness, and you can spend 10 minutes or an entire evening racing for points, simultaneously changing the general appearance of the levels from acid-trip to Lego-shaped.

As mine shows personal experience, many people give up gaming over time, citing a lack of free time. Sharing such a position is difficult and wrong: others quit reading books in exactly the same way. This is where literature and games come together. The average travel time is thirty hours; In about the same time you can read Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. But literature is more diverse, it also has small forms - which cannot be said about games. According to established tradition in the industry small games are located somewhere on the periphery. It seems that for many people the game pays off not in quality, but in quantity - including the completion time. Nadya Weiner turned to these wonderful people.

Especially for those who don't have time for big projects, and for those who doubt the potential of small ones, we have selected the best examples of small forms in video games in recent years. Any of them can be completed in just one evening.

PC

A couple of doctors help dying people by performing them on their deathbeds last wishes. By manipulating the consciousness of patients, they create memories according to which the dying person did everything he wanted to do for the rest of his life. The game tells the story of a patient named Johnny, who has dreamed of going to the moon all his life. A poignant story with a wonderful soundtrack and ugly graphics: from the outside, To The Moon looks like an aged role-playing game.

PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Average completion time: 4 hours

An extravagant offshoot of the Half-Life duology, made by a group of students who, according to legend, were accepted into Valve by Gabe Newell himself right during the presentation of the game prototype. A touching story of the complex relationship between a robot and a human, the unwitting tester Chell and the supercomputer GLaDOS. At the center of events is a device that allows you to create the so-called. wormholes connecting two points in space using portals. By working with the device, all the local puzzles are built - tricky, but malleable enough to beat the game in an evening.

PS3

A story full of symbolism about a man's journey to the mountain. In some ways, Journey is a flawless game. There are no technical flaws in it, it looks and sounds great, the plot, due to its wordlessness, does without nonsense and invites you to figure out a lot yourself. Journey is like an interactive religious text that each player can try on themselves and their life circumstances. In addition, this is an online game: as the hero travels, from time to time he meets a similar companion - other players in Journey. As in (a couple of years later), there is no chat in the game - only non-verbal communication.

PC
Average completion time: 1 to 5 hours

A satirical dystopia about a boy named Stanley, who regularly came to work in office 427 every day and pressed buttons on the keyboard - until one day something went wrong. Stanley Parable skillfully satirizes video games, where a person seems to have a choice and can decide something, thereby feeling important - at least in virtual space. Exploring the nature and consequences of these decisions is the essence of Stanley Parable. In the process, it begins to seem that the game will never end, and the developers have a thousand more ways in store to make you hysterical. In the best sense, of course.

PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita, iOS, Android
Average completion time: 3.5 hours

A platformer about the adventures of animated rectangles. The author himself describes Thomas Was Alone as “a game about jumping and friendship,” which fully corresponds to the content. Despite the sketchiness, a very specific human image can easily be formed behind each character in the game. While we are solving simple puzzles, trying to deliver multi-colored rectangles from one end of the level to the other, a serious plot in three acts is unfolding in the background - comedian Danny Wallace tells the story behind the scenes. Thomas Was Alone is expected on PS4 and Xbox One in November.

PC

A day in the life of a badger and her brood, packed into an hour of dramatic gameplay. A walk through the forest quickly turns into an adventure full of dangers. Badger chicks need to be fed and protected in every possible way from predators, which is not always possible: the most difficult thing is to survive the night when the offspring scatter in different sides from the slightest rustle. You cannot lose in Shelter - the ending of the story is not the happiest or most philosophical in any case. In 2015, an ideological continuation of the game is being prepared.

PC, PS3, PS Vita
Average completion time: 1 hour

An hour-long walk through a colorful forest in pixel art style accompanied by a soundtrack worthy of Brian Eno. There are still doubts about Proteus whether it is a game at all. There really are no familiar mechanics here: you can only walk through the forest, where each element responds with its own sound, and follow the change of seasons. A meditative experience like no other.

PC
Average completion time: 2 hours

Portland, 1995. The heroine of the game, after a long absence, arrives at the house where her parents have recently moved, and finds no one there. Everything would be fine, but there is a note on the door from the younger sister asking not to look for her. Trying to understand what happened during her absence, the heroine carefully studies her “native” house. The joke is that it seems like that to the player, even though this is his first time here. Family memories are conveyed through a plethora of letters, notes, and the more subtle clues typical of the items' era, and mixed with eerie suspense. At the threshold of each room you freeze, waiting for something unknown. A brilliant example of gaming storytelling that manipulates the player’s consciousness. .

PC

A hilarious parody of Cold War spy detective stories. The game takes place in an alternate 1959. Jazzpunk celebrates every action of the player with a sparkling joke in the best traditions of the Adult Swim channel (under whose patronage the game was released). Moreover, in terms of the concentration and madness of local humor, this is one of the most powerful works of art in the history of the channel, which has produced such series as Aqua Team Hunger Force and Morlab.

PC
Average completion time: 2.5 hours

Interactive drama about harmony in the family. A married couple with a child comes on vacation to a house at the end of the world to solve their problems: the father is writing a novel, the mother is torturing her easel in an attempt to become an artist, the son is suffering from the lack of friends at school. The player plays the role of a kind of spirit: during the day he monitors what is happening in the house and rummages through other people's memories, and at night he whispers to family members what seems to be the right decisions. In general, he decides destinies.

PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Average completion time: 3 hours

Swedish game from studio Starbreeze (see excellent) and director Josef Fares. In ancient times, two brothers - the elder (controlled by the right stick of the gamepad) and the younger (left) - go on a dangerous journey to get medicine for their father. The path lies through a fairy-tale world with trolls, huge eagles and other wonderful evil spirits, and is full of adventures. Brothers shows what happens if you take a great adventure game and cut it down to three to five hours, instead of the usual 15-20 for blockbusters. There is nothing superfluous in Brothers and there is no time to get bored. Its closest analogue is the cult duology Ico and Shadow of the Collossus, but Brothers is much more colorful and accessible.

PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Average completion time: 2 hours

For those who want to spend an evening with a sparkle. The Arrival - a polished version already cult game Slender. In the original, the hero walks through the forest, where he collects pages with creepy messages, and meanwhile between the trees he sees the Thin Man, a creepy Internet meme character who devours people (or something like that). In The Arrival, the action stretches over several chapters, and the Thin Man behaves worse and worse, until the disappointing ending. Far from perfect in appearance, but surprisingly effective game. .

PC, iOS
Average completion time: from 45 minutes to 7 hours

Goat Simulator was a pure joke from the very beginning. A video of an alleged demo version, put together by the developers purely on business, has appeared on the Internet, check it out new engine. Then the game was finally announced; Goat Simulator was released on April 1st. The game is exactly what the title says: you play as a goat stranded within the city. The game supported the fashion for simulators of everything in the world, which became the main joke gaming industry the first half of the 14th year, but differs from all the others in its curious subtext. The city where the goat runs symbolizes purgatory - with corresponding rituals; people avoid the goat (he licks them, and they fly into the air, like rag dolls), what the developers say it is about. Among other things, the goat manages to get into politics: in one of latest updates the developers suddenly came up with .

PC
Average completion time: 30 minutes

Almost the shortest game in our selection drives the player forward without looking back. Thirty Flights of Loving is a fast-paced and strange heist film in which we are directly involved (we steal alcohol). Main feature games in frantic montages, because of which it’s not the first time you catch all the plot moves. As one of our foreign colleagues aptly put it, the half-hour Thirty Flights of Loving has a better plot than most ten-hour blockbusters.

PC, PS4
Average completion time: 2 hours

Several episodes from the life of an octopus that has successfully adapted to human society. The game, full of absurdity, is mainly distinguished by its unique controls. The octopus walks around the city and does quite everyday things, trying not to attract the attention of passers-by and members of his family (how he managed to conceive a person with another person is not discussed). The difficulty is that you need to control all the tentacles in turn, so even climbing the stairs turns out to be a challenge, a strange mini-game. As noted, the story of the octopus who wanted to be a man is funny and touching. But sometimes you want to smash the gamepad against the wall.

PC
Average completion time: 4 hours

The Polish studio People Can Fly, which once made outstanding shooters like Painkiller and Bulletstorm, got tired of violence and made something like a quest. A short but capacious detective story about a missing boy takes place in an incredibly picturesque valley with a river - the artists carefully recreated several real places from the Polish outback. According to the plot, the area is presented as Illinois, but it feels more like your native Russian forest, which makes you feel like you are on vacation in the village - albeit under very mysterious circumstances. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is expected to release on PlayStation 4 in 2015.