Gaming nights usually consist of Settlers of Catan and maybe Munchkin. I indulged in a couple of Christmas presents for myself and got Pirate's Cove and Puerto Rico.

One of my favourite games of all time is a very DOS game written in 1983. It is essentially a murder mystery. Similar to Cluedo, you have to figure out which of the 7 guests did the deed, which room was the scene of the murder, and what implement was used in the crime.

I loved Monkey Island. I’m not really sure why since I pretty much sucked at them and had to frequently resort to hints sites or walkthroughs to get through difficult bits. I haven’t the patience to try all the permutations of different objects together to achieve some effect. But I did like seeing how the puzzle was solved, even if not by me. I’ve got all the games, and I do go back and play them every year or two. I find I’ve forgotten half of it by then and it’s like playing a fresh game again. I’ve always thought it was a shame they didn’t make another game. Well, now they have!

Games are commonly used in some introductory programming courses because they’re fun for students to create and they teach basic programming concepts just as effectively as creating other kinds of applications.