Bumptop

Bumptop is a desktop replacement for Mac or PC. It gives you a 3D workspace. You can pile files, change their size, post them on the wall and more. You can put sticky notes on Bumptop or you can even put a photo on the wall. Bumptop is a very interesting software to use. It is fun to play around with, but if you don't have lots of files on your desktop it might not be as useful. If you have a touchscreen computer, Bumptop would be great for you though. I recommend you try out Bumptop to see how it works for you.

iSwiff

iSwiff (FREE) is a flash player for Mac. It allows your to run flash files without your browser and even make them fullscreen and allow you to play them offline. Here is a tutorial of how to get started using iSwiff

First of all, you need to download iSwiff here. Open the disk image and place iSwiff in your application folder.

Next, you need a flash file. Go to the website with the flash game that your would like to use and download it. To download it, you have multiple options. You can copy the URL of the page it is on and then got to File2HD and paste the URL there, select objects, check the Terms of Service checkbox, and then wait. If the page shows one or more .SWF files, then it worked. If it doesn't, that probably means they are embedded or something else is stopping File2HD from finding them. The second way to download the file is to use Firefox. Go to the page with the flash game and then press Command I (or tools then page info). Now press media and find the .SWF file. Save the file with the Save As... button.

Next, right click the file and press Get Info (or Command I). Then change Open With to iSwiff and press change all. Now, all .SWF file will open with iSwiff. If you have multiple .SWF files, try them out to see which one is the correct one (and which are the ads).

Now, you can play the game. Double-click the game to start it. To make the game fullscreen, you first must press the green zoom button on the window. Then, press Command F to make the window full screen. (If you make it fullscreen without zooming, the size will stay the same and it will just change the background to black.) Some games do not run because developers put restrictions on the game to only run off the website.

If you want to give your game an icon, take a screen shot and crop it or make your own square image. Then download Img2icns to turn your image into a icon. Img2icns has a basic free version and a pro version. The free version is all you need for this. Once you have the app downloaded and running, drag your image file into the app window. Now choose folder. Save the file and then you can quit the app. On your game file, press get info again (Command I) and drag the new file (created by Img2icns) into the icon area on the top left of the get info window. Now close the get info window.

And thats it! Thats all you need to play flash games on a Mac. I suggest creating a flash game folder to put all your games in.

Tilt Games

Did you know that Mac laptops (since 2005) contain a sudden motion sensor to protect the hard drive. Well even if you did, I bet you didn't know that there were games that used them. Here is a short list of 3 different FREE games that are controlled by tilt.

Disclaimer: Don't blame me if you ruin your hard drive. I don't reccomend moving your Mac very much while playing these games (unless you have a SSD of course).

Tilt Mania (FREE)
Keep the ball from hitting the top of the screen by tilting you Mac.

Tilt SCREAM Pong (FREE)
This is pong with a twist. You tilt the Mac to move the paddle and scream to increase the size of the paddle.

Tunnel (FREE)
Tunnel is a very simple game but is very addictive. Tilt the Mac to move the move the spaceship.

Freeware and Open Source Game Clones

There are so many cool free games out there that nobody knows about. Here is a list of some of the best game clones. Keep checking back for more freeware!

Neverball (Mac, Windows, and Linux)

Neverball is a very good clone of Super Monkey Ball. I like it even better that Super Monkey Ball. Neverball has very good graphics and lots of levels. It also comes with a similar golf game called Neverputt. Neverball is a must have game, especially at the price of free!

SuperTuxKart (Mac, Windows, and Linux)

SuperTuxKart is a clone of Mario Kart. It has lots of tracks and karts and is very fun to play. I recommend checking it out.

Secret Maryo Cronicles (Mac, Windows, and Linux)

It's no secret that this is a clone of Super Mario Brothers! It has the same look and feel and is a very fun game! You can even make your own levels.

Flightgear (Mac, Windows, and Linux)

Flightgear is a clone of Microsoft Flight Simulator and of X-Plane.