Rock, Paper, Shotgun

RPS Asks: What’s Your Rainy Day Game?

By John Walker on August 27th, 2012 at 9:54 am.

Scenes earlier today.

It’s a bank holiday in fair Blighty, which means the RPS team are all defiantly sat on the beach, clutching our bucket and spade for warmth, as the pounding rain fills the moats in the sandcastles we’ve built. But that doesn’t mean our minds aren’t turned to gaming. Right now, as the rainwater washes Alec out to sea, we find our thoughts drifting to our studies. What are our favourite rainy day games? What are the ones we go back to, to fill those spare holiday hours when the sun won’t come out to play? Shouldn’t someone call the coastguard?

So what are the ones for you? Which game can you reliably fall back on, the one you never delete from your HD no matter how much space you need, the one that can always be depended upon to gobble up the long, dreary hours? What is your rainy day game?

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262 Comments »

  1. 27/08/2012 at 09:55 Hisui says:

    Dota 2. Nothing cheers you up more than the thought that you’re better at everything than all those foul-mouthed dimwits on both your team and the enemy team.

  2. 27/08/2012 at 09:57 Jams O'Donnell says:

    Dredmor. Always-reliable, laptop-friendly Dredmor. You also don’t have to ever delete because it is tiny. Victory for all.

    • 27/08/2012 at 11:17 kukouri says:

      Is it really obvious I am pimping out my own game if I say Tiny Troopers and reply to a comment near the top? I won’t say that then.

      Lately Tilt to Live has been my fall back game along with World of Tanks. Dredmor is sucking my back in with the workshop tho. Loving the workshop.

    • 27/08/2012 at 12:25 jikavak says:

      Yep,DoD is such an amazing little roguelike.

  3. 27/08/2012 at 09:57 phelix says:

    STALKER. That game is so immersive I forget it’s raining at all.

    • 27/08/2012 at 10:06 lith says:

      Until it starts raining in-game…

    • 27/08/2012 at 12:23 brulleks says:

      I would be continuing my first play-through of Stalker: Clear Sky (with Complete mod), but I’ve just reached THAT BIT of it, without being pre-warned. If you’ve played it, I’m sure you’ll know what THAT BIT means.

      I must now wait until the rain has doused my seething anger before returning to it, so I’m going to give Alan Wake a go this afternoon to see what it’s like.

      But the one game I will definitely be playing at some point today, come rain or shine, is Minecraft. I am now three months into hacking out the Largest Cavern Known To Cubeman so that I can erect my own version of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon within it.

      • 27/08/2012 at 14:57 phelix says:

        Ah, the something-something-Controller-in-underground part?

        • 27/08/2012 at 16:46 brulleks says:

          Nope, the developers-thinking-its-amusing-to-steal-all-the-money-I’ve-spent-hours-scavenging-and-selling-items-for bit.

          Biggest dick move that any game involving trading can ever make.

          • 27/08/2012 at 19:28 theallmightybob says:

            If you hate it that much, i think there is a glitch where you can keep all your stuff, just not the money. just drop it all on the ground outside the door leading to the ambush. then after the ambush walk back up and it should be there? I remember that working for me on my second run through the game.

          • 28/08/2012 at 09:27 phelix says:

            True, true. When that happened to me I quickloaded and dropped my stuff outside…. only to be notified by the game 20 mins later that I should go on a quest to ‘recover my stuff’. Yay.

      • 28/08/2012 at 02:51 Rinimand says:

        I can definitely agree with STALKER being that kind of game, but Clear Sky? Not really, even with the mod. I’m still more a fan of SoC that CoP and just can’t seem to enjoy CS really.

    • 27/08/2012 at 21:56 dbspin says:

      Came here to say Stalker: Shadow Of Chernobyl: Complete (2012). Playing through again at the moment. Dat atmosphere!

    • 28/08/2012 at 01:07 AlonePlusEasyTarget says:

      Funny how I was playing the game while it’s pouring outside later to find out this article. I don’t know why but maybe because the weather just fit in with the dark and gloomy atmosphere in the game that it become the game when I play on rainy day. Dark Souls will quickly be another one for me.

  5. 27/08/2012 at 09:58 Text_Fish says:

    It used to be CS 1.6. Then it was CS:S. Then it was TF2. Now it’s CS:GO.

    Yeah, I pretty much do whatever Valve tell me. We don’t mention CZ though.

  6. 27/08/2012 at 09:59 LionsPhil says:

    UT99. SMAC. Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup.

    • 27/08/2012 at 10:05 Snargelfargen says:

      DCSS is perfect. Need more games that can be played with a cup of coffee in hand.

      Another good one is Heroes of Might and Magic 3

      Edit: Crap, why didn’t I think of Alpha Centauri before now?

  7. 27/08/2012 at 10:00 fightclubdoll says:

    Psychonauts =-)

  8. 27/08/2012 at 10:00 lordcooper says:

    Dwarf Fortress and Armageddon MUD have seen me through many a rainy day, with CK2 slowly murdering it’s way into the family.

  9. 27/08/2012 at 10:01 GameStunts says:

    I think I can always go back to Grand Theft Auto and be reliably entertained no matter what. Especially GTA IV, have completed that a few times, and it’s DLCs.

    Good long stories with fun things to do.

  10. 27/08/2012 at 10:03 Halkyon says:

    Anno (year). It’s always sunny.

  11. 27/08/2012 at 10:04 Victuz says:

    I… actually don’t know. I have many games I love but I don’t think I play a specific one during the mentioned “rainy days”.
    I’m more likely to play a specific genre of games rather than one specific title. During those days, I’d say it’s the strategy/4x type of games.

    Oh and Dwarf Fortress. But I play that whenever I listen to an audiobook or generally do anything else that doesn’t require my full attention.

    • 27/08/2012 at 13:00 The Random One says:

      I would consider it almost sacrilegious to play DF without its lovely acoustic guitar soundtrack…

      • 27/08/2012 at 13:56 Mad Hamish says:

        I’m convinced that it’s a large part of DFs success. It’s bloody hypnotic I can’t tell where it ends or begins or how long it is. It makes it seem like a dream.

      • 27/08/2012 at 20:20 Tacroy says:

        I’ve been playing DF since the 2D, Hidden Fun Stuff is on the right era and I never realized it had any sort of sound track at all.

    • 27/08/2012 at 14:03 Acidictadpole says:

      It changes a lot for me too. I’ll usually have one ‘mess around’ game and one story game that I’m playing at a time. Messing around can be anything from a driving/flight sim to 4X.

  12. 27/08/2012 at 10:04 Tusque D'Ivoire says:

    torchlight. the next time I look up from my computer the sun is sure to be shining. or it might be winter.

    For mood swings i like some open-world chaos, like GTA4, Just Cause 2 or more recently some Mafia 2 due to the rekindled conversation on the forums.

    • 27/08/2012 at 10:06 GameStunts says:

      Oh I loved Mafia 2, great game with fantastic cut scenes and open world feel. I liked the whole story.

    • 27/08/2012 at 10:08 woodsey says:

      I love the winter portion of Mafia II for snowy/freeze-your-balls-off days. I do wish so much more of it had taken place in the winter-time.

  13. 27/08/2012 at 10:05 Stromko says:

    I’d have to go with Minecraft (modded). The only reason it isn’t beaten out by Mount & Blade: Warband or Dwarf Fortress is I’ve already played so much of those two games that it’s hard for me to get stuck in long enough for them to engage me. It varies though.

    There’s really no single game that I would always feel like playing from one week to the next, even when I’m bored and just want to play SOMETHING.

    • 27/08/2012 at 16:04 disperse says:

      Yeah, it would be Minecraft for me too. Nethack is usually the first game I install on a new PC but I have to admit I play a lot more Minecraft and always have it installed for those moments where I’m not interested in a narrative-based game.

  14. 27/08/2012 at 10:07 Hidden_7 says:

    Either a Bethesda game (any, whatever I haven’t played in the longest) or an adventure game (also any, sometimes classics I haven’t played in awhile, but oftentimes ones I never got around to playing in the first place).

  15. 27/08/2012 at 10:09 Sine says:

    Civilization 4. That eternal time-sink…

  16. 27/08/2012 at 10:10 MrCraigL says:

    Blood Money or Skyrim or Sup Com:FA or Sins of a Solar Empire or some old adventure like Outcast. Rainy days are the best.

  17. 27/08/2012 at 10:10 drewski says:

    Red Dead Redemption.

    Sorry, PC :(

  18. 27/08/2012 at 10:10 Firenz says:

    Any Paradox game, I always have one or more on my PC and you can waste/while away hours playing through HoI3 as Portugal or Vicky 2 as Ecuador.

  19. 27/08/2012 at 10:10 ShadowBlade says:

    Doom(1-2), UT99, Starcraft, Total Annihilation and Quake 3 haven’t left the HDD in many, many years. I suspect Left 4 Dead 2 will stay around for a long time too :)

  20. 27/08/2012 at 10:10 woodsey says:

    Usually I’ll take the opportunity (especially if it’s the summer) to play something like Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory during the day, as opposed to having to wait until it’s dark outside to play it. Alternatively, DayZ or L4D2/Payday would probably see some lovin’.

  21. 27/08/2012 at 10:12 E_FD says:

    Alpha Centauri. Sooner or later, I always come back to it.

  22. 27/08/2012 at 10:14 Arcadia says:

    Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3. It’s just so perfect. Oh and Deus Ex. And UT99. And Quake I/II. And Heroes III. And VVVVVV. And Uplink.

  23. 27/08/2012 at 10:15 Mr. Mister says:

    Just Cause 2. Not even the widest (single payer) RPGs will take you that much time to reach 100% completion, and CHAOS is the best sorta redefinition of grinding I’ve ever seen.

    • 27/08/2012 at 10:49 mcwizardry says:

      Too bad it’s technically impossible to 100% Just Cause 2 due to a bug.

        • 27/08/2012 at 14:01 Mr. Mister says:

          If you’ee talking about the missing three vehicle parts, gun parts and water toeer, there’s a mod that adds them.

          If you’re talking about a bug involvung Black Gold mission, it can actually let you surpass 100% completion.

          Also, plane races are the awesomesauciest, specially if you cross the finish line with your plane on fire due courtesy of some SAMsites. Except that one bonus checkpoint of Bridge of Death, which basically requires you to go up through the small gap between the two rails with yoir plane sideways.

          Fuck that bonus checkpoint.

      • 27/08/2012 at 12:28 brulleks says:

        I’m assuming you mean a technical bug and aren’t just referring to the godawful plane races, which stopped me from bothering with 100% completion?

        • 27/08/2012 at 13:18 beetle says:

          the plane races aren’t bad if you cheat and use a maxed rowlinson instead of the provided plane. if I remember correctly this also works for some of the parachute missions.

          • 27/08/2012 at 13:25 LionsPhil says:

            Heh, I did that for one of the supposedly easy bastard courses. It’s one nippy little (armed!) bird at level 6.

      • 27/08/2012 at 12:45 Tusque D'Ivoire says:

        The plane races are the best. I can’t wait for inclusion in the multiplayer mod…

        You are talking to someone who gold-medaled all the airfield missions in GTA:SA.

        • 27/08/2012 at 12:49 LionsPhil says:

          I’d say the freefall/chute ones are possibly the worst, due to that damn camera.

          • 27/08/2012 at 14:07 Mr. Mister says:

            I’ve heard that dual sticks make the job much easier; but I’m not gonna bother (I’m to used to mouse4 assigned to grapple). The trick is to start falling without much forward speed.

    • 27/08/2012 at 11:39 westyfield says:

      JC2 and Saints Row 3 are mine. Whatever mood I’m in, they’ll cheer me up.

  24. 27/08/2012 at 10:17 Xardas Kane says:

    SMAC, Civ4 or 5. A no-brainer really, those games simply don’t end in a single day.

  25. 27/08/2012 at 10:19 Rao Dao Zao says:

    Unreal Tournament is always a banker. Depending on how much time I’ve got (i.e. if on holiday), I might do an end-to-end of Sonic 3 & Knuckles (in the Sonic Mega Collection, natch) with the volume ramped up. Might also crack open Warcraft III to play a singleplayer RPG map or two (the Rexxar campaign is for sunny days).

  26. 27/08/2012 at 10:21 Antony_256 says:

    Outrun.

    • 27/08/2012 at 10:49 siegarettes says:

      You are my hero.

    • 27/08/2012 at 12:31 Hodge says:

      Yeah, I’ll second that. I used to consider it a guilty pleasure until I read the Retro Gamer feature on it and realised how much thought and design had gone into it. Now it’s just a pleasure.

      The Coast2Coast sequel from a few years back is worth a gander too. It was around $10 both Steam and GamersGate the last I checked.

  27. 27/08/2012 at 10:21 Spacewalk says:

    Hexen, but that’s my everytime game.

    • 28/08/2012 at 06:45 Eophasmus says:

      Ah, I’m replaying Hexen at the moment with the Doomsday source port. It’s lovely, but I can’t see myself replaying it again for another 5+ years.

  28. 27/08/2012 at 10:26 Snegletiss says:

    It’s anno for me too. And rise of nations.

  29. 27/08/2012 at 10:26 Lars Westergren says:

    When autumn arrives and evenings get dark and rainy, my thoughts turn to Amnesia. And horror/apocalypse titles like Stalker.

  30. 27/08/2012 at 10:27 bladedsmoke says:

    Dwarf Fortress. Small enough in size that I can keep it on my HD without worrying about space, vast enough in scope and ambition that there’s never a point where I’ve exhausted any of the possibilities.

  31. 27/08/2012 at 10:29 quintesse says:

    CS:Source, on holiday right now so I don’t know if it will be CS:GO from now on ;-)

  32. 27/08/2012 at 10:30 barelyhomosapien says:

    Supreme Commander: FA; With some AI mods installed you can always expect a decent fight from it and nothing eats up those hours quite like a little bit of stompy robot mega war with or without friend(s)

    It always surprises me just how good the game still looks as well.

  33. 27/08/2012 at 10:30 Luke says:

    Thinking about this for a second, I came up with Nethack and Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup, N and Rayhound… and then I remembered that I still have two Eve Online clients on my main drive even though my subscription lapsed about 2 years ago. Yeah. Those aren’t going anywhere.

    *gloat* They’re not really ‘rainy day’ games though, as it hasn’t rained here since about April, and probably won’t until October. =P *endgloat*

  34. 27/08/2012 at 10:31 Beanchilla says:

    X-COM! Either that or CS 1.6 or GO depending on Laptop or PC at the time.

  35. 27/08/2012 at 10:31 Lambchops says:

    Spelunky and Audiosurf.

  36. 27/08/2012 at 10:33 BestFriends4Ever says:

    You let the weather affect your gaming choices? NOOBS! NOOB TEAM!! not PRO like me.

  37. 27/08/2012 at 10:35 Lolmasaurus says:

    For me? I have to call it Mount and Blade: Warband with the floris modpack. Hands down my favourite strategy game, also dayZ; because I just never get tired of that, especially with friends.

  39. 27/08/2012 at 10:37 AmateurScience says:

    Well on *this* particular rainy day I can’t seem to stop playing Dark Souls. It has consumed me.

  40. 27/08/2012 at 10:39 Kobest says:

    I’m working through my backlog, so for now, Gemini Rue will do the trick. :)

  41. 27/08/2012 at 10:41 WhatKateDoes says:

    I am Scottish, and therefore not on Holiday *shakes fist*

    ..but if I were on hol… I’d still be shaking my fist because I havent got Guild Wars 2 yet….

    …so maybe I’d be practising the best way to jump out of a spinning vehicle going over a cliff in Just Cause 2…

    • 27/08/2012 at 11:07 Ravenholme says:

      Likewise, but the Elderscrolls series or Dungeon Keeper tends to be my mainstay of rainy days.

      Nothing like a little evil to keep you warm when you’ve got wind and rain coming off the North Sea.

    • 27/08/2012 at 12:09 Malibu Stacey says:

      Same, at work. If I wasn’t it’d be Dota 2 or the freshly purchased & downloaded Just Cause 2 (or Demon Souls on PS3).

  42. 27/08/2012 at 10:41 thedudeabides52 says:

    Civ IV, GTA IV or Sim City 4. Everything’s better in fours.

  43. 27/08/2012 at 10:41 Bob says:

    Deus Ex and Freelancer…and their assorted mods. The mods get installed/uninstalled but those two games are a permanent fixation.

  44. 27/08/2012 at 10:42 Kemipso says:

    Baldur’s gate 2. I wish the game would get old some day but it doesnt seem to want to (also, the obligatory Civilization).

  45. 27/08/2012 at 10:42 Shadowcat says:

    “Weird Worlds” (rainy or otherwise).

  46. 27/08/2012 at 10:45 kalelovil says:

    Simcity 4 or Mount&Blade.

  47. 27/08/2012 at 10:55 stone says:

    Sid Meier’s Railroads! Can always go back to it..

    • 27/08/2012 at 12:47 cptgone says:

      read your comment, guess what i’m doing now?
      that’s right, installing Sid Meier’s Railroads :)
      choo choo!

      too bad it crashes so often though.
      and it’s been ages since we got a new railroad managment sim. what’s wrong with game companies? don’t they want free money?

  48. 27/08/2012 at 10:55 Slinkyboy says:

    Nehrim.

  49. 27/08/2012 at 10:55 JuJuCam says:

    Blood Bowl.

  50. 27/08/2012 at 10:56 Groove says:

    I work in oil and don’t have a bank holiday. So my rainy day game is wishing I was playing Guild Wars 2.

    In related news, screw you all =(

  51. 27/08/2012 at 10:56 Squire says:

    Since the only thing I’ve played since the 15th of May is Diablo 3 [Except a bit of pinched Darksiders II this week, great art, great ideas, great puzzling, but so many annoying problems and semi-shit game design and the port being so terrible it gives me motion sickness], so… probably Diablo 3.

    Except I wanted to say that I like going outside on rainy days actually, I prefer them to sunny ones. Sitting feeling the rain bounce off my bunnet is more fun than being sweaty for me.

  53. 27/08/2012 at 11:06 GeeKay says:

    Jet Set Willy. Still is my rainy day game and always will be :)

  54. 27/08/2012 at 11:08 MuscleHorse says:

    Thief 2 – still the pinnacle of immersive, characterful gaming and the community are still making excellent levels for it.

    • 27/08/2012 at 18:16 Kasab says:

      Thief 2, Deus Ex, and Thievery. Obviously I adore being a sneaky bugger and bopping bastards on the bonce, but doing that in multiplayer is what makes Thievery such a fun mod. Deus Ex is always the best thing ever, what with all the rooftops and bad Chinese accents. I’ll sometimes dip into Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, too, seeing as that game has a special place in my heart.

  55. 27/08/2012 at 11:09 Acksiom says:

    The RPS bigotry drinking game.

  56. 27/08/2012 at 11:10 Leonard Hatred says:

    I go straight for nostalgia on rainy days – Baldurs Gate 2, or UFO Enemy Unknown. Dune 2 used to be on that list, but it hasn’t aged nearly as well.

    Failing that, either some mindless 3rd person violence (darksiders, space marine etc) or one of the indy games i’ve picked up on Steam and never bothered installing.

  57. 27/08/2012 at 11:23 Bluerps says:

    It does not happen that often that I don’t have a game to play. Either there is something that I can continue playing, or there is an unplayed game I really want to start.

    In the rare cases when there is neither, my fallback is Dredmor. That one always works.

  58. 27/08/2012 at 11:26 povu says:

    Morrowind with a ton of quest mods, it just never ends.

  59. 27/08/2012 at 11:26 waaaaaaaals says:

    Tyrian

  60. 27/08/2012 at 11:27 KaptainKarnage says:

    X-com:UFO Defense, and Simcity 2000 are the games I tend to go to on a rainy day, mainly because those two never get old.

  61. 27/08/2012 at 11:29 luckystriker says:

    Medieval 2: Total War with LoTR The Third Age mod.

  62. 27/08/2012 at 11:31 doma says:

    Crusader Kings 2!

  63. 27/08/2012 at 11:32 Thtb says:

    Dominions 3: The awakening

    Otherwise, Dwarf Fortress

  64. 27/08/2012 at 11:35 Corrupt_Tiki says:

    Hmm, to sink hours into?
    I’d have to say, CSS or CS:GO, or perhaps Diablo 3, some people enjoyed it, I know right?

    As for games that never get deleted, I have had the entire C&C The First Decade installed on my machine for a very very long amount of time, And I don’t think I could really part with it now.

    Long live RA2

  65. 27/08/2012 at 11:37 Mayjori says:

    Planetside 2

  66. 27/08/2012 at 11:41 Moni says:

    When I’m feeling a overwhelmed by the world playing Far Cry 2 makes me feel better. For some reason, knowing that not everything in the world is trying to constantly murder me is comforting.

  67. 27/08/2012 at 11:42 I am Grand says:

    Most likely Day of Defeat: Source as it’s been on every one of my PCs since I bought it about six years ago and is the go-to game in almost every situation. The pacing of the game is near perfect.

  68. 27/08/2012 at 11:43 caddyB says:

    World of Warcraft.

    What?

  69. 27/08/2012 at 11:44 Low Life says:

    I usually have a bunch of games played midway through, or never even started, so those are my “priority”. Which reminds me, I still haven’t finished Bioshock 2.

    But if for some reason I didn’t have any games in my backlog, those fancy 4X games (Civ 5 and Endless Space at the moment) always work well for killing an entire day.

    Or I could just end up starting a new playthrough of some awesome game from a few years back (Deus Ex, Mirror’s Edge etc.).

    • 27/08/2012 at 12:25 Dilapinated says:

      Bioshock 2 is worth playing. Not a bad game by any stretch, just not the huge leap forward that 1 was, and the plot often seems like a hasty addition to an already complete narrative cycle.

  70. 27/08/2012 at 11:46 YeOldeSnake says:

    The Saboteur. I have had this game in my hard drive ever since it got released and i am still playing it from time to time. Whether it is a full stealth playthrough or running around blowing things up in a stealthy manner, this game still satisfies my gaming needs. And then we have NOLF 2 and Postal 2 and of course Deus Ex. And Commandos 2. And… and… and…

  71. 27/08/2012 at 11:51 GernauMorat says:

    Company of Heroes with Blitzkrieg mod. I hate the playtime counter on steam for reminding me how much i’ve played this

  72. 27/08/2012 at 11:56 azzwort says:

    The Specialists mod for HL1 (non rp servers), one of the best time killers ever made.

    • 27/08/2012 at 12:22 B1A4 says:

      It’s still out there?

      I’ve always wondered – this was mod of mods, so why the hell CS gain such popularity a nobody knows The Specialists.

  73. 27/08/2012 at 11:57 pRiM8 says:

    Football Manager, whichever year is your favourite.

  74. 27/08/2012 at 11:59 searinox says:

    Gotta be KOTOR2, mostly because i was home sick on a rainy day when i first played it.

  75. 27/08/2012 at 12:04 TormDK says:

    I don’t have a specific game I play during rainy days, so insert random AAA title/MMOG game here.

    Right now I’d play SWTOR, GW2, BF3, ME3 multiplayer, Civ 5, DoW2 – Retribution or Sleeping Dogs on a rainy day.

  76. 27/08/2012 at 12:07 Jason Moyer says:

    No One Lives Forever

    • 27/08/2012 at 12:16 Snegletiss says:

      Haha, the npc dialog in that game is brilliant at times.
      “So, how was she?”
      “What do you mean?”
      “You know, how was she?”
      “What do you mean how was she?”
      “You know, did you do it?”
      “Do what?”
      “Do it, you know?”
      “Know what?”

  77. 27/08/2012 at 12:12 talon03 says:

    Today I have the Planetside 2 beta to play.
    Oh, and Guild Wars 2.
    Oh, and I got an email last night saying I’d been accepted into the Firefall beta.

  78. 27/08/2012 at 12:15 CaLe says:

    I only play new games and once I’m finished with them I don’t go back. I’ve never had a rainy day game.

  79. 27/08/2012 at 12:16 cptgone says:

    not my go-to game, but:

    last month, i had a few weeks off and it was pouring rain day and night… when i looked at my window it was as if my house was submerged. all i could hear was water trickling down, dripping…

    …as i was playing Bioshock for the very 1st time :)

  80. 27/08/2012 at 12:18 Superpat says:

    Right now it’s Crusader Kings 2 (My startopia cd is broken)

  81. 27/08/2012 at 12:25 wpmaura says:

    Total War, CIV 5, Age of Wonders

  82. 27/08/2012 at 12:29 Inithra says:

    Spider Solitaire. Yup. Never played any other game that has both stayed on my HDD and that I have kept playing. To be honest, there are very few games I have completed more than one playthrough of. So few that I cannot actually think of one.

  83. 27/08/2012 at 12:30 rockym93 says:

    I’ve copypasted the same copy of Majesty across at least 4 computers now. Before that, Age of Empires 2 – specifically one saved game which I’d had since 2006, which is now sadly lost to hard drive failure.

  84. 27/08/2012 at 12:33 dicenslice says:

    Grim Fandango

  85. 27/08/2012 at 12:36 Clavus says:

    Whatever singleplayer game is screaming at me from my Steam backlog. Currently that is Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines. Although I usually play that in the evening, so I’m in the right mood for bloodsucking.

  86. 27/08/2012 at 12:37 Shortwave says:

    Honestly for me, on rainy days I play ROMS on my Galaxy 7′ in bed, watching movies or tv shows in the background, or tunes.

  87. 27/08/2012 at 12:39 rapier17 says:

    Depends on my mood. Red Baron, maybe, or Pirates! Gold, perhaps C&C:Red Alert 2 or Baldurs Gate II. Might even be tempted to play Hidden & Dangerous or Operation Flashpoint. I might even go so far as to drag The Colonel’s Bequest back into the sunlight and play that (yet again).

  88. 27/08/2012 at 12:42 Hodge says:

    If I do get a rare spare day, I usually dedicate it to playing something new from my backlog (or something non-gaming entirely), so I don’t revisit things much. Back in the olden times, before crazy sales bestowed me with a massive gaming surplus, the original Civilization was probably my go-to. These days it’s mainly shorter things, Atom Zombie Smasher and Rock Of Ages are the two I’m returning to the most.

    If I don’t have a spare day, playing game roulette with SDLMAME is a tremendous way to procrastinate.

    • 27/08/2012 at 18:22 MattM says:

      Really, Rock of Ages? I loved Zeno Clash (from the same dev team), but I found Rock’s gameplay to be super repetitive and quit half way through the campaign. The setting/visuals were nice but that wasn’t enough. What do you find so compelling about the game, I am curious.

  89. 27/08/2012 at 12:43 Olero says:

    Well, that depends on the type of rain of course:

    A drizzle: Dredmor, Dungeon crawl stone soup, minecraft
    Raining cats & dogs: Civilization IV & V, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Dungeon Keeper
    Raining stair-rods: Jagged Alliance 2 with 1.13, Fallout 1, 2 & Tactics (and recently New Vegas)
    Siling down: Baldurs Gate 1 & 2, Morrowind,

  90. 27/08/2012 at 12:49 Beernut says:

    Quake 3, Solitaire (seriously, over 11000 games played according to the program’s statistic ^^), Osmos, Trine 2, and (though no PC-game in the classical sense) “Hexiom Connect” on Kongregate!

  91. 27/08/2012 at 12:59 LuNatic says:

    Dwarf Fortress, for sure. But I currently live in Alice Springs, so it doesn’t happen often.

  92. 27/08/2012 at 13:11 derbefrier says:

    well for this rainy day I have 2 new great games to play

    Dark Souls – this game is awesome bad port and all. suck it up get a controller and buy this, while its the worst port i have seen in a while its also the best game i have played in a while so it kinda cancels out the bad port part.

    Guild Wars 2 – after a bit of a rough start the game is a lot of fun as long as you not expecting the second coming of Jesus. I had my doubts but it seems to be slowly winning me over. I just hope they fix the lag soon, I should point out its gotten noticeably better since Saturday morning but its still an issue.

  93. 27/08/2012 at 13:13 Tei says:

    Dungeon Defenders is the game. Farming mana for my mythical set or helping newbies to powerlevel. Probably what I enjoy more its meeting other people and chatting, its the perfect game for that.

  94. 27/08/2012 at 13:14 newchies says:

    Any command and conquer or total overdose or the original GTA or any mindless football sim

  95. 27/08/2012 at 13:16 Avish says:

    Not much winter here (We get about 30 days of rain a year), so I never thought too much about winter games. But if there was a significant winter here, I would probably play something in the direction of Left 4 Dead or Team fortress 2.

  96. 27/08/2012 at 13:18 grundus says:

    Open world sandboxes for me usually, but really any game is my rainy day game because I just sit down and play whatever I feel like. It has been Just Cause 2 lately but until this weekend the weather had been nice, but I was convalescing from a recent tonsillectomy and before that I just had a solid 3 weeks of tonsillitis (yes, they are related). So gutted I missed all the sun…

  97. 27/08/2012 at 13:20 neolith says:

    Usually it’s Defense Grid. But yesterday I’ve been playing GW2.

  98. 27/08/2012 at 13:32 Boarnoah says:

    Minecraft, but when that too gets boring (after long hours of non stop play :P) I go back to do some more things in Fallout New Vegas which I never still finished.

  99. 27/08/2012 at 13:39 razgon says:

    Master of Magic – Its simply such a brilliant game. I must admit, I rarely finish a game though, but its always so much fun to see how overpowered you can become as quickly as possible.

    My favorite if I want to plow through the game is pure LIFE magic – Getting that Guardian Spirit beefed up with Lionheart, Bless, Holy Weapon and Invulnerbility and nothing can stand against it in early game. Torin the champion is another favorite – After a few level ups he becomes an unstoppable force.

    For a change in gamepace, try making it hard on yourself by choosing many different spell areas – leads to a much harder game!

  100. 27/08/2012 at 13:41 hemmingjay says:

    Dwarf Fortress. There is no limit on what I can do, besides my moral objections to using infants as shields or creating a living tomb for a noble.

    • 27/08/2012 at 17:13 jikavak says:

      If only it would be easier to get into that game.I have read a few guides and I still can’t do anything more than a basic fort.

  101. 27/08/2012 at 13:44 robandr3w5 says:

    Definitely don’t have a specific one. I used to be able to pour a good number of hours into a PES, or a Battlefield game, or any other of thos that sort of keep on going.

    However, my gfx card died, so I can’t even play terraria.. the only thing I think I have that doesn’t need it is OpenTTD, and, thankfully, I can pour hours into that since rediscovering its charms a while ago. At least, if coupled with a massive, massive map of the UK and plans for cross-map interconnected networks of brilliance.

  103. 27/08/2012 at 14:12 Totally heterosexual says:

    CS:go right now I guess.

    Snake eater makes me smile at any time.

  104. 27/08/2012 at 14:17 hippocrat says:

    Minecraft is my favorite rainy-day game, so long as I’m not caught up in something else (like Tribes, currently).

    • 28/08/2012 at 10:20 MonkeyMonster says:

      This.
      Having been watching the yogcast tekkit stuff totally fallen back into a hole and carried on digging. Man it can get tense down deep when you hear a skelly and have no idea if he’s behind a wall or round the corner in the dark…

  105. 27/08/2012 at 14:23 Dys Does Dakka says:

    My usual between-games-game is one of the Total Wars; current status is an end-game ETW Prussian campaign I can’t seem to get around to actually finish.

    -Right now, I’m (re)playing Silent Hunter IV – Wolves of the Pacific while waiting for XCOM and Xenonauts to descend upon the world.

  106. 27/08/2012 at 14:31 Siimon says:

    Spaceward Ho! 4.0 :)

  107. 27/08/2012 at 14:35 Rastaanparta says:

    On a rainy day, I just throw myself on a chair and pick up my copy of Lords of Magic. Completing the game is just a good reason to start it all over again. Brings back memories of the time when I could easily stay awake a whole night, polishing strategies with my childhood friends, accompanied by a cup of hot chocolate. “The Circle of Life, has no beginning, or end. Choose your faith, and write your own destiny.”

    Just listen the soundtrack while watching raindrops drumming your window. Classic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sseb0Z59zt4

  108. 27/08/2012 at 14:51 bongosabbath says:

    Defcon. Every day.

  109. 27/08/2012 at 14:52 Skabooga says:

    For rainy days, I’d say anything by Nifflas would be ideal, either ‘Within a Deep Forest’ or ‘Knytt’. Both are nice, exploration type games that you can take at your own pace, and the soundtracks are perfectly accompanied by the patter of rain on the window.

  110. 27/08/2012 at 14:54 Hmm-Hmm. says:

    Hmm. Minecraft, I suppose, but it’s not something I want to dig in all the time. In fact, that hardly ever happens. Perhaps a game of Dungeons of Dredmor or Orcs must die? Fine games, to be sure, but still..

    I do have games which would apply more if I’d think of playing them more such as Escape Velocity: Nova (or one of the earlier games) and Dawn of War. Guess I should reinstall EVN, then.

  111. 27/08/2012 at 15:02 elevown says:

    The hunter is an amazing game to always keep in backup. Also, minecraft, NWN (vast amounts of great mods) and whichever bethseda game im currently into.

    With those on my HD I will always have a fallback.

  112. 27/08/2012 at 15:04 Was Neurotic says:

    Ron Balewski’s Mah-Jongg ’97. It’s ancient, but the best mah-jongg I’ve ever played, and I’ve been playing it for over ten years now. It works on every Windows since ’98, and is essentially freeware (you can pay $20 to remove a timed nag-screen at load-up). When I see this game load up, I instantly feel safe, relaxed and comfortable, happy in the knowledge I’m about to lose myself for a few hours. Get it here: http://ronsmahjongg.biz/

  113. 27/08/2012 at 15:29 Mctittles says:

    Rainbow Six 3 is always the first game I install on a new system. I never tire of the multiplayer.

  114. 27/08/2012 at 15:34 Vinraith says:

    Rise of Nations, Sword of the Stars, and AI War: Fleet Command just never get old for me. All three of them have permanent places on any install to both my laptop and my desktop.

  115. 27/08/2012 at 15:52 Trelow says:

    Mountain Blades

  116. 27/08/2012 at 16:01 Snuffy the Evil says:

    Depends on my mood, really. I’ll play Arma 2 if I want to shoot men, and I’ll play Star Ruler when I want to murder aliens.

  117. 27/08/2012 at 16:31 DarkMalice says:

    After being drenched earlier today I came home to Disciples 2. Awesome RPG to get into while it’s howling outside.

  118. 27/08/2012 at 16:47 GunnerMcCaffrey says:

    Does Chessmaster count?

    Other than that: S.T.A.L.K.E.R., of course; Brood War (from the days when Starcraft was civilized); New Vegas; Defense Grid; Max Payne 2. And every now and then, Iji is worth another play-through. (If you fancy the idea of a Metroidvania with branching paths dependent on the skills you upgrade, play it, it is fantastic.)

  119. 27/08/2012 at 16:56 m0ntag says:

    Counter-Strike: Source, Team Fortress 2, Just Cause 2, Portal 2 (gotta love that endless stream of custom maps), Killing Floor, Left 4 Dead 2, and I play through the Half Life series at least once a year. I have loads of games but those seem to be ones that I can fall back on at any given time, whenever I don’t want to think, am bored of other games, or just need a nice game where I know what to expect and what I’m going to get out of it.

  120. 27/08/2012 at 17:06 Bonegrinder says:

    Jagged Alliance 2

  121. 27/08/2012 at 17:45 Vandalbarg says:

    For the past year or so, King Arthur’s Gold, this little game that got featured here a while back.

    It’s one of the build ‘n fight genre, except medieval, 2d in theme. It is insanely fun, although many of the public servers are appallingly bad. If you’re going to check it out, I can’t recommend Action or Beos enough, and if you’re going premium, Mole and Beos Gold are the best.

  122. 27/08/2012 at 17:52 Brian Rubin says:

    Hhmmm…

    Distant Worlds
    Freespace 2
    TIE Fighter

  123. 27/08/2012 at 18:26 rokenroleg says:

    I live in California, I don’t get rainy days. =(

  124. 27/08/2012 at 18:27 Hartford688 says:

    Dragon Age: Origins, or any of Mass Effect series. Lost so much time there.

    Last few days, been tinkering with all my games to find something to get my teeth into. Nothing clicked. So out comes DA:O for a full runthrough with a new character. Should keep me fixed for a while.

  125. 27/08/2012 at 18:51 wererogue says:

    Dwarf Fortress
    Binding of Isaac
    Frozen Synapse

    Depending on if I want multiplayer (FS replaced Dawn of War I/II when I had kids), a challenge (BoI) or a challenging toy (DF)

  126. 27/08/2012 at 19:01 LilDeamon says:

    Today me a a couple of friends spent all day doing comp stomps on Dawn of War Soulstorm to help bring back the good ole’ days. :’)

  128. 27/08/2012 at 19:09 gabe says:

    Falcon BMS 4 (love to fly with inclement weather on a rainy day), MLB Sportsclix for a boardgame and Red Dead Redemption on my new PS3 :D

  129. 27/08/2012 at 19:10 lijenstina says:

    First Half Life and Stalker.

  130. 27/08/2012 at 19:17 chrislemasters says:

    Bathing Machine Driver 2, with the Brighton map pack and the TrackIR mod so I can turn around and see me some ankle!

    Nice photo for the story!

  131. 27/08/2012 at 19:38 Igor Hardy says:

    The Curse of Monkey Island. It’s enough to revisit The Pirate I was Meant to Be, chat with Murray and then push him with the stick into the water, or visit one of those super moody Blood Island locations and I’m in good spirits again.

    More recently The Binding of Isaac, but I overdid it and am avoiding it for now.

  132. 27/08/2012 at 19:42 Edawan says:

    This one’s easy : World of Warcraft
    There’s always something to do. Hunt for a rare mount on my main, level an alt for a bit…

    Other than that, I’d say Tropico 3 (not too hard, always fun), and Super Crate Box for a quick fix.

  133. 27/08/2012 at 20:24 feoinc says:

    Master Of Magic aka the best game in the whole universe (including the games made by the people in alpha centauri)

  134. 27/08/2012 at 20:27 dirk_seadog says:

    Mount and Blade Warband. Probably Brytenwalda. Morths and Unrights turn my frowns upsidedowns

  135. 27/08/2012 at 21:59 quietone says:

    Diablo II, FSX are the first programs I re install on any of my computers. But I haven’t touched them lately.

    Currently, I’d say:

    - Titan’s Quest Immortal Throne – Modded
    - Civ IV with Caveman 2 Cosmos mod. Lasts for a biblical flood.
    - Civ V modded.
    - Skyrim modded around SkyRe

    Actually, I spend little time playing the games. Most of the time I am just browsing, downloading mods and picturing how great the game will look and feel when I play it. Then I play it for 15 mimutes and get bored. No char of mine in Skyrim surpassed level 30 by much. But who cares?

  136. 27/08/2012 at 22:06 pertusaria says:

    Like lots of people here, I’ve been playing a lot more Dredmor than anything else. Easy to get into, complicated enough that I don’t get bored, and failure makes sense when it happens. The original Fallout is also a contender, but I’m on my first play-through and tempted to reload and avoid my early mistakes.

    I downloaded the Unity of Command demo yesterday, and I can see that being a great rainy day game if I can stick the initial learning curve (in which case I’ll buy the full version, at some stage).

  137. 27/08/2012 at 23:57 fish99 says:

    Don’t really have a ‘rainy day’ game, the phrase kinda implies a game you can go back and play a few hours of anytime and never finish. I guess maybe Minecraft but I’m kinda done with that.

    Minesweeper?

  138. 28/08/2012 at 00:06 alilsneaky says:

    For me it’s:
    -cs 1.6: it’s the reliable, guaranteed to always be there for you and always be of the same high quality rewarding game that I keep returning to.
    cs has never let me down in over 12 years.

    And more recently (last 3 years)
    -world of tanks : it has a huge learning curve AND is very soothing and relaxing to play.
    I always learn something new when playing and it’s excellent to wind down with.

  139. 28/08/2012 at 00:52 Ormu says:

    Open TTD. Never gets old.

  140. 28/08/2012 at 01:25 fupjack says:

    Stalker!

    I’ve gone back to Psychonauts a few times, except then I get this sad/nostalgic feeling if I finish the game. Appropriate for a rainy day, I suppose.

  141. 28/08/2012 at 01:27 running fungus says:

    Minecraft when I’m in an off-phase (which I am now). 2nd: Civ V. 3rd: Stalker. With bouts of Atom Zombie Smasher thrown in just to mix things up.

  142. 28/08/2012 at 02:27 jrodman says:

    Heroes of Might and Magic: The Third.

  143. 28/08/2012 at 02:38 MacTheGeek says:

    Alpha Centauri + SMACX have occupied space on every computer I’ve owned (and every computer that my wife has owned, and every laptop that my employers have given me) for the last 13 years. I’m not sure even Freecell / Minesweeper / Solitaire can make that claim.

  144. 28/08/2012 at 02:53 Rinimand says:

    BRINK is that kind of game for me. Easy to pick up and not have lost the skill, but engaging enough to make you lose hours in it before you realize – Whoa! the rain stopped when?

  145. 28/08/2012 at 03:45 Hardlylikely says:

    Homeworld is one of the first games I install on a fresh system (also runs ok under Wine last I checked). I’ve never really gotten over how good that game is, though I fear only a spiritual or mechanical sequel is going to happen these days. Might even be for the best.

    Ioquake3 goes straight on any mouse bearing machine. Quake Live doesn’t do it for me. The UT games are ok, but Q3 feels right, even though I suck. :(

    The Return to Castle Wolfenstein SP was a frequent play before the digital distro backlog hunched over the horizon. The shooting of the men (and things that were once men) felt great, and it came with extra cheese.

    Finally, the Arkham games (because awesome) and the Souls games keep me coming back in recent times. Moreso Dark than Demons Souls, but mostly because the online side of Demons Souls is past its best before date. Otherwise they’d be about equal.

    That’s enough to be going on with.

  146. 28/08/2012 at 04:16 SmittyBit says:

    Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Lufia II, or Illusion of Gaia. Beaten these puppies many times each, still brings me back on a rainy Saturday ^_^

  147. 28/08/2012 at 04:21 Ingall says:

    Civilization or SimCity. The slow pace suits a rainy day.

  148. 28/08/2012 at 04:43 Bart Stewart says:

    Oblivion, Stalker, and now Skyrim are great if you enjoy rain as I do. Something about what designer Ken Rolston described as “the melancholy of lost civilizations” makes the rain seem necessary.

    If you just need a game to absorb you until the sun returns, it’s great to see all the love for 4X games… but why has no one mentioned Master of Orion 2? That game will never be off any PC I own.

    Oddly, as I write this I’m watching a Korean drama where it’s, yes, raining.

  149. 28/08/2012 at 05:13 jankenbattle says:

    Close Combat II: A Bridge Too Faaaaaaar! Easy.

  150. 28/08/2012 at 06:53 Eophasmus says:

    ToME (Tales of Maj’Eyal) is my fall-back game; definitely my favourite roguelike. As for my hard-drive, there’s always at least one Elder Scrolls game installed.

  151. 28/08/2012 at 07:04 Cleeyah says:

    SW:TOR. I take my time and am a very slow leveler, so I only have one max-level character. Which means there still are a lot of stories for me. :)

    *sits back and waits for the dogpile*

  152. 28/08/2012 at 08:16 KAlothIV says:

    OTTD has been something that I’ve always fallen back on throughout the years. A mighty game for all! :D

  153. 28/08/2012 at 08:33 SonicTitan says:

    It’s been stated in this thread multiple times before, but allow me to reiterate: Minecraft. Always Minecraft.

    Minecraft is a joy, a beauty and an ageless pleasure that I can never see myself growing out of. I could boot up Minecraft at 9 a.m. on any given day and still happily be pick-pick-picking away at come three in the morning. Minecraft is honestly a game I can see playing with my future children.

    Oh, also Dredmor. A lot of Dredmor. But mostly Minecraft.

  154. 28/08/2012 at 12:27 Lone Gunman says:

    I actually enjoy going out in the rain on my road or mountain bike. So nice to get all wet and cold and have a comforting warm shower when I get back ;)

    That or play a moody atmospheric game like STALKER. Once there was a thunderstorm outside at the same time as thunderstorm in Dayz. Synchronized thunder is the best :)

  155. 28/08/2012 at 14:17 thrymr says:

    Well for me that would be either SWAT 4 Stetchkov Syndicate or Payday the Heist nowadays… or if i’m really desperate for Sun it’s Tropico… ^^

    Though if those three dimensions are too much for me i resort to Teeworlds.

    Or to give it a hard push i go for some Commander Keen, but that’s gotta be a rainy week at least. ;)

  156. 28/08/2012 at 18:23 richtaur says:

    I could play Super Metroid and Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past pretty much until the end of time. Also Final Fantasy 2 and 3 (US). Doesn’t get much better than the SNES glory days. Or maybe I’m just crotchety…

  157. 28/08/2012 at 20:27 xaphoo says:

    These days it’s Crusader Kings 2, DayZ, Dwarf Fortress and The Binding of Isaac.

  158. 28/08/2012 at 20:43 -Otto says:

    Lots of these are sunny games. . . .
    Mine is LIMBO.

  159. 28/08/2012 at 22:23 LostViking says:

    Easy. Civilization 5 ;)

    I have sunk more hours into that game than I care to admit, and the Gods & Kings expansion didn’t make it easier to put the game away!

  160. 29/08/2012 at 10:52 Redd says:

    Dwarf Fortress & ARMA 2

  161. 03/09/2012 at 04:19 mcwill says:

    Either Dwarf Fortress, or ancient but still magnificent strategy tour-de-force Emperor of the Fading Suns.

  162. 27/08/2012 at 12:10 phelix says:

    Not stocked to the brim with porn and fetish mods I hope?

  163. 27/08/2012 at 12:29 LionsPhil says:

    In line with Obsidian’s original vision!

    (Actually I’m surprised if nobody’s modded in the S’Lanter yet.)

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