# The terrific game 'Portal' is now free, for both PC and MAC, until May 24th **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 13, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356 "2010-05-13T22:41:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/1 "2010-05-13T22:41:33Z")
> **[Steam Store](https://store.steampowered.com/freeportal/)** > > Steam is the ultimate destination for playing, discussing, and creating games. I’m not one to like puzzle games in general, but ‘Portal’ is a lot of fun. And at times very funny. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/2 "2010-05-13T23:01:07Z")
Moved Cafe Society --\> The Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/3 "2010-05-13T23:19:38Z")
Cool… I love that game. Problem is the site won’t let me create an account–it just keeps making me re-enter the verification letters over and over. I can’t be messing them up EVERY time 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/4 "2010-05-13T23:23:53Z")
If I didn’t already own the game, I’d get it like a million times over. It’s the most satisfying game I’ve played in many years. There’s one moment in the game that succeeds in making the player feel exactly the same sensation as the player, in a way unlike any other game. It’s not melodramatic or anything, but it’s awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Cream\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ice\_Cream\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Cream_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/5 "2010-05-14T11:19:52Z")
This is a triumph! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/6 "2010-05-14T11:22:02Z")
I’m making a note here, ‘huge success’. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/7 "2010-05-14T12:11:06Z")
It’s hard to overstate my sat-is-fac-tion… ---
**Author:** ![Dioptre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/278dde/32.png) [@Dioptre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dioptre)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/8 "2010-05-14T13:04:12Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > Cool… I love that game. Problem is the site won’t let me create an account–it just keeps making me re-enter the verification letters over and over. I can’t be messing them up EVERY time 😕 It’s a bad capcha. I had to re-enter many times, but eventually it accepted one. The capcha algorithm is case sensitive keeps inserting straight lines that look like 1s or Is or transforms letters and numbers into other letters and numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/9 "2010-05-15T04:59:13Z")
I’m downloading now, but it’s going really slowly… Only 100 KB/s. I might actually have to wait until \ tomorrow to play it! Oh, and it never made me type a capcha at all. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/10 "2010-05-15T05:51:16Z")
Since it’s on Steam, does that mean we have to finish it before May 24? I still have this problem where games with lots of camera movements make me sick. It’s getting better, but I still cannot play 3D games without motion sickness. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/11 "2010-05-15T17:50:23Z")
I signed up, and I \*\*\*think \*\*\*I’m downloading it now. Where do I go to check the download status?? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/12 "2010-05-15T17:57:43Z")
There should be a download tab on Steam. Mine didn’t look like it was downloading at all, but Portal was in my games tab. Tried to play it, then it updated for ages, then it worked. A bit odd, but it worked. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/13 "2010-05-15T18:17:09Z")
don’t see a download tab, but I tried to launch it, and it says it will be ready to launch in about an hour, so I’ll ssume it’s downloading - thanks! ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/14 "2010-05-15T18:17:26Z")
Click library, then below it click downloads. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/15 "2010-05-15T18:38:51Z")
blerg. Stupid me, I was palying around on the Steam site, whilst the actual program/game was downloading in another window. :rolleyes::smack: ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/16 "2010-05-15T21:07:23Z")
aperture science, we do what we must, because we can for the good of all of us except the ones who are dead. ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/17 "2010-05-15T21:11:13Z")
But there’s no sense crying over every mistake, You just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/18 "2010-05-15T21:35:45Z")
And the science gets done. And you make a neat gun. For the people who are still alive. While Portal worked fine yesterday, Steam just downloaded a mammoth update for it. It’s got me back into HL2 though. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/19 "2010-05-16T02:28:47Z")
“Still Alive” is the ONLY song I will do vocals on in Rock Band II. In fact it’s pretty much the only song other people have ever heard me sing. (I have a sort of phobia.) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356/20 "2010-05-16T02:59:34Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Since it’s on Steam, does that mean we have to finish it before May 24? . This is my question, too. I assume free means free, which means you own it and will have it forever(so to speak). Right? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-terrific-game-portal-is-now-free-for-both-pc-and-mac-until-may-24th/539356.md?page=2)