Since unemployment seems to be aiming for somewhere between 110% and "infinite," we figured we'd do our best to help out by recommending some cheapo games. Who needs to pawn mom's jewelry to buy Modern Assassin 2: Origins when you've got these winners, recommended by the Bitmob staff and community?
For day 2, we hit up even more freebies you can find around the Internet....
The Budget Game Bonanza!
Day 1: Freebies part 1
Day 2: Freebies part 2
Day 3: The Cheapies ($0.01 through $8 games)
Day 4: $9 to $10 Gems
Price: Free
Where to get it: iPhone (iTunes Store) or Flash (LabPixies)
FreeCell and Minesweeper are so last century. Flood-It is just as simple, addicting, and likely to make players cheat and reset before losing and taking a hit in the win-percentage stats screen. It's so easy, anyone can play it (er, except for color-blind people, sorry) -- just start in the upper-left corner and keep picking adjacent colors to meld into, until you've monochromatically "flooded" the stage. Try it. -Shoe
Price: Free
Where to get it: Flash (Kongregate)
The first thing you’ll notice is the slick orange-and-black art style, as if this entire game takes place on a “construction ahead” road sign. Guide your helicopter through 21 levels, which will take no time at all. What will take you some time (and keep you coming back) is the challenge of finishing each level quickly and without bumping into anything. -Daniel Feit
Price: Free
Where to get it: PC/Mac (Kingdom of Loathing)
The Kingdom of Loathing is a browser-based role-playing game that has unexpected layers of complexity. The sales pitch is simple: Take a ton of pop culture references and work them into creative puzzles that advance you through the game. The humor gets you started, and the handful of dungeons, multitude of new game-like replay options, and constant rollout of new content will keep you coming back for more. -Jon Cole
Price: Free
Where to get it: Flash (YoYo Games)
With simple, blocky graphics and an eerie 1984-vibe, this platformer grabbed me from the very first screen. You must infiltrate a secure facility, and your only weapon is the ability to possess the guards. It's quite linear, but its replay value is high due to multiple endings. I won't give anything away, but see how the game changes when you avoid killing anybody. -Daniel Feit
Price: Free
Where to get it: PC/Mac (SourceForge) or iPhone ($.99 on the iTunes Store).
Exhibit A in the games-as-art argument, Passage is a five-minute-long adventure with a maze, treasure, points, and a love interest. Simple graphics and controls belie Passage's true depth: The journey from one side of the screen to the other is an analog for no less than your own little role in the entirety of the human condition. Pretty good for an 8x8 sprite. -Demian Linn
Price: Free
Where to get it: PC (The Indie Game Database)
The concept likely spawned from gamers' nightmares: Due to technical difficulties, elements from classic video games are blending together and shifting at random. Heroes, villains, backgrounds, and music are all fully interchangeable. At times brutally unfair (how can Mario defeat Space Invaders?), the game swaps elements every 30 seconds, so you’re never completely stuck. Just be warned -- you cannot insert coins to continue. -Daniel Feit
Shift
Price: Free
Where to get it: Flash (Kongregate)
This puzzle-platformer has a great hook: Anytime you want, you can flip a room, reversing black and white to "shift" to the other side, creating new ways to get from A to B. A slightly dark sense of humor is at work, clearly inspired by Portal without being obnoxiously similar. If you like this one, be sure to try the sequels which are less linear and include a level editor to let you design your own double-sided challenge rooms. -Daniel Feit
Price: Free
Where to Get It: PC (Spelunky World)
One part Metroidvania, one part roguelike, Spelunky is a mind-bending little gem that takes the best bits of both subgenres and creates an experience that serves as a "greatest hits" compilation of sorts.
Like any good platformer, the rules are simple: Loot, dig, and bomb your way to freedom. Rescue some damsels in distress while you're at it. As with its roguelike compatriots, levels are randomly generated and briskly paced; they manage to hook you until you reach that fabled glass ceiling where you simply die horribly. And then you try again. And again. And again. Pretty soon it's five in the morning, you need to leave for work, and you still haven't reached treasure nirvana. -Ryan A. Rubis
Price: Free
Where to get it: Flash (Kongregate)
This puzzling platformer begins when your future self appears and commands you to get into a box. Inside you'll navigate a series of independent rooms of increasing complexity, all while receiving constant messages from your future self which frequently veer into discouraging or disturbing territory. The quasi-vocal effects and catchy music work together to maintain the unsettling mood, to say nothing of the two unusual but thought-provoking endings. -Daniel Feit
Price: Free
Where to get it: Flash (When the Bomb Goes Off)
I can't say enough good things about WTBGO. The game consists of scenes lasting five seconds each, encompassing everything from stomping on turtles to getting a beer for your lady. It's like Wario Ware, except with a heart and a jaunty ragtime piano line. It's also one of the funniest games I've played this year. WTBGO gleefully subverts gaming conventions when you least expect it. Best of all, it only takes a few minutes to play. -Brett Bates
