Freeware

HMaki
Developer: Holger Klawitter
One of the most addictive games ever made for the PalmPilot. It's free, it's got many variations on the basic game, which involves the removal of tiles. It is postcardware, which means you should send Holger Klawitter a postcard. This is the one you pass to your unsuspecting friends and hear about later.

At a party I attended, an acquaintance of mine got out her Handspring Visor, and we started chatting a bit about palmtop applications. "Jim gave me the most addictive game!" "Really," I said. "What might that be?" (I'm always looking for good games on any platform I have access to.) "It's called HMaki," she replied. "Oh," I said. "Well, you can blame me. I gave Jim that one, and he beamed me NetWalk. HMaki is better." Then I just smiled knowingly: another convert.

MahJongg
Developer: Ingolf Kübler
One of the best versions of this game for the Palm that I could find. I think it's far superior to PalmJongg. Not only are the tiles much easier to read in Kübler's version, but it's free, as opposed to $12 for Tan Kok Mun's version. For those who haven't played MahJongg, the object is to match tiles that have been stacked in (generally) a pyramid and remove them. Generally, this board clearing is timed - the faster your matches, the better your score.

Parking Lot
Developer: MK Software
A puzzle game about how to get your car out of a crowded parking lot. I quite liked this one - it's a puzzle brainteaser like NetWalk, but for some reason it appealed to me much more than that one did. Even better, unlike NetWalk, it's free.

Shareware

Netwalk
Developer: Beiks, $10.00
There's now a color version and Netwalk 2 is now available, for those who are big fans of this puzzle game. With the latter, you can create your own puzzles. The idea is to wiggle the network cables around so that all of the computers on the network are connected. I've played it. I have a friend who's wild about it, and I can imagine that it appeals to those who enjoy puzzles that always have solutions. For me, it was about as interesting as watching paint dry. Maybe less interesting - I'm so sensitive to paint fumes, that with those I might at least get entertaining hallucinations. Not so with Netwalk. I initially thought that perhaps it would appeal to system administrators with a rueful sense of humor who might chuckle over the resemblance to real life, but why would they want to do in their spare time what they have to do for labor? There are people who like it. You might be one of them. For me, it would gather cyberdust as I wore out my Palm screen with other applications and games, so there's no point in me installing it. I like some brainteasers, but this one just isn't for me.

Lemons
Developer: Joe Strout, $10.00
Lemons, short for Little eager men of no sense, is very similar to Lemmings. For those who have never played that charming, maddening little game, the object is to solve the puzzle of how to save your foolish little characters from walking off ledges and splatting themselves, hurting themselves in dangerous machinery, and so on. You do this by ordering them to build stairs, giving them parachutes, or other limited tools at your disposal. Why do you do this? Because it's fun, and you have compassion for the little critters, or perhaps because you always liked to use the "bomb" option to make them say "Oh, no!" in a cute voice and blow them all up. J This version does come with a level editor, which is nice. Unfortunately, the interface is non-standard, the options for what you can do with the lemons are rather limited, and the screen doesn't automatically scroll (a big deduction). With these problems in mind, I consider this a good idea with flawed execution that isn't worth $10. The shareware version only contains one level.

Nebulus
Developer: Arthur Asloyan/Megasoft, $10.00
Supposedly, you guide a cosmic pig to the top of a tower, overcoming obstacles and puzzles. I couldn't get it to work on my machine. Your mileage may vary.

Think About It!
Developer: Seimitsu Software, $8.00
Registered version allows you to start at higher levels. An interesting little logic puzzle with some similarities to chess in that you have to think several moves ahead. The object is to get your token to the top of a grid while avoiding obstacles, which move in predictable ways. Sounds simple, but it's more complicated than you think. An entertaining brainteaser. I didn't care for the interface in customizing the options, however - it's a non-standard design that's more difficult to use than it should be. It's $3 more than it ought to be even if the interface were improved.