Talking of being thankful for blessings, one of the things we in our fifties can be grateful for more than most is the personal computer. We remember a time when there was no such thing and so we can appreciate more than other generations how it has changed our lives and made them easier.

The growth of the internet that computers have made possible has multiplied the benefits available to us too. Now we can shop without ever leaving the house, pay bills with a few simple mouse clicks, communicate with friends, expand our interests into previously unexplored fields, read the news that interests us without having to wade through the stuff we don’t want, and so on almost forever. The list is endless.

One of the possibilities realized by younger generations very early on in the history of computers was their capacity for entertainment. We have watched the growth of the computer games industry with bemusement, amazement and sometimes alarm. Our children exist in a world that accepts new computer games as normal and they constantly ask for more. No longer is the computer game a thing for children – they have grown up and demand games that have grown with them into adulthood. And the industry happily meets the need. We watch and worry about addiction and time wasted, rather in the same way our parents worried about the television.

Yet the clock cannot be turned back. And, as long as the thing is out there, we might as well make use of it. We may not be able to cope with the huge, graphic adventures made for the young, games that require teenager reflexes and an insatiable desire for action, but there are quieter and more reflective games available too.

Most of us like puzzles in which there is no time pressure and it is just our brains against the machine. And the wonderful thing about the internet is that there are plenty of puzzle games that cost nothing at all. Just google “free puzzle games” and you will be presented with an inexhaustible list of relevant sites. The old standards like chess, checkers, mah jong, etc. are usually completely free, while others may add some advertising or be time-limited demonstrations of the full game.

In the coming weeks, I will be looking at a few of the gems that I have found – and I like games that take up no more than ten or twenty minutes of my time (I use them as a brief relaxation from the usual daily round). You may be the same or prefer longer, more involving games; if you have any suggestions or favorite games, why not tell me about them in the comments system?