Character Based Games

There aren't many character-based games delivered with the basic Red Hat Linux installation. If you are interested in trying some of the legacy UNIX games, some of which were created many years ago, you can install the bsd-games package (which is available from Red Hat FTP sites).

The games that come in the bsd-games package include simple card games, shooting games, and adventure games. As previously noted, games are stored in the /usr/games directory by default, so you may want to add that directory to your PATH.

Some of the games have score files, which should be created as writable by everyone (if multiple people use your system). Or you can make those games that write to score files into setgid games, and then make the file permissions 664. The owner and group of each game command is root by default. Only one game (Hunt) allows multiple players and has a daemon program (in /usr/sbin) for coordinating game play.

Cross-Reference See Chapter 3 for information on adding a directory to your PATH and setting file permissions.

If you want to control who runs these games and when the games are run, you can use the dm command (Dungeon Master) for controlling access to games. You can add controlled games into a hidden directory (/usr/games/dm), then create a configuration file (/etc/dm.conf) to determine when each controlled game can be run.

Table 7-3 lists all of the games available in the bsd-games package. For a simple game, try Fish (/usr/games/fish). If you are adventurous, try Adventure (/usr/games/adventure). Here are a few hints that will help you with Adventure:

Move around the caves in Adventure by asking for an adjacent room or by naming a direction (N, S, E, SW, NE, etc.).

As you explore the caves, draw a map as you go — it helps you return to places later.

Take valuable things and bring them back to the building.

Typing xyzzy and plugh sometimes transports you to a remote location.

Continue reading here: The xmame Gaming Emulator

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