If you’ve switched to Ubuntu (as I have) or any other Linux distribution, you may consider the following free (and in most cases open-source) games, as they’ve been favorites of mine for some time now.

If you’re interested in games for a Linux platform, then you know that game probably is open source, free from cost in most cases, and free to modify. The latter attribute is why Linux games are so popular…a developer can take a great game and make it even better, share it with the world, and become a hero. So, why waste your time and money on proprietary games when so many great Linux games are available?

StarCraft and Red Alert are two of my favorite real-time strategy (RTS) games. Though these games are closed-source, they are still playable in Linux through Wine. Recently, I have tried a few free and open-source RTS games and was really impressed with some of them.

Previously, I blogged about 10 games that’s available in the Ubuntu Universe that I found interesting. Since then, the Ubuntu MOTU Games team has merged with the Debian games team, and the amount of packaged games have increased.

Ubuntu Linux is one of the most popular Linux distributions, it is especially popular among Linux newbies and windows refuges. Now Ubuntu Linux does come with a decent set of applications, still there is a scope for including some more quality applications and especially games.

I’m tired of people who are afraid to switch to Linux because of its so called “lack of games, or at least good ones.” What I think is they just want the games they like ported to Linux instead of trying new ones. Or maybe it’s because the games are free and that is already a sign the game is bad, but I’m beginning to think quite the opposite.

Playdeb, the repository of games for Ubuntu has been launched in 1st september 2008.who package recent games and applications for Ubuntu. With Playdeb, games are easy to install and will be updated when new versions are available.Playdeb includes an APT software repository, and a games list that can be used to install games simply by clicking an install link.

Linux might not have as much games as Windows (or game consoles) but people enjoying this wonderful open source operating system can have fun with games too, as there are a lot of free games for Linux available, even some huge commercial ones. Even Linux games are a niche market, Linux gaming has got a pretty colorful history so far. So what’s the state of Linux gaming?

We’ve all heard of open source games like Tuxracer and Wesnoth, and of commercial games like Quake and Unreal Tournament but there are a number of lesser known Linux games that deserve some more attention. Not all these games have the latest 3D graphics but what they lack in state of the art visuals they more than make up for in depth of gameplay and replayability.