Casual games with low system requirements?

[nageov3t]

specifically, not too hard to play with a touchpad on my crappy laptop.

I had to have surgery on my knee to repair a torn muscle last week, and as a result, I'm stuck in a total leg immobilizer for 4-6 weeks (can't bend my knee an inch until my doctor signs off). not quite as bad as a full cast, but just the same in terms of limiting my mobility.

because of that, sitting at my desk chair at my PC for longer than like 30-60 minutes is pretty uncomfortable... I've been spending time sitting in bed mostly, with my not-great, old laptop.

any suggestions on some games I can play to occupy my time that aren't going to overheat my laptop to the point of killing my unborn children? I downloaded Plague, Inc. but looking for some other suggestions in the same vein.

 

[Vivendi]

I suppose TBS games would be the most suited for a touchpad. You can try out Highlands, it's a simple game but I found it really fun.
Lux Delux

 

[mdram]

take the mouse from your pc and put on the laptop

 

[cronos]

If your laptop has a digital video out (HDMI/mini DP), you could try playing your Steam games on your TV with In-home Streaming.

Either way, how's your gog.com collection? Go check on them, some of them may be what you're looking for.

 

[Craig234]

Classic Rogue and Roguelikes? Faerie Solitaire? Huge catalog of hidden object from big fish? gog.com has hundreds of older games.

 

[nageov3t]

If your laptop has a digital video out (HDMI/mini DP), you could try playing your Steam games on your TV with In-home Streaming.

Alas, no tv in the bedroom and no great place to put a mouse (I have to sleep on the right side of the bed because it's my left leg that's in the immobilizer, so it's my laptop on my lap and just empty space next to me)

Either way, how's your gog.com collection? Go check on them, some of them may be what you're looking for.

looking now, looks like some good options there.

 

[mnewsham]

Hearthstone would be my go to on any older system

 

[*kjm]

Diablo 2 is a great time sink....

 

[BSim500]

any suggestions on some games I can play to occupy my time that aren't going to overheat my laptop to the point of killing my unborn children? I downloaded Plague, Inc. but looking for some other suggestions in the same vein.

Something casual that doesn't load the CPU 100%? Pretty much:-

- Most games in the point & click adventure genre, both new & old (ScummVM). Most will not require quick reactions and be "trackpad friendly".
- Older Turn Based Strategy (Age of Wonders, Master of Orion, Civ, Jagged Alliance 2, etc)
- Many puzzle games. Do you like stuff like CLARC, Neighbors from Hell, Don't Starve, Hedgewars (free), Lemmings, etc?
- Flash games (stuff like Bejeweled, Diner Dash, Rocketbowl, etc)?
- Light RPG's (Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Diablo 2, Torchlight, Spiderweb Software games (Avernum / Avadon, etc)? Turn based RPG's will not require fast reactions either.
- "GFX easy" side-scrolling platformers? Do you like games like Unmechanical, The Cave, etc?
- Older gaming in general (too many to list! GOG is a great resource)
- Older RTS's (Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, Rise of Nations, etc)
- Older simulation / city building games (Theme Park / Theme Hospital, Tropico, Pharaoh, Zeus: Master of Olympus, Port Royale, etc)

There are tons of games you can play on a laptop that won't load up the CPU, but obviously a lot of PC games are designed for a mouse. Quite honestly, if you're immobilized for up to 6 weeks I'd get a relative / friend to buy you a compact wireless travel mouse + pack of batteries and some small but solid mouse pad you can use in bed even if just for web browsing. If I were in that situation I'd use a mouse anyway as I've always found trackpads fiddly even for non-gaming use.

If you have no space on the right side of your bed, is it possible to buy / borrow one of those "Over bed tables" that could add space for a mouse mat to your right hand side in "mid air" without it having to rest on the bed? Many are often 50-80cm wide which is wide enough for the laptop and mouse mat without it having to rest on your leg. Some have twin surfaces that almost look designed for just that purpose. Most are height adjustable. Just measure the clearance under the bed.

 

[jlee]

Steam streaming from your desktop, offload processing to the desktop and then just deal with the control limitations from the laptop perspective?

 

[Lorthreth]

A recent-ish discovery for me and a fun little game. Turn based so no rushing.

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead

Roguelike, open world zombie survival game. Also has tiles if needed. Very fun, lots of starting scenarios, lots of towns to scavenge, lots of activities and plenty of zombies to kill with many weapons.

 

[shortylickens]

Steam has a crapload of casual titles. Many have demos.

 

[Cerb]

Long Live The Queen should fit, and I've found it rather addictive.

The rest of these are not casual by design (I'm generally not a fan of such games), but do not require intense practice, and can be played at any pace, with any session duration you feel like.

The turn-based Divinity games are worth looking at, for great time-sinks. Divinity: OS, if it's on sale, is worth a shot (I've only played it a bit, but it seems quite nice), and will not have the fuzzy pixel problems of the older ones.

Planescape: Torment, on the off-chance you've missed out on it. Not really casual, but you can pick it up and put it down any time, like any other classic RPG.

IMO, Anachronox is a good sleeper. You might have to do some config file and driver settings tweaks, though, being from the OpenGL Miniport/Glide era.

I'm not sure how good the PC versions are, as I only played console and emulated translations in the past, but the Ys games I remember as being pretty good, and not needing crazy long play sessions (intensely JRPGs, though, if that puts you off). I haven't played the new ones, yet.

If keeping wikis on hand isn't a problem, Vulture's Eye/Claw (Nethack GUI for Windows). Playing the Android nethack, I just got killed by a random pony, before I could throw it food. WTF. I survive Roths, and a pony gets me in 1 turn?

If you like platformers, have a PC controller, and haven't played it, yet, check out Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams. It's got really good level design as you move on, but is not overly twitchy (IE, it's more, "OK, let me try doing this," challenge, than, "dammit, I didn't get the timing perfect 50 times in a row!").

 

[SantaAna12]

Half life 2.

Left for Dead 2.

Portal.

These should run at lower resolutions pretty easily.

If u need lower: Old School 1.6 Counter Strike. Lots still playing it. Find a large server to hide in. Hah!

good luck on ur rehab amigo.

 

[futurefields]

Torchlight 2

 

[JeffMD]

As a gamer, I found little I could do with touchpad and keyboard enjoyably. If you can swing it, buy a MOGA Hero, its a pint sized full featured bluetooth gamepad.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Something like Bejeweled would be fun and the best part is that it is free on Origin.Runs fine on mobile HD3000 on my wifes notebook.Can be addictive and its about 400mb at most.

 

[SMOGZINN]

If you havn't already played it to death The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth should be your top choice.
Have you played FTL? Some love it, some hate it.
If you are in the love FTL catagory you might want to take a look at Convoy.

If you like turn based RPG games take a look at Neo Scavanger. You might even be able to play Shadowrun Returns or it's standalone sequel Dragonfall.

 

[Stringjam]

Cities: Skylines

Easy to run - can definitely keep you busy for a good while.

 

[DigDog]

Plants Vs Zombies (the first one)