I ran across an interesting article today which has links to 15 free games. These games are not going to be the long and involved games you might be used to, rather simple ones which are ideal for killing 15-20 minutes.
Personally, Civilization (perhaps still the greatest) is about as complex a game as I care to play, but I still to enjoy side scrolling shooters of the 8 bit Nintendo variety. Anyhow, enough of my rambling as if you had time to read this tip, you probably have time to give one of these games a whirl.

Jason Faulkner is the man who brings you our daily tips. He is based in Atlanta, Georgia.
I agree with you about the older 8-bit games – they are my favorite as well – Probably plundered my college fund playing Defender..