576 Part IV . Running Applications The games (Web site design)
576 Part IV . Running Applications The games on the KDE menu range from amusing to quite challenging. If you are used to playing games in Windows, KMines and Patience will seem like old favorites. KAsteroids and KPoker are good for the mindless game category. For a mental challenge (it s harder than it looks), try KSokoban. For a challenging multiuser game on the GNOME menu, try Freeciv. And of course there is Chess (XBoard version of gnuchess). Boson is a fun real-time strategy that runs on KDE desktops. Although the game is still in its early stages of development (0.10 release), it s a good way to try out the capabilities of your gaming hardware in Linux. You can download it from http:// boson.eu.org/download.php. The following sections describe a couple of the more interesting games that are distributed with common Linux distributions. Chess Games Chess was one of the first games played on computer systems. While the game hasn t changed over the years, the way it s played on computers has. Most chess programs that come with Linux let you play against the computer (in text or graphical modes), have the computer play against itself, or replay stored chess games. You can even play chess against other users on the Internet using Internet Chess Servers (ICS). The XBoard program is an X-based chess game that provides a graphical interface for gnuchess. GNU Chess (represented by the gnuchess package) describes itself as a communal chess program. It has had many contributors, and it seeks to advance a more open and friendly environment of sharing in the chess community. With XBoard, you can move graphical pieces with your mouse. To play against the computer, click Games.Chess from the Red Hat menu, then start by just moving a piece with your mouse. While in the XBoard window, select Mode.Two Machines to have the computer play itself. Select File.Load Game to load a game in Portable Game Notation (PGN). Figure 22-1 shows the XBoard window with a Two Machines game in progress. You can use XBoard to play online against others by connecting an XBoard session to an Internet Chess Server (ICS). To start XBoard as an interface to an ICS, type the following command line: $ xboard -ics -icshost name In this example, name should be replaced by the name of the ICS host. In ICS mode, you can watch games, play against other users, or replay games that have finished. The ICS host is a gathering place for enthusiasts who want to play chess against others on the Internet, watch games, participate in tournaments, or just meet chess Note
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