I receive a message that says "Illegal operation"
"Illegal operation" more likely is fault of the browser. Netscape 4 for example often crashes in case of insufficient memory.

Problem with game loading
The games will not work if you have WebTV or Windows 3

If a game takes more than 2 minutes to start there maybe Internet congestion or heavy game activity. If after 2 minutes the game has not started click on the refresh button on your internet browser and wait for the game to load. 

Continued problems maybe be a result of an incompatible browser, a browser without Java support or Java is not turned on.

We recommend that you use the latest versions of your internet browser. Below are free download links.
Download the current Internet Explorer PC click here  Mac click here
Download the current Netscape Browser for PC or Mac click here
Download the AOL 6.0 click here

Turn on Java feature (I do not get the games to come up)
Open your browser.If other solutions do not work or you have Windows XP on your computer you will need to download java.Go to Microsoft's VM update site at http://www.microsoft.com/java/vm/dl_vm40.htm.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the link for Windows.Follow the instructions to download and install the update.

Internet Explorer, go to tools/Internet Options. Click on advanced options, scroll down to Java, click the check box which is next to Java Console enables
Netscape: To change access privileges: Open the Security Info window by clicking the padlock icon, the select Java/JavaScript. Select a certificate, and click Edit Privileges. The Java Security Target Details Dialog Box appears. It provides detailed information about the kind of access a Java applet or JavaScript has or is requesting. You can choose the privileges you want to grant for this session or future sessions.

Still having a problem. Try the following.
1. Internet Explorer: Open Explorer program, not internet explorer. Go to C:\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5 click on the folder. Delete all the files. Netscape: Open Explorer program, not internet explorer. Go to C:\Program Files\Netscape\Users\ click on the folder under Users, then open Cache folder. Delete all the files except fat.db.
2. Holding down the shift key press the reload button on your browser

For problems with graphics/images
If pieces are duplicated you may have a low computer resources problems
Close all running programs, relaunch your browser and try again then
Checking your system resources open windows explorer (not internet explorer) click on help/about windows. Displayed is your available system resources.

If the problem is with our Web Site e-mail support  Please include the name of the game and a description of the problem. Include the Java console information in your email, along with your browsers version number (to see click on help/about) and your operating system (example Win 98). Send this info together with a brief description of the problem and the name of the game.

Error messages can be found in Java console. When e-mailing support include a copy of this log. To find log see instructions below. Netscape - Go to communicator/tool/Java console. Copy the content.

Internet Explorer - Go to tools/internet options, then click on advanced and check "Java console enabled". This will enable the Java console. After a restart of your browser you can select View / Java console from the menu then copy the content. You will first need to repeat the problem.

Game does not fit my screen
Windows: To change your monitor setting, click on the start button in the lower left part of our computer window, scroll to settings, scroll to control panel, then click on display image, click on setting button at top of new window, increase the screen area
MAC: From the pull down Apple menu, (top left corner of the screen) pull down Control Panels, choose Monitors and select "options" increase the resolution setting.

AOL users having problems seeing games
Try downloading AOL 6.0 Go to 'keyword'. Click on that, type in upgrade, click go, then just follow the screen prompts, take your time, do this step by step.

If you have AOL 5.0, go to "My AOL", click on 'preferences', then in the window that comes up, click on 'www', when that window pops up, ( AOL Internet Properties), click the 'Security' tab. Make sure you check the Security Setting at medium!! If you put a check mark on "high", you will not be able to see about 50% of web graphics, or be able to view all pages. While you are still in this 'window', click on 'Web Graphics'. UNCHECK the box that says 'use compressed graphics. Using compressed graphics does NOT speed up your loading time on any pages. Assuming you have done all the above, if you use AOL's Browser as your main 'roadway' to the Web, you now should be able to view any and all applets.

Empty your temporary files.
The Internet Properties box that opens has a tab marked: "General" Select it if it is not on top. The middle of the box has an area called: "Temporary Internet Files" Click the button marked: "Delete Files..." A small pop-up appears with the option: "Delete all offline content" Check that box, Then click: "OK" Then click: "OK" again to close the Internet Properties box
Closing the America Online program and restarting it before going back on the Internet. This will remove the temporary files stored on your hard drive.

America Online has a preference to "use compressed graphics" when viewing World Wide Web pages. This needs to be turned off to play our games. Launch America Online and sign on. Click the "My AOL" button from the button bar and pull down "Preferences" From the next dialog box, click the "WWW" button. When the "AOL Internet Properties" dialog box appears, click the Web Graphics tab. Make sure "Use compressed graphics" DOES NOT have a check in front of it. Click the "Apply" button. Next, click the General tab at the top of this dialog box. Under the Temporary Internet Files section, click the "Delete Files" button. When the confirmation dialog box appears, click the "OK" button. Click the "OK" button to exit the "AOL Internet Properties" dialog box.

Still problems. Windows 95 and Windows 98 comes with Microsoft Internet Explorer "built in", or integrated in with your system. 1. Launch Microsoft Internet Explorer. 2.. Look up at the top toolbar, click on 'view', then click on 'internet options'. When the new window pops up, click on the 'advanced' tab. Scroll down in the new window until you see "Java VM", CHECK all boxes in that category.  After you have checked all the boxes, you will have to re-start your computer. When it is up and going, you should have the ability to view any and all games. 

The games require a Java-enabled Web browser to play the games, and some versions of the AOL software don't come with a Java-enabled browser. If you're on a Mac, the AOL browsers with AOL v3.0 and AOL v4.0 aren't Java-enabled. In addition, the 16-bit (Windows 3.1) version of AOL v3.0 doesn't have a Java-enabled browser. You can still play our games with your AOL account, though just download Internet Explorer or Netscape, above,  and play through these browsers, or just upgrade to AOL 6.0.

I'm connected to America Online while playing a games and get disconnected. Why?
If you're not directly using one of AOL's services, and happen to be off surfing the Net, playing Classic Games or the like, AOL will send out an "You have been idle..." message after a period of time. If you don't respond, they'll automatically disconnect you from the Internet.

All the cards appear blank. Why?
America Online has a preference to "use compressed graphics" when viewing World Wide Web pages. This needs to be turned off to play our games.
Launch America Online and sign on.
Click the "My AOL" button from the button bar and pull down "Preferences"
From the next dialog box, click the "WWW" button.
When the "AOL Internet Properties" dialog box appears, click the Web Graphics tab.
Make sure "Use compressed graphics" DOES NOT have a check in front of it.
Click the "Apply" button. Next, click the General tab at the top of this dialog box.
Under the Temporary Internet Files section, click the "Delete Files" button. When the confirmation dialog box appears, click the "OK" button. Click the "OK" button to exit the "AOL Internet Properties" dialog box.

I can't play games through AOL!

Verify your AOL configuration.

Clearing your cache and other settings will ensure that you get the best performance out of our games. Follow the steps below to optimize your settings for our games:
1) Open AOL.
2) Go to AOL Preferences; the easiest way to do this is by using the Keyword "preferences".
3) Click on "Internet Properties".
4a) If you are using AOL 5.0 or 6.0, click the [Delete Files] button in the center of the screen.
4b) If you are using AOL 4.0, click the [Advanced]tab at the top of the screen, then click the [Clear Cache] button.
5) Click the [Security ] tab at the top of the screen.
6) Verify that the browser is set to "Medium". If it is set to "Custom" or "High", click the [Default Level] button.
7) Click the [Web Graphics] tab at the top of the screen.
8) Click the "Never compress graphics" option.
9) Click [OK].
10) Close and restart AOL.

Images from © 2000-2001 www.arttoday.com

21st Software presents - FreeChristmasGames.com