''Microsoft Entertainment Pack'' , also known as ''Windows Entertainment Pack'' or simply ''WEP'' , is a collection of

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...

casual computer games for

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...

. There were four Entertainment Packs released between 1990 and 1992. These games were somewhat unusual for the time, in that they would not run under

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few oper ...

. In 1994, a compilation of the previous four ''Entertainment Packs'' were released called ''The Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack''. A

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

version was released in 2000. Microsoft advertised Entertainment Packs for

casual gaming A casual game is a video game targeted at a mass market audience, as opposed to a hardcore game, which is targeted at hobbyist gamers. Casual games may exhibit any type of gameplay and genre. They generally involve simpler rules, shorter sessi ...

on office computers. The boxes had slogans like "No more boring coffee breaks" and "Only a few minutes between meetings? Get in a quick game of Klotski". The marketing succeeded; ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through t ...

'' in 1992 described the series as "the Gorillas of the Gaming Lite Jungle", with more than 500,000 copies sold. ''

Minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

'' from pack 1 was later bundled with Windows 3.1, and FreeCell was included in

Windows 95 Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufactu ...

. ''WinChess'' and ''Taipei'', both written by David Norris, received remakes in

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...

, called '' Chess Titans'' and ''Mahjong Titans'', respectively. ''Mahjong Titans'' was replaced with ''

Microsoft Mahjong ''Microsoft Mahjong'' (formerly ''Mahjong Titans'', ''Shanghai Solitaire'' and ''Taipei'') is a computer game version of mahjong solitaire published by Microsoft. The version titled ''Mahjong Titans'' was developed by Oberon Games and included i ...

'' in

Windows 8 Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012; it was subsequently made available for download via MSDN and TechNet on August 15, 2012, and later to ...

. '' Microsoft Solitaire Collection'' also includes versions of ''Tut's Tomb'' (as ''Pyramid'') and ''TriPeaks''.

List of games

''Microsoft Entertainment Pack 1''

* ''

Cruel Cruelty is the pleasure in inflicting suffering or inaction towards another's suffering when a clear remedy is readily available. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept. Cruel ways of inflicting suffering may involve vi ...

'' (a card game) * ''

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

'' (a card game) * ''

'', written by David Bauer * ''Pegged'' (a form of

Peg solitaire Peg solitaire, Solo Noble or simply Solitaire is a board game for one player involving movement of pegs on a board with holes. Some sets use marbles in a board with indentations. The game is known as solitaire in Britain and as peg solitaire in ...

), written by Mike Blaylock * ''

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

'' (later known as Mahjong Titans and Microsoft Mahjong) * ''

Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet Union, Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute o ...

'' (Windows version) * ''TicTactics'' (a

Tic-tac-toe Tic-tac-toe (American English), noughts and crosses (Commonwealth English), or Xs and Os (Canadian or Irish English) is a paper-and-pencil game for two players who take turns marking the spaces in a three-by-three grid with ''X'' or ''O''. ...

variant) * ''IdleWild'' (a

screensaver A screensaver (or screen saver) is a computer program that blanks the display screen or fills it with moving images or patterns when the computer has been idle for a designated time. The original purpose of screensavers was to prevent phosphor ...

program), written by Brad Christian

''Microsoft Entertainment Pack 2''

* '' FreeCell'' (a card game) * ''Jigsawed'' (a Jigsaw puzzle) * '' Pipe Dream'' (by

LucasArts Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game licensor that is part of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George Lucas as a video game development group alongside his film company; as part of a large ...

), written by Eric Geyser * '' Rattler Race'' * '' Rodent's Revenge'' * ''

Stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

'', developed by Michael C. Miller * '' Tut's Tomb'' (a card game) * ''IdleWild'' (a

program) – 8 new screen savers for this pack

''Microsoft Entertainment Pack 3''

* ''Fuji Golf'' (a golf game) * ''

Klotski Klotski (from pl, klocki, lit=wooden blocks) is a sliding block puzzle thought to have originated in the early 20th century. The name may refer to a specific layout of ten blocks, or in a more global sense to refer to a whole group of similar ...

'' * ''Life Genesis'' (based on ''

Conway's Game of Life The Game of Life, also known simply as Life, is a cellular automaton devised by the British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970. It is a zero-player game, meaning that its evolution is determined by its initial state, requiring no furt ...

'', with a two-player mode added) * ''

SkiFree ''SkiFree'' is a single-player skiing computer game created by Chris Pirih and released with '' Microsoft Entertainment Pack 3'' for Windows 3.0 in October 1991. The player controls a skier on a mountain slope, avoiding obstacles while racing a ...

'', written by Chris Pirih * ''

TetraVex An edge-matching puzzle is a type of tiling puzzle involving tiling an area with (typically regular) polygons whose edges are distinguished with colours or patterns, in such a way that the edges of adjacent tiles match. Edge-matching puzzles are k ...

'' * '' TriPeaks'' (a card game) * '' WordZap'' (a word game) * ''IdleWild'' (a

program) – 8 new screen savers for this pack

''Microsoft Entertainment Pack 4''

* ''Chess'' * '' Chip's Challenge'', written by Chuck Sommerville * ''Dr. Black Jack'', a card game created by Mike Blaylock, based on the game of the same name * ''Go Figure!'' * '' JezzBall'' * ''Maxwell's Maniac'' * ''Tic Tac Drop'', a form of Connect Four with quadrilateral, triangular and plus-shaped boards and customizable win pattern and number of rows and columns

''The Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack''

''The Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack'' is a collection of 13 games from previous ''Entertainment Packs''. A

version was released in June 2001 in North America and August 2001 in Europe. It was developed by Saffire and published by Classified Games in North America and Cryo Interactive in Europe. Windows *''Tetris'' *''FreeCell'' *''Pipe Dream'' *''Chip's Challenge'' *''Taipei'' *''Tut's Tomb'' *''Rodent's Revenge'' *''TriPeaks'' *''Golf'' *''SkiFree'' *''JezzBall'' *''Dr. Black Jack'' *''TetraVex'' Game Boy Color *''Tut's Tomb'' *''TriPeaks'' *''FreeCell'' *''TicTactics'' *''Minesweeper'' *''Life Genesis'' *''SkiFree''

Development

Microsoft Entertainment Pack was designed by the company's “Entry Business” team, whose job was to make Windows more appealing to homes and small businesses. Ex-Microsoft product manager Bruce Ryan said the company did this because it "was concerned that the operating system’s high hardware requirements meant that people would only see it as a tool for large enterprises". The project had "almost no budget", and no major video game publishers got involved because they doubted Windows' legitimacy as a gaming platform; therefore Ryan compiled a series of games that Windows employees had been working on in their spare time. According to Microsoft FreeCell developer Jim Horne, the packs were not

copy protected Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy prevention and copy restriction, describes measures to enforce copyright by preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media. Copy protection is most commonly found on ...

so customers could distribute copies to friends, to encourage using Windows for games. As payment, each author received ten shares of Microsoft stock. For much of the early 1990s, the Gamesampler, a subset of the Entertainment Pack small enough to fit on a single high-density disk, was shipped as a free eleventh disk added to a ten-pack of

Verbatim Verbatim means word for word. Verbatim may also refer to: * Verbatim (brand), a brand of storage media and flash memory * Verbatim (horse), an American racehorse * ''Verbatim'' (magazine), edited by Erin McKean * Verbatim theatre, a form o ...

blank 3.5" microfloppy diskettes. Games on the sampler included ''Jezzball'', ''Rodent's Revenge'', ''Tetris'', and ''Skifree''. A "Best of" disk of several of the games was also available at times as a mail-in premium from

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toas ...

cereals. All games being 16-bit run on modern 32-bit versions of Windows but not on 64-bit Windows. Support for all versions of Microsoft Entertainment Pack ended on January 31, 2003. In the copies of Windows NT 4.0 and

Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It was the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and was released to manufacturing on December 15, 1999, and was official ...

source code In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comment (computer programming), comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a Computer program, p ...

which

leaked A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a tank or a ship's hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can enter the container. Leaks are usuall ...

in 2004, there are 32-bit versions of ''Cruel'', ''Golf'', ''Pegged'', ''Reversi'', ''Snake'' (''Rattler Race''), ''Taipei'' and ''TicTactics''. However, FreeCell and ''

'' have had official 32-bit versions bundled even with early versions of

Windows NT Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released on July 27, 1993. It is a processor-independent, multiprocessing and multi-user operating system. The first version of Wi ...

. The original game developers of some of the games such as ''SkiFree'', TriPeaks, and ''WordZap'' now offer 32-bit versions. Third party developers have also created 32-bit freeware clones of Klotski, ''TetraVex'', ''Rodent's Revenge'', ''Tetris'', and ''Taipei''.

Reception

Digital Trends Digital Trends is a Portland, Oregon-based tech news, lifestyle, and information website that publishes news, reviews, guides, how-to articles, descriptive videos and podcasts about technology and consumer electronics products. With offices in ...

noted, "For many, the simple but enjoyable games found in the Entertainment Pack provided a first taste of early PC gaming and served as a gateway to more complex classics." ''

PC World ''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tec ...

'' described the pack as having "standout time-wasters".

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1990 video games 1991 video games 1992 video games Casual games Ent Game Boy Color games Microsoft franchises Microsoft game compilations Puzzle video games Video games developed in the United States Windows games