"Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?"

I've not seen Raiders of the Lost Ark for many years, but the enduring memory of derring-do in the name of archaeology (and riches, if they're handy) is charmingly evoked in Spelunky, a modern 8-bit style PC platformer that was mentioned in Lewis Denby's PC Gamer's articles on top-quality free games. Spelunky is soon to be released in a brand spanking new version with updated graphics and multi-player, but you can download and play the original 2008 version for no dollars and cents.  I've sped through at least 25 games of being poisoned, spiked, crushed and generally marmelised by this game and I can report that it's thoroughly addictive fun, so be warned. It's randomly generated each time, so no two levels are alike. I particularly like the extra complication of carrying the damsel in distress through all the mortal peril, which means you have to ditch her rather rudely every time you want to beat off hordes of spiders with your whip.  And don't forget that golden idol - which begs the question, if you can only carry one, which do you save: the the idol or the dame? Hmm...