Some people say that the internet is killing off some of the traditional pleasures of life. This might be sort of true when it’s easier to send an email or an SMS instead of picking up the phone and having a good old chat with a friend or one of the family. But you could also argue that it’s given some favourite games a whole new lease of life. Here are just some examples and I’m sure that you’ll be able to find many more with just a little searching online.

Solitaire

Solitaire is one of the most played card games in the world. You can easily play Solitaire on your own with a physical deck of cards but the game is best known for being one of the featured games in the classic PCs of the 90s. Nowadays, you can play Solitaire for free online, and even its other famous varieties like Spider and FreeCell. It’s a great brain teaser that you can play anytime, anywhere.

Clue

How many rainy afternoons or chilly winter evenings in front of the fire have been made a little more fun thanks to a good game of Clue. It’s hard to believe that it was originally invented way back in 1943 – and even harder to believe that it’s even been made into a film using all the familiar characters. Play Clue online and you’ll find that it’s just as good as the board game version, whether it’s against friends or just the computer.

Bingo

There might be some very good reasons why bingo halls became less popular over the years. After all, they didn’t exactly have a glamorous reputation. But they were places where you could go to have fun and meet up with friends. These are the elements that they’ve picked up at Lucky Pants Bingo, along with lots of different games.

Mahjong

Mahjong Solitaire is a matching game played with Mahjong tiles. It differs, however, from the original game, which originated in China around the turn of the 19th century. Brodie Lockard created Mahjong Solitaire in 1981. As a computer game, it had much simpler rules than the original. Lockard was inspired by an ancient Chinese game named The Turtle. Activision released the sequel, Shanghai, in 1986, when the game became popular. Typically, this puzzle has a pyramid-like layout. Mahjong Solitaire uses 144 tiles, making 72 pairs. The tiles are divided into suits of three currencies and four honors.

Scrabble

If you’re the sort of person who just loves words and language then Scrabble is probably your all-time favorite board game. It’s also hard to beat the satisfaction you get when a really great triple word score comes up boosting you into the lead and leaving the other players behind. Well, the good news is that there are plenty of Scrabble games and forums just waiting for you online.

Chess

You either get chess or you don’t. But for devotees, it can become quite an obsession. That’s because, for what’s a quite straightforward game on the surface, it’s endlessly varied and fascinating. Even if you’re a relative novice you’ll be able to find an online game that suits you perfectly and there are also lots of tutorials. Remember though, a computer called Deep Blue once beat world champion Gary Kaparov so you will have to bring your A-Game, whatever the level!

Backgammon

Another ancient game that has a devoted following is backgammon. Even if you’ve never played it the rules are easy to pick up. You have a set number of counters on a board and by throwing dice you move them to your home section and then remove them. The winner is the person who gets rid of all their counters first.

So I hope you have fun with at least some of the games suggested here or some of your other personal favourites – and remember to get your friends involved too. They’ll love it!