Top 5 Presidential Files

PCWorld.com Downloads Team

1. President 2000: Were you one of those kids who always wanted to pit Superman against Batman, or the Silver Surfer against the Incredible Hulk, just to see who would win? This game lets you do the equivalent with politicians, real or imaginary, as you try to battle your way to the presidency. There are no actual fisticuffs in the game, but you do experience everything else as you put your political skills to the test against as many as three other players. This network game, which uses realistic electorate modeling techniques, allows you to plan complex strategies, set up detailed platforms, and criss-cross the country shaking hands and kissing babies. You can attack your opponents in debates and custom-made speeches, boast about your own achievements, and run ad campaigns so negative they'll leave the opposition looking like mud wrestlers. The ready-made candidates (real and hypothetical) come complete with detailed attributes and skills, or you can make up your own. So, could Jesse Ventura beat Ralph Nader, man to man? What if your grandmother took on Ross Perot?

2. The American Presidents Screensaver: Contemplate the men who have led our nation as their images adorn your idle computer. From George Washington to Bill Clinton, they're all here, including Calvin Coolidge. Most of the portraits are fairly formal, although Herbert Hoover looks notably stylish and relaxed clad in sporting togs, with a fishing rod and a stringer of fish in hand. Most images are accompanied by a quote from or about that president and a caption listing his years in office, all displayed against a background of the presidential seal. The program also comes with a free screen-saver control that resides in the Windows system tray and makes it easy for you to launch any screen saver installed on your computer, change the default screen saver, temporarily disable your screen saver, or randomly launch a new screen saver when Windows restarts.

3. Presidents3000: A variation on the classic Hangman word-guessing game, this version helps you learn about the presidents of the United States of America by guessing their names. A nice example of "stealth" learning, this easy-to-play game can teach kids about our past presidents without the kids even realizing it. Whether you beat the hangman or not, a picture of the president appears at the end of the game, along with an information box listing his vice president, the first lady, and other items. To fill in the blanks, you can use either a mouse or a keyboard, and you can vary the number of misses you're allowed before getting hanged. You can also choose whether to receive a last-chance hint and whether to have your guesses accompanied by an encouraging or discouraging (depending on how you guessed) soundtrack.

4. US Presidents Trivia: Not that the office of the presidency is trivial. This program contains masses of information about all 41 presidents and their lives, wives, cabinets, and other details. The game offers over a dozen types of questions; it also lets you set the difficulty, making it appropriate for almost any knowledge level. The program can also show you a picture of each president and give you a variety of facts about them, such as his years served, his birthplace, and the first lady. It includes Web links to even more information, so you'll never have to stop learning.

5. Recount 2000 Screen Saver: If you grew a little tired of all the sanctimony surrounding the Florida recounts, here's a lighthearted program that promises to perk you up a little. This parody offers a pointing and nodding Bush and a Gore campaign banner, floating and bouncing around your screen. Other pictures of Gore and Bush appear too, accompanied by amusing phony quotes and backed by a jaunty musical score. Although this screen saver was created while the recount was being contested, one of the images is eerily prophetic, with a picture of George W. looking like he is holding his breath accompanied by the caption, "OK, no kidding. I will hold my breath until you say I won. And I mean it!" Apparently it worked.