List of portable computer games

This is a list of computer games that do not require any kind of formal "installation" onto a computer's permanent storage device to be executed, and can be stored on a removable storage such as a USB flash drive and used on multiple computers. See also portable applications.

Generally, the following links point to game files or archive files which can be directly installed from a web server to your portable USB flash drive, although, in some instances the process may be more complicated. Where this occurs it will be noted along with the method on how to make those specific game files portable. Listed below are computer games (mostly free) which appear to be portable or relatively portable based on their executable.

Unless otherwise stated, all games are either in archive file, which can be copied and extracted to your portable media, or simple .exe files which, like the archives, are simply copied after download onto your device for portability.

Please note that, for ease of use and extra capacity, you may want to think about including a portable file archiver on your portable media, so that game files may be compressed to allow for more storage. Examples of these are available here.

Action

 * Bug Squish (site) - a simple, but addictive point and click game where you defend your arm against ever increasing waves of blood sucking insects.  Based on the game Blood Suckers for Mac OS.
 * Compatible with: Windows, Mac, Linux, BeOS and others
 * Defendguin (site) - as Tux you fly about defending your Penguin brethren against the evil clutches of hundreds of airborne Bill Gates clones whose goal it is to turn them into ghastly penguin mutants.
 * Compatible with: Windows, Mac, Linux, BeOS and others
 * LBreakout2 (site) - compact Breakout clone with many interesting bonuses, features, and items.
 * Compatible with: Windows, Mac, and Linux
 * Liero Xtreme (site) - feature rich, unofficial sequel to the original Liero DOS game expanding and improving on many features. The game is downloaded as a folder and can be directly downloaded to your portable media.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Neo Sonic Godspeed (site) - Sonic the hedgehog game clone
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Seek & Dread Online (site) - 2D multiplayer, which includes a variety of weapons and playing modes.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Space Invaders OpenGL (site) - 2D/3D game based on the old arcade classic Space Invaders
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Vectoroids (site) - a clone of the original Asteroids game from Atari where you shoot the Asteroids around you into smaller and smaller pieces until none are left.
 * Compatible with: Windows, Linux, BeOS, and others

Adventure

 * Battle for Wesnoth (site) - a turn-based strategy game where you gather and train new recruits into specialied and skilled warriors in order to eventually regain the thrown of Wesnoth. Installation is the same as in Cube.
 * Compatible with: Windows, Mac, Linux, and others
 * Bernard and Hank (site) - run and jump game similar to Super Mario where you try to steal back the deeds to your farm before a ruthless businessman builds a factory farm on them.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Crimson Fields (site) - an open-source, tactical game based off the popular game Battle Isle where you decide where and when to send your units in support of a variety of mission objectives.
 * Head Over Heels (game) (site)
 * Compatible with: Windows, Mac, Linux, and BeOS
 * Transcendence (site) - as pilot of a sapphire class cruiser you fly throughout the galaxy encountering pirates, outlaws, and slaves, strange alien lifeforms, and other creatures that may mean you well or ill. Game plays like the action adventure game Nethack and is largely based off it.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Vega Strike (site) - yet another 3D futuristic space based game where you a merchant travel across the an impressive, dynamic galaxy trying to make the most profit possible given certain limitations. Also included in the game are multiple mission modes, including: bounty hunt, patrol, battle, and escort and a variety of customizations to your ship.  Keep in mind it's a huge 199MB executable file.
 * Compatible with: Windows, Mac, and Linux

Board Games

 * Mahjongg 3D Solitaire (site) - electronic version of the popular Chinese board game Mahjongg.
 * Compatible with: Windows, and Linux
 * Nagasaki (site) - 2D chess program, which supports many advanced features
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Othello (game) (site) - electronic version of the strategic board game.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Slow Chess Blitz (site) - another 2D chess program, which in addition to supporting various levels of difficulty in many categories includes network support where you can play the game against others.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * XO (site) - electronic version of the board game Renju where you play against the computer.
 * Compatible with: Windows

Card Games

 * Portable Party Poker (site) - version of the popular online poker game for your usb drive.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Uno (site) - pc version of the card game where you can play against 1-3 computer players. Download executable file directly to your portable media.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Yazzle (site) - customizable, open source solitaire game
 * Compatible with: Windows

Fighting

 * Beats of Rage (site) - based on the Streets of Rage series this game includes one or two player mode in 6 levels.
 * Compatible with: Windows, and Linux

First Person Shooter

 * Alientreasure (site) - 2D side scrolling space shooter where you defend your solar system against increasingly difficult masses of alien attackers with multiple levels, items, options, and powerups.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Assault at Wounded Ankle (site) - as an American Indian of the Wild West you defend your tribe with a Gatling gun against hordes of American cavalry. From the setup file you can install the game directly onto your portable media. Start menu and desktop icons may appear after install, which can be deleted. Remember to create a folder to install the game files to, since this is not done for you automatically.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * BattleTanks II (site) - 3D game where drive about in one of three types of tanks shooting down your enemy and trying to take over their base before they regenerate. You can act as commander, a common foot soldier, or just observe the course of the battle from above.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Counter-Strike 2D (site) - A homebrew clone of the famous 'Counter-Strike Game'in 2D form bird's-eye-veiw.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Cube 2 (site) - single and multi-player shooter which includes over 100 detailed original maps, level editing functionality, and various other items and features. To use, download the installer and extract it to your desktop.  Then delete the uninstall folder and drag it onto your portable media.  Be mindful of the computer you use this game on as, it this is relatively graphics intensive.
 * Compatible with: Windows, Mac, and Linux
 * D-Day: Normandy (site) - 3D multiplayer online shooting game based on Quake II.
 * Compatible with: Windows, and Linux
 * Idinaloq (site) - 3D rapid fire, first person space based shooting game with 4 levels.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Nexuiz (site) - 3D shooter using the Darkplaces and Quake engine, which can being used as both a first person and multiplayer shooter and includes some impressive graphic backgrounds.
 * Compatible with: Windows and Linux
 * OpenArena (site) - open source Quake III arena clone along the lines of Cube and Nexuiz, although not nearly as far along in development.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Starsiege: Tribes can easily be turned into a portable application by the user. The user can easily download the full game from Vivendi Universal's web-site. site The game must then be installed and patched. The whole directory can then be moved or copied for use as a portable app without having to install the game on individual computers the game is played on. Brian "Ayavaron" Jeffrey Ross II made a zip containing the game in this form, it can be downloaded from here.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Swarmers (site) - 3D game where you fly around in your airplane and shoot down bugs until they fly up and kill you.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Tremulous (site) - as part of one of two races (either human or alien) you work with your other team members to attack and destroy the other team along with their means to respawn in this 3D game.
 * Compatible with: Windows, Mac, and Linux
 * Warsow (site) - 3D game based on the Quake 2 engine with cartoon-like visuals and various player modes
 * Compatible with: Windows and Linux
 * X Operations (site) - realistic 3D shooter where you are a special operative sent on over 33 misions.
 * Compatible with: Windows

Puzzle

 * Acter World (site) - Japanese puzzle game (an English manual can be found on the site) where you act as Princess Lina to catch the enemy soldiers in a Magic ring. The lzh archive can extracted or directly drawn onto your portable device.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Babble Deluxe (site) - come up with as many words as possible from the 25 letter board before time runs out.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Bricks2000 (site) - tetris clone. Though the program necessitates an initial system-wide installation.  You can easily drag the folder onto your portable media device after the fact and then delete it off your system.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Clicking (site) - click on groups of three or more blocks to make them disappear; the larger the groups the higher the points. Once extracted all other files besides Clicking.exe can be deleted.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Gem Drop X (site) - based on the original Gem drop for Atari you clear gems off the screen by grabbing three or more of the same color.
 * Compatible with: Windows, Mac, Linux, BeOS and others
 * Neverball (site) - game where you roll a small ball through an obstacle course before the clock runs out; includes a level editor.
 * Compatible with: Windows, Mac, Linux, and others
 * Within a Deep Forest (site) - as a small blue ball you (the hero) solve various puzzles in order to save the world from being frozen solid
 * Compatible with: Windows

Role Playing

 * Fanta Scape (site) - with a team of several characters, each with their own individual strengths and weaknesses, you fight your way through 4 different worlds constantly updating and upgrading your characters to meet new challenges.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Goody The Remake (site) - as the bank robber Goody you steal money, buy tools, and find bank vault combinations in order to eventually rob the Bank of Spain all while avoiding the police.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Portable Guild Wars - Play Guild Wars on any computer, without installation. Note that you must own a copy of the game for access to the servers, and you need to temporarily install the full game on your personal computer to be able to copy the game folder onto the portable media. After copying the game folder, it can be uninstalled from your computer. (site)
 * Compatible with: Windows and Linux
 * Iter Vehemens Ad Necem (site) - small but powerful 2D game where you a "rogue" gather items, items, and allies by advancing through increasingly difficult levels.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Runesword 2 (site) - turn based medieval game where you lead a party of unique characters across a wide open scape of land on one of 5 different adventures.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Shadowflare: Episode One (site) - as a mercenary you start out working to improve your skills, profit, and inventory and in so doing expand the game and your option in it. Similar to Diablo in its gameplay style.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Wandering Knights (site) - freeform hack and slash game with a loose plot line where the world is created around you.
 * Compatible with: Windows

Racing

 * Chase H.Q.2 Evo (site) - realistic 3D game with a choice of 2 different tracks and 3 different cars. The game can be downloaded from (here) since the website (written largely in Japanese) makes it somewhat difficult to find the actual download location.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * GeneRally (site) - fairly customizable racing game where you race 2D cars with from 1 to 6 players using various tracks and settings
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Motocross The Force (site) - 3D off-roading motorcycle game where your objective is to complete the course in the shortest period of time possible, with 5 unique levels.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Stunt Playground (site) - drive your car about the racetrack performing different stunts in order to score points. There is also an editor included where you can create your own stunt playgrounds.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Sunday Drivers (site) - 3D racing game with cartoon style graphics, unlockable cars and multiple tracks, levels, and vehicles. The file can be downloaded directly to your portable media with no need to be extracted.
 * Compatible with: Windows

Simulation

 * Racer (site) - customizable where cars and tracks can be easily and realistically created. Download the installer and then install it to your desktop. From there copy all files on this folder to your portable media except uninstall and then launch Racer.exe
 * Compatible with: Windows, Mac, and Linux
 * The Ocean Battle (site) - Japanese fighter jet simulator consisting of three levels
 * Compatible with: Windows

Sports

 * SkiFree (site) - classic skiing game where you various obstacles and win points by performing tricks.
 * Compatible with: Windows

Strategy

 * Bontago (site) - create a shadow in order to reach a designated flag by building your tower up with variously sized blocks while also making sure your opponent doesn't get their first by way of specific items called "gifts".
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Falcon's Eye (site) - medieval, isometric role playing game where you compete for control of the mythic Falcon's Eye.
 * Compatible with: Windows, Linux, BeOS and others
 * Freeciv (site) - turn based strategy game where you vs. the computer and/or various players via a network and fight to decide who will become the greatest civilization.
 * Compatible with: Windows, Mac, and Linux
 * Lord Monarch (site) - as ruler of your domain you take into account various factors in order to expand your domain.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Mineral Miner (site) - mining game where you acquire natural resources to sell for profit in order to by upgrades and modifications for your vehicle.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Tic-Tac-Toe (site) - simple open source adaptation of the popular pen and paper game.
 * Compatible with: Windows, and others

Super Mario

 *  Mario In Worlds Unknown 2 (site) - simple Mario clone with 8 stages.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Mega Mario (site) - clone of Super Mario Brothers, which expands or improves upon just about every feature of the original.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Super Arab (site) - unique derivation of a classic Mario game.
 * Compatible with: Windows
 * Super Bart World 3 (site) - French based Super Mario World clone with Bart as the main character. Can be downloaded directly to your portable media via the Setup file, though it may leave an entry on the start menu after download, which needs to be deleted. Remember to delete the uninstall file after download.
 * Compatible with: Windows


 * Many emulation programs such as ZSNES are portable.