Last month we highlighted some of the best reference and business expansion cards on the market, cards that would help you work smarter and more effectively with your handheld computer or smartphone (see Review: Roundup - The Best Expansion Cards: Part 1).

But this month we're more interested in blowing off steam.

That's because we're going to show you the best games on expansion cards. Hey, your handheld shouldn't be all work and no fun. And if you're still playing that free solitaire game, then you're probably sick to death by now and ready for something new.

Here's where these cards come in:

For a small price, you can have arcade, action, or word games on your handheld—ready to go whenever you need to kill time or de-stress for a few minutes. Having a good game on hand can sometimes be as important as having the right business tools. Or at least, that's what we tell ourselves while we're blasting aliens.

Age of Empires
Compatible with Pocket PC

There's only one game on this card, but what a game. The expansion card version of Age of Empires and its sequel, Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome, perfectly adapts the PC favorite for the handheld. If you're a serious gamer, you'll love having this on your Pocket PC, so that you can rule the world on the train ride home.


Age of Empires comes with an introductory video.

If you're wondering how much of the original is in this version, you won't be disappointed. You can choose from 16 different civilizations, 8 campaigns, and 24 scenarios, plus you'll find all the music and sound effects that you're used to as you build up your tribe and conquer your enemies. Note that there is a downloadable user manual that unfortunately doesn't come with the store-bought card.

$26.99, www.gomdm.com

Atari Retro
Compatible with Palm OS, Pocket PC, and Symbian OS

Now this will bring you back (if you're in your mid-thirties; if you're younger, it'll seem like the stone age): you get seven classic Atari console games on this card, from the earliest days of console gaming. Included are Adventure, Asteroids, Breakout, Centipede, Missile Command, Pong, and Yar's Revenge.


Atari Retro should put members of Generation X in a nostalgic mood.

Once upon a time, you had to plug a thick cartridge into a console to play just one of these games, and now all seven fit on a card the size of a postage stamp. The playing experience is a little different, and you might miss having a joystick controller, but the games are the same as ever. Centipede and Asteroids were always the big names, but the true geek grew up playing Adventure, where you can slay dragons, rush through a maze, and find a treasure.

$29.99, www.gomdm.com

Game Essentials
Compatible with Palm OS

If you like having a variety of games at your fingertips, Game Essentials is a great choice. This collection holds ten very different games, so that you can always find something that suits you. Choose from SimCity, 9-Ball, Shanghai, Vegas VIP Casino, Billiards, Ricochet, Atum, Chess, Checkers, and Backgammon.


This SD card bundles a wide variety of games.

For us, the star of this show is Ricochet, a highly addictive souped-up version of Breakout that has killer graphics and a variety of interesting power-ups. If you like simulation games, SimCity will let you play god over your own little town, while the classic chess, checkers, backgammon, and Shanghai (which is mah-jongg) are perfect for relaxing. Atum is a puzzle game that challenges you to build atom-like shapes, while Vegas VIP Casino lets you choose to play blackjack, poker, or slots.

$29.99, www.gomdm.com or $29.95, store.palmone.com

Merriam-Webster Crossword Puzzles and Word Challenges
Compatible with Palm OS and Pocket PC

Are word games your thing? Do you enjoy spending your whole Sunday afternoon finishing the crossword puzzle? Then you'll love this collection of four brain-twisting word games.

The highlight of this card is the Merriam-Webster crossword puzzle collection, which has 1,000 puzzles. Choose from three difficulty levels and you're ready to play. The games fit your handheld's screen exactly, so there's no awkward scrolling.


Merriam-Webster Crossword Puzzle and Word Challenges comes with four excellent word-based games.

Besides the crosswords, this card also has TextTwist, WhatWord, and Link Letters. In TextTwist, the clock counts down as you try to make as many words as possible from a set of six letters. You'll need to form at least one six-letter word to move to the next level. WhatWord gives you a block of random letters that you'll need to rearrange into words. Link Letters is a problem-solving game, where you'll need to swap letters in order to turn the start word into the end word.

$29.99, www.gomdm.com

Monopoly, Battleship, Yahtzee, and Scrabble
Compatible with Palm OS and Pocket PC

Sometimes you have to return to the classics. This excellent collection features four board games that we all grew up on-Monopoly, Battleship, Yahtzee, and Scrabble-beautifully adapted for the small screen. All of them let you play against the computer or two, three, or four human opponents. We love that they all have infrared and Bluetooth options so that you can play against someone using a different handheld.


Four classic board games come to your handheld.

You might think that a Monopoly board is too big for a puny handheld screen, but you'd be wrong, since the beautifully crisp graphics show the board and all its details perfectly. The other three games display just as well, and together they prove that the best old games make the best new ones.

$49.99, www.handmark.com

PopCap Puzzle Pack, aka Bejeweled Puzzle Pack
Compatible with Palm OS

This collection of five colorful games could be the perfect time-waster. We couldn't stop playing Bejeweled, a simple game where you swap gems around in order to get them into rows of three or more. It sounds easy and is, which is part of the reason why it's so addictive. There's just enough of a challenge to keep you hooked. Start playing it and, before you know it, an hour will have gone by.


Bejeweled

Our second favorite is Alchemy, where you need to fill up the game board with connecting symbols in order to turn the board from "lead" to "gold." It becomes difficult quickly, as new symbols are introduced with each level.

Add to that Mummy Maze (a logic game where you need to guide your explorer out of a pyramid while avoiding a mummy), Seven Seas (avoid pirates while steering your ship), and Atomica (move colored atoms around to build molecules), and you have a great collection for filling up down-time.

$19.99, www.gomdm.com

Sega Classics
Compatible with Palm OS

While people in their mid-30s will love the Atari Retro expansion card, those in their mid-20s will go for this bargain-priced collection of older Sega console games. Sonic the Hedgehog heads up the card with the classic 2D side-scrolling game that has him battling Dr. Robotnik, an evil scientist who's turning animals into killer robots.


Play older Sega console games with Sega Classics.

The other three games on this card are new to us, but they provide the same type of console adventure as Sonic does. In Shinobi you play an expert ninja on a mission to rescue some female ninja trainees. Super Columns is a Tetris-style game where you need to arrange falling blocks to fill in the area underneath, while Shining Force II: The Sword of Hajya is an exciting strategy-based RPG, where you marshal your forces to protect the kingdom of Cypress.

$13.99, www.gomdm.com

Tetris Classic Game Pack Compatible with Palm OS and Pocket PC

Tetris captured the minds of a generation when it debuted, and this simple game of spatial arrangement is already a classic. It anchors this excellent collection of mostly low-key strategy games, which have enough variety to keep you busy for hours.

Besides Tetris, the games you'll get actually vary, depending on whether you're using a Palm OS or Pocket PC handheld. Palm users will get Colors (where you have to match colored balls to score points), Backgammon, Chess, Checkers, 3D Air Hockey (which perfectly recreates the fast pace of the real thing), Poker Dice, Solitaire, and 3D Slider.


In Colors, you earn points by getting same-colored balls together.

Pocket PC users get Backgammon, Checkers, Colors, Chess, and four solitaire games, so it's a better deal for Palm users. Surprisingly, the documentation inside the jewel box case says that Pocket PC users get Air Hockey and Slider, although those are only for the Palm OS.

$49.99, www.handmark.com