We used to play Solitaire or Hearts to relax and spend a couple of hours zoning out to recharge our mental batteries. I found a new way to waste a couple or hours - Need For Speed. Its a PC or X-Box game. You trick up your compact boy racer with big tires, turbochargers and radical paint schemes and race against up to four other racing fools. Race choices range from the drag strip to drifting and point to point racing through an imaginary city at night.

Most fun is the tournament in which you graduate through different and more difficult street venues as you improve your racing skills. Winning garners points that you can spend on even more horsepower and bigger tires. Your opposition has no mercy if you get in their way and have no compunctions against bumping your rear end at 150 miles per hour as you screech around corners and fly though the air over bridges.

The scenery is completely believable, smoke comes out of your tail pipe and water splashes as you tear around the course. One variation causes the last man around the course to drop out, leaving the others to go around again until there is one winner. I dont have a joy stick so I have to make do with my keyboard for navigating the courses.

The latest variation is called Need For Speed Underground II and is an updated version of the original NFS Underground (which I prefer). The main attraction to me is the challenge to my computer racing skills and the infinity of variations of games. Like Solitaire, there are no two games alike so I never get bored.

My real life Honda Civic HX never had it so good.