Windows Entertainment Pack for Packard Bell

The Microsoft Best of Windows Entertainment Pack Program Group

The Best of Windows Entertainment Pack (BOWEP) was a collection of 16-bit simple games sold separately from Windows. It was published in the Microsoft Home series of software. They were selected as the best games from the previously released Microsoft Entertainment Pack series.

From 1993 onwards Packard Bell pre-load their own Entertainment Pack compilations on to their computers. These usually came with their own compilation of games from Windows Entertainment Packs 1-4.

In 1993, the games that were commonly included were:

The Windows Entertainment Pack version that came with the June 1993 US Master CD

- Pegged - Tic Tac Drop - Rodent's Revenge - Go Figure! - Tut's Tomb - Cruel - Tetravex.

In 1995 Packard Bell started pre-loading 'Entertainment Pack for PB' onto their computers. This came with a revised list of games from the four Windows Entertainment Packs. These games were:

Microsoft Fuji Golf game was not bad for the day and had good graphics even in 16-color VGA mode

- Dr Black Jack - Fuji Golf - JigSawed - Rattler Race - Chess - SkiFree - Life Genesis - Rodent's Revenge

Rattler Race is very similar to the Snake game present on old Nokia phones - even though it came out several years before Snake did

The Windows Entertainment Pack series are still popular today and will happily run on 32-bit versions of Windows XP, Vista and 7. The 64-bit versions of Windows however cannot run 16-bit software, which means that they cannot run the Windows Entertainment Pack series of games.

Countless children have been scared by this wee sprite - the Abominable Snowman who would sneak up on you and eat you in SkiFree

SkiFree has since gained a cult following amongst fans of the original Windows Entertainment Pack series, and a 32-bit version was compiled that will run happily run on 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and 7.