Ever wanted to decimate the world's population or see if you could develop a super-bug that would leave the globe in utter pandemonium? If the answer is yes, browser-based Pandemic 2 is your game; even if the answer is 'uh, no,' it's an interesting way to while away some time. Watch as your customized disease of choice is let loose on the world, then use your 'evolution points' to mutate the perfect delivery method for a global pandemic — the goal is to have a trail of devastation (and bodies) left in your wake. There are two different modes, 'realistic' and 'relaxed,' so if you're not sure you're ready for a realistic onslaught, you can try your hand with the easier mode.

Pandemic 2 [CrazyMonkeyGames via IndieGames]

While I have enough work to kill an ox this weekend, I took some time last night to play with this delightfully silly side-scrolling WoW sendup. Here's one introduction to a quest: "Now that you've begun to get the hang of that most fundamental of skills - killing shit - and started to properly become a bit more class conscious, we can tackle a slightly more disturbing problem." Karl Marx even makes an appearance (never mind the Mario appearance pictured above). It's worth checking out if you've got some extra time to waste this holiday (in the US) weekend.

WTF?! [via Grand Text Auto]

I don't have time to waste this weekend, sadly, but if you do, there's a challenging little puzzler called Putty Puzzler, found over on the interestingly named 'Coke and Code.' It's putty. It's a puzzle. It's kinda hard. I spent a little bit of time with it and was pleasantly challenged — I'll come back for more after I've got a little time to waste.

Putty Puzzler [Coke and Code via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

Quite literally. "The Hell of Sand" is a brilliant time-waster of a flash game. "There are many dynamics to this game but no goal. Play around for a while and you'll get the hang of it." Great premise.

You play with four streams of colored sand using 18 different effects, some of them working in awesome combinations with each other.

C-4 and Torch, for example, wasn't too hard to figure out. I've also been making little cups of gunpowder and blasting them to hell with torch. But can someone tell me what "plant" does? Does it grow in the water? I can't figure it out.

The Hell of Sand [AndysLife.org]

I really love the too cute for words Grow games — nothing complicated, but cute and fun to play. There's a new game from the same creator — while not a grow game, it's a cute and quick little puzzle. And if you haven't experienced such classics as Grow Island, there's even more to go and click.

Meet In ver.0 [Eyezmaze]

Weird Artistic Timewaster of the Day: Gravitation

Back in December, I mentioned a little game called Passage. Well, Jonathan Blow clued me in to the fact that Jason Rohrer is back with yet another weird, artistic little game, this one called Gravitation:

I'm not going to provide an in-depth explanation for Gravitation. I'm hoping that most people will understand it as it stands. However, it involves more complex game mechanics than Passage, and it is trying to express something much more subtle .... The mechanics themselves are relatively simple, but the emergent behavior harbors a lot of texture. Know that there are no "accidents" in this game design. Everything you notice about the game, and every subtle interaction that you experience, is intentionally packed with meaning. Gravitation explores how a particular corner of my life feels, as only a game can.

It's definitely worth a quick play through; Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux versions are available.

Gravitation: a video game by Jason Rohrer

'Phun': A 2D Physics Playground

Not precisely a game, but there has been talk lately of physics (and science in general) in games, and this is a neat little program that's fun to spend a while playing with. It's still in beta and has the requisite bugs you might expect, but here's what the creator has to say about it:

Phun is a Master of Science Theises by Computing Science student Emil Ernerfeldt for supervisor Kenneth Bodin at VRLab, Umeå University. The solver is based on work by Claude Lacoursière

Phun is meant to be a playground where people can be creative. It can also be used as an educational tool to learn about physics concepts such as restitution and friction.

You can snag the download (Windows only for now, but an OSX version is apparently on its way) at the Phun website, where there's more information. There's also a thread going over at the GameDev.com forums.

While browsing my feeds during the inevitable mid-holiday news slump, I was pointed to some fascinating little Japanese point-and-click (or 'point-and-kick ass,' as Leigh Alexander described them over at Sexy Videogameland) puzzlers, lumped under the heading of 'room escape games.' Guest House is the latest in the series, and I spent quite a while clicking my way through all the frustrating (but not too sadistic) puzzles. It's a good way to spend a few hours on a lazy weekend. Terminal House [via Sexy Videogameland]

Weird Timewaster of the Day: '... Not Lovesick Zombies'

Bizarre Timewaster of the Day: I'll Get It!

Timewaster(s) of the Day: Grow Games