X-HOC - Time Waster

by Romeo Wahed Apr 4th 2008

When life lays on the pressure and you're reeling from post April Fools day reality distortion, few things can help you zone out and postpone real life like a time waster.

X-HOC is the name of the game, and it works a lot like an indoor soccer game if it was played by a bunch of robots. The premise is fairly simple: put a silver orb (the "ball") into a black rectangle on the opposing side (the "goal") using passes, shots, and tackles. But, unlike real soccer, there are no out of bounds so you can bank passes off the wall to make some quick plays and keep the ball from the enemy team.

Although X-HOC has a bit of a learning curve until you get a hang of the game's "physics," it is what time waster are at their best: simple, challenging, and an excellent time sink.

Tags: fun, games, time waster, TimeWaster, x-hoc

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

archpope said 2:38PM on 4-04-2008

Meh. Games like this should not be impossible on the easiest level. That's what keeps people from getting hooked on them.

Dave Forster .... IngerLand IngerLand Ingerland said 4:33PM on 4-04-2008

I get such a laugh when you yanks try to talk soccer.... or football as it's more commonly known in the rest of the world... you know that ball game you use with mainly your feet !

Also, I believe the term "out of bounds" has been taken by the game of golf... meaning we have to stick with "throw-ins" (where the ball is thrown back on to the playing area (known as the footy pitch), or corner kicks, where the ball is "kicked" back into play from ... erm the corner). As for "banking passes"... no such thing, although we do have "penalty kicks" which cost about £25 or nearly $50 each... and then there's "free kicks" which cost absolutely nothing... a bargain!

Also, at half time (or the 1st 2 quarters, as we call them in Europe) we get to eat pies and drink bovril... or english breakfast tea !).

:-)

http://www.safc.com/

archpope said 3:15PM on 4-07-2008

It also seems like the article writer had never heard of hockey, which this game much more closely resembles.

edward said 8:34PM on 4-04-2008

Sweet game hard to pick up. Wish I could script my team mates.

kevjohn said 11:52AM on 4-09-2008

Well that was an easy game. Wait, losing 10-0 means you've won right? Right??

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Civiballs is a beautiful, soothing physics puzzle Time Waster

I have an absolute weakness for physics games, and while Civiballs isn't the strongest physics-based game, what it lacks in the physics department it makes up for a few times over in style and fun.

In Civiballs, you are presented with a few colored balls, and your goal is to get those balls into the same-colored urn on the level. The "civi" part of Civiballs is that there are 3 sets of levels to play, each representing a different civilization. While the civilization doesn't affect gameplay, the artwork for each level is beautifully themed to it's appropriate era.

To play the game, you are given only one tool - a sword with which to cut the chains that are holding the balls. The puzzle part of the game is in figuring out what order, and with what timing to cut each chain. Do it right, and all the right balls end up in the right urns, with no stray balls entering an urn (a no-no). Do it wrong, and you get to start over again.

Civiballs is not terribly deep on gameplay; the entire game can be completed in about 15 minutes. But if you enjoy this type of game, it will be a very enjoyable 15 minutes.

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