3d Logic II- Stronghold of Sage - There is quite a bit of a story here, and lots of nice graphics, but the game is very simple. Just connect the colors. Click on any one colored square and then fill in the transparent squares until you connect it with the matching colored square. Sounds easy right? Well it is for the first few levels. After that, it gets tricky!

filler - Again, a simple game. Just fill up 2/3 of the screen with with balls you create and you win the level. However, if you’re creating a ball and one of the bouncy balls hit it, yours will pop. Hint: Trap the little bouncing buggers to keep them out of your way.

Spin the Black Circle - Simply move your ball to the black whole and advanced to the next level. However, watch out for the spike’s as they’ll kill you. Gravity is also not on your side… or is it?

Moon Master: Rahkon - This is one of those that is just fun to play even if you don’t know what you’re doing. Move left right, jump, bounce, collect balls, shoot lasers and just have fun.

Chain Factor - A bit of thinking is needed here. The instructions may sound complex, but once you get it figured out, it’s quite addicting. I enjoyed it the first time even though I had no idea what I was doing.

All of these games have a few things in common; no additional software is required, no overly complex instructions and all are free.

Enjoy!

Mario is back in all his glory. The worlds are amazing. You are on round levels that you can literally run all the way around. Fall in a hole and you’ll pop out the other side. Bridges are not always straight across, sometimes they curve around to the underside of the level. Mario walks up, down, left, right and all over the place. Some areas you just feel as if you make one wrong step, you’ll fall into space. However, you merely walk onto the side of the object and it’s very cool!

Another cool thing is that Super Mario Galaxy is not just one player. A friend can help you pick up star pieces and shoot enemies. One Mario, but to people working together to keep him alive. It’s like a 1.5 player game.

Our 90 minutes went very fast. However, we got three stars and about 25 lives. It’s nice to see that getting more lives is easy. Even when you do run out, you just start back up at the beginning of the level.

Now I just have to convince my wife to let us play it all weekend. Or may be call in sick. *cough* *cough*

This is one of the best Wii games we’ve played and if you love the other Mario games, you’ll love Super Mario Galaxy!

I’ve listed out 5 games below. All are free, simple and addicting. There are no complex rules, no user registration, no downloads or anything like that. Just fun!

In no particular order, here are 5 cool web games that are worth checking out.

Boomshine - Probably my favorite. This little game is so simple, you just place one expanding dot on the page and as it interacts with others, they then too expand and interact with even more. Each level has a certain amount of that you need to interact with before advancing. They say less than 4% actually make it though level 12. My wife and I are in that 4% though.

Shuffle - Kind of like shuffle board, kind of like lawn bowling. You need to knock your opponents balls off the table. Last one standing wins the round.

A Very Simple Game - In this one, all you have to do is click on the dot. Some dots are easy to spot, some are much harder. I have beat the game, but it takes some good investigative skills to find those dots.

NANACA†CRASH - Interesting game that I don’t quite understand, but do enjoy. You hurl your guy into the air and if he hits the right ladies, he’ll fly even farther. Tip: When loosing momentum, click on one of the ladies in the upper right corner. If you play the game right, you guy can fly for five minutes or more.

Cat with Bow Golf - A little more skill is needed in this one, but you just pull back on your bow and arrow, aim and launch your cat towards the target. Like golf, you only get so many shots before you start loosing points for the hole/target.

Do you have other web games that may fit with those above? If so, share them by posting them in the comments. I’m always looking for fun and addicting games.

You know what a Lite Brite is right? That toy from when we were kids (or maybe just me) and you stick the little plastic pieces though the dark paper, then they get backlit and it just looks so cool. I can be just as entertained today by it as back then which, is why I’m excited to see it online.

Over at SFPG, they created a rather simple, yet great, version of the Lite Brite. It’s quite a bit of fun and great for nostalgia. Check it out and see what you can design.

Check out my creation below. Can you guess what it is?

Hint: I’m not even sure myself.

In our Wii downtime, I checked out Thrillville for Xbox (also available in Playstation and PSP). Where it may seem similar to Rollercaoaster Tycoon, it’s much different.

Listing off the objectives and game play of both games, one would think they are quite similar. However, Thrillville is more about mini-games and goals than it is about building the biggest and best amusement park. For example, when you hire a park employee, you have to train them via a mini game. The more training, the better they’ll do. You also have to talk to people and make friends. You can ask them what they’d like to see or talk about sports or animals. You even get the ability to flirt with the ladies.

The rides in Thrillville are cool, but there doesn’t seem to be as many as Rollercoaster Tycoon. And the coasters, well they can’t compare. Or not that I’ve seen anyways. Thrillville’s are mainly smaller and shorter.

Rollercoaster Tycoon is more of the Sim City type of environment where you just try to make things bigger and better. You get lots of options and there is a ton to do. Thrillville is more like the Sims where it’s more about the people, specific goals and minor details.

Thrillville pros:

• Works on a game console. (PS2 or Xbox)
• Mini Games
• You get to run around with first person point of view.
• You can really talk to people.
• Great music from today’s top artists.

Rollercoaster Tycoon pros:

• Lots of rides & stalls.
• Waterparks and Expansion Packs
• More detailed customization. (sidewalks, land, trees, benches)
• More land to develop on.
• Bigger, better and many more coaster designs.

Both are great games, but quite different. It is really hard to explain, but once you play them you’ll find out. Both have their positives and negatives, but in the end, I think Rollercoaster Tycoon is better. Although I’m addicted to Thrillville at the moment.

1. Be Patient - The chances that you can run out to BestBuy and get one are slim. So be patient. I’ve been looking since November 19th with no luck yet.
2. Be Early - The lack of supply has raised the demand and stores may only get 20 at a time. Even that number is a bit high. If the store opens at 10, get there at 8:30 or 9. I still see lines today.
3. Wait in Line - Since stores are only getting a few, you may need to spend an hour or more in line waiting to get one. It’s worth it though if they get enough and you get one. Stores may also come out an hour before the store opens to hand out tickets for Wiis.
4. Ask For It - Store clerks don’t always fill the shelf, so you should ask for a Wii if you don’t see one as they might have one in back. I’ve also heard of people finding them at the return counter.
5. Ask About Other Stores - Quite a few stores are linked these days. I know that here in the Twin Cities, one Target can link up to all the Targets in 50+ miles and check inventory. Other stores should be able to do that too. Or at least tell you if all the stores get the same shipment of Wiis.
6. Check out Forums - There are thousands of people still looking for a Wii and there are forms with people who are posting their findings. You never now, if Walmart in Miami got 30, maybe the Walmart in Madison, WI got them too.
7. Check Tracker Sites - I’ve had no real luck with these yet, but some sites claim to track shipments and can email, text message or IM you locations of stores that have them in stock as they become available.

I’m not sure if finding a Nintendo Wii will get any easier as January rolls on, but I thought by now they’d be a lot easier to find and they aren’t. I’m searching, watching and waiting. Someday my Wii will come.

What are your tips? I’d love to hear them.

My quest to find one continues. I’m not going to support those that buy them just to sell them for profit on eBay. I’m going to continue to look at Target, Walmart, GameStop and everywhere in between. If it takes till mid January, so be it.

Interestingly enough, Target also got about 8 Playstation 3s and no one cared.

Check out this quick and ‘easy’ puzzle: Quick Letter Count Test

One thing I did notice is that more and more spam is getting though so I added a quick security question. It’s really simple and will hopefully weed out a few unwanted comments.

If anyone has issues with it, head over to my contact form and let me know.

For me and my wife, we are big Nintendo fans and are going to try and get a Wii on Sunday. We are not camping out or anything like that, but if we pick the right store, it may not be busy.

What I really wonder is how many people are buying PS3’s and Wii’s just for eBay? I think a lot of people. I know if I see a PS3 or more than one Wii, I’ll be picking it up. It should turn a quick profit online.

So are you getting a console or planning to get one? Or are you asking for it for Christmas and making someone else do all the work at finding one?

Try to buy a Playstation3 or Wii on eBay or Amazon.

Shhh it’s a secret.  I think.

After that we went to Severs Corn maze and walked though corn. It’s not quite as exciting as we were hoping but it was fun non the less. For those that don’t know, it’s a corn field that they turn into a giant maze and you work your way though. Unlike most corn fields, this field is planted in two different directions to help confuse people. They do give you a map though.

Here is what you see when you are in the corn maze:

It was a lot of fun and it’s nice to get away from the computer every now and then.

Movies are $12.99 for new releases, preorders and first week. After that up to $14.99, however older movies go for only $9.99. It’ll take about 30 minutes at a 5mb/s broadband connection. Movies come with Dolby surround sound and are near DVD quality. Heck, you gotta risk something for getting them on demand and cheap.

They also introduced new iPods. Nano is now aluminum and in green, silver, black, blue, and pink. Regular sized iPods are now bigger in size too. $249 and $349 will get you 60GB and 80GB capacity.

iTV (working title) is kind of like the MacMini only 1/2 the size and targeted more at the media (movies, music and TV) than a complete computer system. It’ll be wireless and arrives in 2007. I for one, can’t wait!

Checkout Apple for all the latest details!

We recently got an electric powered race track and it’s so cool. It has loops and cyclones and even upside down track for the cars to run on. It’s like one I had as a kid, only this one has all the parts and it works well.

Race Track Hosted on Zooomr

Not only are we having fun, but our cats are loving it. They can’t figure out how to get the cars and they often sit near or on the track and the cars zoom around them. So far, no cat injuries, just a lot of fun.

Race Track on Amazon

The good news is, you don’t have to have talent!  Just come up with a great idea for a Mac application, enter it, and you could win.  Even if you don’t make it to the top, the top 24 ideas all get an iPod or a Mac.  How sweet is that?

I’ve been thinking of ideas all morning and come up with nothing really.  I REALLY want to enter something, now I just need to figure out what.  There are already so many good Mac applications that I’m not sure what I need/want.

Hurry though, the first round ends the 30th!

If you can’t wait that long, you can get a guaranteed audition by visiting the Brookdale center on August 5th and 12th. There whey will be doing auditions and awarding passes that will make sure American Idol hears you.

I’m not sure what kind of zoo all the crazed wanna-be’s will make, but I’m sure it will be fun!

I’ll see you all on TV!

(I’ll be the one at home in front of the TV. If I can’t do Karaoke Revolution, I’d never get past Simon.)

There are so many accessories available that it can make your head spin. Good news though, iLounge is giving away a free iPod Accessories Book that you can download today!

It’s full of iPod addons that you’ve never heard of any plenty that you have heard of. I can almost guarantee that there is something in this free book that you will think is the coolest iPod accessory yet.

It also includes all things iPod with over 110 ways to max out your iPod and an All Things iTunes Guide with over 125 tips to master iTunes. Plus much more cool stuff and of course pages and pages of iPod accessories.

What are you waiting for? Click the graphic to download your free iPod Accessories Book!

I know (knew) Kari as I was friends with her brother Luke in high school and I’ve hung out with the whole family. That was a long time ago though.

Congratulations Kari!

I installed and ran Windows 98 as it’s the only thing I had lying around. The install process was pretty simple and took forever. The long install is thanks to Microsoft though, not an issue with Parallels. Once installed, the speed that Windows 98 ran was extremely impressive! No delays when you try to open a folder. No ‘this blows’ attitude like I had with VirtualPC. It was smooth, fast and ran quite good.

Now why did I install Windows?? A few reasons.
1) Because I could.
2) Because I want to see how my themes, extensions and websites look on a PC.
3) Because I bought my wife some PopCap games for Christmas and they are PC only. Now that her PC is dead, we need some way to play them.

Now I can’t say I have no issues with Parallels, but this is still a preview release.

First I had no sound. Some say if I reinstall the OS I’ll somehow get sound back. I think I’ll wait until the final version comes out before I try that since Windows 98 takes FOREVER to install.

I also tried and tried to get good color and a nice screen resolution. It turns out that there is a menu option that says “Install Parallels Tools…” I’m not sure why it’s an optional, and non-obvious, option as it installs display and sound drivers so that it works great with your Mac. Once installed I could get my colors to be millions, screen to be 1024×768 and it was wonderful. If these tools aren’t installed, this software will seem lame.

I also have odd issues with the internet. It doesn’t seem to pickup my wireless unless I first plug in the internet via an ethernet cable. Then the intenet works fine. Unplug that cable and then the wireless works fine too. Again, it’s still in preview mode so that’s a minor bug I can live with.

To me, this is better than Apple’s Bootcamp. I don’t see the value of shutting down one OS just to run another. If I want to use any PC applications ,or check a design, I don’t want to have to quit and restart.

For $39 (early bird special, normally $49) this is an amazing piece of software. It runs Windows 98 extremely well for me and I want to install Linux (any suggestions on which flavor) too when I find time. I’ve already sent Parallels my money, so I’ll have plenty of time to play.

I’m running Parallels RC1 on an iMac 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo with 512 Memory.