Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster

David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.

[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]

Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster

David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.

[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]

Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster

David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.

[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]

Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster

David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.

[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]

Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster

David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.

[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]

Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster

David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.

[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]

Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster

David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.

[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]

Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster

David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.

[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]

Drawminos: domino knockdown simulator! - Time Waster

If you're like me, you rarely played dominos properly as a kid. Instead, you just built elaborate chains and knocked them down, Domino Rally style. Drawminos is a site that lets you virtually relive those fun times, building and saving different domino setups, so you can watch them fall whenever you want. The best part? You don't have to set the dominos back up when you're done.
If I have a complaint about Drawminos, it's that it's tedious to pick up a new domino every time you want to place one. It would be fun to have a domino tool you could just hold down and drag. I guess that part of the simulation is a bit too realistic for me. On the other hand, you won't run out dominos like you would in real life.
[Via: Download Squad ] [Tag: dominos, drawminos, game ]

5 Fun, casual Steam games you can give for under $20

If you're a gamer, chances are good you've bought something from Steam - Valve's "Nexus of PC Gaming." If not, it's a great place to purchase some inexpensive and extremely fun games. Steam, of course, offers a gift purchase option, making it an ideal spot to find a nice, cheap gift for that special someone on your list.
Steam has tons of casual, fun games in its library - here's my list of five titles under $20 that are sure to provide some maddeningly addictive fun. Hardware requirements for these are fairly light, so they should run on just about anyone's desktop or laptop (provided they're running Windows).

World of Goo ($19.99). Sure, its cartoonish 2d graphics are cute, but this is one seriously smart physics puzzle game. Stack the little goo balls to build structures and reach the goal - it sounds easy, but World of Goo is as challenging as it is whimsical. Finessing your structures into doing what you want takes patience and requires some serious thinking at times. This one's a great choice for anyone who enjoys a good challenge.

Audiosurf ($9.99). This is one ridiculously cool racing game. Audiosurf dynamically creates courses based upon the music you're listening to while you're playing. There's definite cool factor in seeing your favorite tracks rendered as, well, tracks. Race to your favorite song, then see how your score measures up to other players online. The game includes the Orange Box soundtrack - which features Companion Cube's stirring rendition of Still Alive.

Eets ($9.99). An oldie but a goodie, this one gets referred to as a sort of Lemmings/Incredible Machine hybrid. Lead your Eets on the correct path to win levels and alter his mood (and reactions) by feeding him marshmallows. Like World of Goo, don't be deceived by the cuteness - Eets' puzzles get complex and can be extremely challenging. There are also 200 additional player-created levels to download to extend gameplay.

Mr. Robot ($9.99). HEL-9000, the computer brain in charge of the starship Eidolon, has gone evil, and it's up to Asimov to save the day. The game combines puzzle and RPG elements into a enjoyable but not frustratingly difficult package. Mr. Robot has received tons of praise for providing a simple, vintage-style gaming experience (think C64 and Atari) and stunning visuals. While it might not be overly complicated, it's 200-plus levels will provide plenty of game play.

Bookworm Adventures Deluxe ($9.99). Almost two years old, Bookworm is still a killer word game. In this edition, Lex is on a mythical journey and he can earn power ups to boost his word-powered attacks. It's a little bit of strategy and a lot of Boggle/Scrabble word building skill. Coping with time limits and still coming up with high-powered words can actually get very intense. There are three mini games and a survival mode to play as well.
Have another recomendation I missed? Share it with our readers in the comments!
[Via: Download Squad ] [Tag: games, gifts, hgg, holiday-gift-guide, steam ]

Bicycle powered Google Earth flight simulator

Sure Google added a flight simulator to Google Earth last year. But what fun is a flight simulator if you have to use your mouse and keyboard to navigate? Well, some. But not as much fun as flying through Google Earth while riding a bicycle, E.T.-style.

Want to build your own bike-powered Google Earth flight sim? Here's what you need:

1. A programmable SunSpot wireless sensor


2. A bunch of corresponding sensors


3. A bike or other unit that you want to use for navigation/exercise


4. Way too much free time on your hands

The flight simulator lets you know what it would be like to pedal your bike through the sky. Or you could just take your bike outside and figure out what it's like to pedal through your neighborhood.

[Via: Hackszine ]
[Tag: ]

Is Twitter Down? Yes or No

Twitter may be addictive, popular with the geek crowd, and possibly even the next Facebook. But the service sure goes down pretty frequently. You'd think Twitter's frequent downtime/outages would present an opportunity for another micro-blogging service like Pownce or Jaiku to swoop in and steal the site's user base. But once you've got a few hundred followers, you're pretty much locked in to the service.

So what's a Twitter addict to do when they can't login to the service? Well, the first thing you should do is check and see if you're the only one having the problem. And since you can't send out a tweet asking your followers for help, you can turn to Is Twitter Down. This web site makes Down for Everyone or Just Me look feature-rich. While that site will actually spit out a sentence letting you know if the web page you enter is down or not, Is Twitter Down gives you a monosyllabic answer to just one question: Is Twitter down.

The site does have one more trick up its sleeve. Click on Yes or No and you get taken to an Amazon product page for a rather appropriate item.

Oh, and in related news, Down for Everyone or Just Me is down today. There's a nice message on the site letting us know it will be back soon though.

Thanks deathwombat!

[Via: ouroboros ]
[Tag: ]

Oh, cheer up! Just push the red button ...

We've noticed a meme traveling around Twitter lately that seems to be making people's days at the office a little more fun. Or, depending on how you look at it, making their coworkers' days just a little more annoying. What is this life-changing trend? Old-school sound effects buttons.
If you need a drummer to punctuate all your snappy remarks, like some kind of quirky late-night talk show host, visit Instant Rim Shot. If something doesn't quite go as planned for you or someone in the room with you, go to Sad Trombone. These are perhaps the two most indispensable sound effects in any jokester's repertoire.
Safari users, take note: this is where you finally get some use out of that Web Clip feature, so you can keep these in your Dashboard for the appropriate occasion. We hope you enjoy them -- or loathe them -- as much as we do.
Thanks to Jim Ray for the Web Clip idea!

[Via: Download Squad ]
[Tag: ]

Innocent Spam: Displeased with the measurement of your Willy?

Check the junk folder of your email service, and we're guessing you'll find hundreds of messages offering to enhance various body parts, decrease others, or ask for your help withdrawing large sums of money from a bank account. But what if you're simply misreading all of these messages? What if you're the one with the dirty mind, not the marketers?

Yeah, we're pretty sure that's not the case, but artist Janet Nelson is definitely onto something with her Innocent Spam series. She's taken actual subject lines from junk email messages and turned them into cute comic images, with none of the innuedo attached. For example, "oh man, he is ridiculously huge" could refer to anything, right? Why not a big dog? And just because you think of something else when you hear the word "Willy" doesn't mean it has to be dirty.

You can buy Nelson's work on a T-shirt or mug. Or you can just check out the comics on her website for free.

[Via: AppScout ]
[Tag: ]

Chronotron- Today's Time Waster

Chronotron is a trippy puzzle-solving game where your player's movements are recorded and then repeated when you warp back in time. It may sound confusing, but play a level or two and you'll quickly understand.

Basically you move around the level and carry out a set of actions that should ultimately help you collect the circuit board required to "skip" to the next level. The problem is, those actions won't be enough on their own, so you'll have to warp back in time. When you go back in time, your previous movements are replayed, but you can also move independently of those movements to work in tandem with yourself (or multiples of yourself).

For instance, in the first level there is an elevator that you must use to get to the circuit board. You cannot jump high enough to reach it, and the switch that operates the elevator is too far away from it for you to use it effectively. So, you move your player onto the switch and wait a few seconds, then you move to the time warp. You'll warp back in time to see your first player moving to jump on the switch while you move your "new" player to the elevator to lift you to get the board. Then you can go back to the time warp and move to the next level.

If you you mess up your early actions, you can restart the level. There are 35 levels to keep you busy, and the last 7 are labeled "impossible." We haven't made it that far, but we fear that the amount of time warping that must be necessary in those final levels may cause a black hole.
[Via: Download Squad ]
[Tag: ]

The Beard - Today's Time Waster

The Beard is a unique time waster in that it is actually possible to be beaten in a relatively short amount of time yet still be totally enjoyable. So instead of spending your entire day wasting time, just get the instant gratification of sweet victory and move on.

The premise is this: you are a knight fighting a giant floating head with a beard in a side-scrolling environment. Think of it as a boss you would encounter in Mega Man and other comparable titles. The "Beard" has a number of moves that you have to dodge as you try to get close and take a swing at him with your plunger or magic bolts. As you get hits you also get experience, which cause you to level and get better weapons with more reach.

The learning curve is fairly easy, and the game's animation and sound effects make for quick and gratifying gameplay. But, you do only get three lives, so expect a fair number of retries before you lay the Beard to rest. And yes, fighting a giant floating beard is actually more fun than you might imagine.
[Via: Download Squad ]
[Tag: ]

TypeRacer: Competitive typing test - Time Waster

You probably think you're hot stuff because you can type 90+ words per minute. But how well do you perform when you've got a couple of other speed typists hot on your heels? While competitive typing isn't likely to hit the Olympics, or even ESPN2 anytime soon, TypeRacer is an online game that makes typing speed tests a bit more interesting by letting you see how your skills stack up against others.

TypeRacer asks you to type a relatively short snippet of text, which may be a quote from a book, movie, or something else you can purchase on Amazon (the site is designed to make money by getting you to click on Amazon affiliate links). As you're typing, a little car will move across the screen and you can see other drivers/typists racing. New races start pretty regularly so you should only have to wait a few seconds to join a race.

Just remember, if you spend too much time eying the competition, you're going to fall behind and then you'll never make the high scores list.

[Via: AppScout ] [Tag: ]

Wrongcards: ecards for the insensitive

If you're tired of cheery, politically-correct e-cards and want to say it like you mean it, check out Wrongcards' offerings. Their e-cards don't have animated fluffy bunnies or smiling sunflowers, but they do have direct, honest quotes and illustrations covering the obvious topics like birthdays and anniversaries.

For example, send a "get well" card that says what you're really thinking: "Get Well, but if you don't, I'd find it very consoling if you left me your Wii." Or for the confident romantic, try this one: "Obviously this anniversary comes as a surprise...because you should totally have dumped me by now...but whatever..."

Wrongcards has the standard featureset of other e-card sites: send the card to multiple e-mail addresses, add your own custom message to the card, and get notified when someone reads your card.

[Via: del.icio.us ] [Tag: ]

Launchball- Today's Time Waster

Launchball is a fun, smart, and polished game courtesy of the Science Museum in London. The game uses a common premise: coax a ball into a goal. The objects you can use to accomplish this task though are based generally on electricity, magnetism, and mechanics.

There are basic shapes like "ski jumps" and ramps, but there are also batteries and steam generators (which also require a water tank and fire) to power magnets and fans. There are switches, springs, cushions, and rubber blocks. Each level provides you with a certain set and quantity of objects to help you get the ball in the goal (not all objects need to be used though).

If you take a few seconds to create a free account, you'll be emailed a code so that you can login at a later time and resume where you left off. Otherwise you have to play through all of the levels each time. There are three main categories of levels: tricky, sneaky, and crafty.

You can even create your own levels and share them. In the "Extras" section, you can play levels that were created by players.


[Via: toddkedwards ]
[Tag: ]

Launchball- Today's Time Waster

Launchball is a fun, smart, and polished game courtesy of the Science Museum in London. The game uses a common premise: coax a ball into a goal. The objects you can use to accomplish this task though are based generally on electricity, magnetism, and mechanics.

There are basic shapes like "ski jumps" and ramps, but there are also batteries and steam generators (which also require a water tank and fire) to power magnets and fans. There are switches, springs, cushions, and rubber blocks. Each level provides you with a certain set and quantity of objects to help you get the ball in the goal (not all objects need to be used though).

If you take a few seconds to create a free account, you'll be emailed a code so that you can login at a later time and resume where you left off. Otherwise you have to play through all of the levels each time. There are three main categories of levels: tricky, sneaky, and crafty.

You can even create your own levels and share them. In the "Extras" section, you can play levels that were created by players.


[Via: toddkedwards ]
[Tag: ]