Windows games

We heard you.

Minesweeper, the ad-supported Xbox LIVE game we debuted in the U.S. Marketplace recently, is launching as a free download around the world (except Brazil and Korea). The title, which for now is English only, should be available by early tomorrow morning in your local Marketplace.

Prepare to start wasting some serious time, people. Two of the most immensely popular puzzle games of all time—the PC classic Minesweeper and the newspaper staple Sudoku—just landed in Marketplace for Windows Phone. But these aren’t just any versions of the classic games. They’re official Xbox LIVE editions—so now they come with all kinds of cool powerups and achievements.  Best of all? They’re both totally free.

Download Xbox LIVE Sudoku

As of this week, the Games for Windows Marketplace has a new home on Xbox.com.  When you now visit GamesForWindows.com you will be taken to Xbox.com. Now you can purchase and get details on your favorite Games for Windows and Xbox 360 games all in one place! Your Games For Windows and Xbox LIVE profiles are the same which allows people to take advantage of their LIVE profile in LIVE-enabled games they play on their Windows PC. Go check it out!

At last. Angry Birds is now available in the Windows Phone Marketplace—a few hours ahead of schedule and so fresh it hasn’t even been rated yet!

Be the first—or just hunker down with your phone and get dem pigs.

The game, the last in Xbox’s Must Have Game series for Windows Phone, is free to try and $2.99 to buy.

We’ve seen a lot of excitement and interest from students for the Windows PC and XBox offer over the last few days and  we have more good news.

While the current school year is coming to a close, it's never too early to start thinking ahead to next year. Are you about to head to college this fall for the first time? Planning another year on campus?  Worried what next year has in store?

Snow is falling as I write this, and soon twinkling colored lights will adorn rooflines and front yards everywhere. So, in case you want to decorate your desktop to match, I have a festive new Windows 7 theme for you – Holiday Lights!

If your house is anything like mine, then you likely find your child spending an increasing amount of time online playing games. My oldest daughter Lil loves Nick Jr.’s game website. While she enjoys interacting with her favorite Nick Jr. characters, I’m in favor of this site because of the wide variety of games and for its organizational structure of age appropriate material for preschool through early grade school.

When I was in college (The College of William & Mary, Class of 2000) all I had to work with was a struggling Pentium II PC running Windows 95 that my Dad built—and I was really grateful for it.  At least I could do my homework and play a networked game of Quake in warm peace.  About half my freshman hall had to make midnight trips to computer labs on sleet-slickened brick walkways to do homework—and forgo gaming entirely.