I've talked before about having a lot of simple fun on UNIX-like platforms, but what about the really cool games? Well, the economics of developing bleeding-edge games still don't favor UNIX-like platforms, but there are still a surprising number of excellent games for UNIX and Linux; there should be more than enough to keep you entertained without having to reboot to Windows.
mille. Ever heard of Mille Bornes? Me neither. It's evidently a two-handed card game from Parker Brothers. Man mille if your curious.
backgammon, cribbage. I group these two together because I've never played either one. But, these games look pretty interesting and playable on a curses display.
Beyond BSD Games.
Lbreakout. The latest iteration of this little game comes with spiffy sounds and nice little graphics. (See http://lbreakout.sourceforge.net.)
Gnome Games Pak. Gnome comes with a bunch of little games that are terrific, including aisle riot, one of the spiffiest solitaire games ever created. Tetris, Gnobots, Mines, Gnibbles, and so forth.
3dpong. This is a simple little 2d graphics game where you hit an object resembling a racquetball inside a room. Surprisingly amusing.
KSokoban. A little logic game where you push stones from different areas through narrow tunnels into a collection chamber. It requires some ability to visualize objects before in space with your eyes closed, as well as some logic. There are some rather challenging levels for it.
Doom et al. The classic doom has many incantations, including ldoom, boom, prboom, and I don't even know what all else. But, you can probably get at least one of these to work on your platform and happily blast your way through demons and mutants during your coffee break.
Quake 3, Quake 2, and Quake. Each of these games is quite fun, if you like 1st person shooters. Each can be done with keyboard only, if necessary. The only reservation with the later versions of Quake, such as Quake 3, you'll probably need an accelerated graphics card whose manufacturer supports Linux or who has open sourced their code. If your hardware isn't supported, you may run Quake 3, but it probably won't be playable, because the frames will have to be rendered in software rather than in hardware.
XBill. Simple little game where you squash tiny men who strongly resemble Gill Gates. The little men carry little Windows logos around to workstations with other UNIX logos, such as Sun, BSD, HP, and even linux, and they try to replace the UNIX logo with a Windows logo. If a man succeeds before you squash him, you have to try to move the UNIX logo back onto the workstation and click the workstation icon to reboot it. When you click on a little Bill Gates icon, a small explosion of blood and eye glasses takes place, and you have to click all the ``little Bill's'' before Windows infects your entire network.
LinCity. Strongly resembles Sim City. I get a kick out of this once in a while.
Maelstrom. Best of the Galaga/Space Invaders clones, in my opinion. Others include XSoldier and XGalaga.
Tux Racer. This is a terrific little ******* clone where you guide Tux down the slope, catching fish and avoiding trees. You'll probably need an accelerated video card for this one.
Mahjongg. Mahjong clone that will keep you entertained for hours, or until you pull your hair out, whichever comes first.
Glchess. 3D OpenGl chess games that can use either Crafty or Gnu Chess as its chess engine. And you can play human vs. human over a network.