The Games folder is more than just the central repository for games on your computer. In Windows 7, the Games folder offers game updates, statistics, news feeds, and more.
You can Open the Games folder on Windows 7 either by clicking the Start Button and choosing Games on the right side of the Start Menu (or) by clicking the Start button . In the search box, type games, and then, in the list of results, click Games Explorer.
While the selection of games that come with Windows 7 is pretty decent, you may not want one or more of them installed. Likewise, your PC maker may have chosen to leave some games uninstalled for whatever reason—perhaps to push their own subscription game offerings. In either case, you can customize the games that appear in Games Explorer by installing or uninstalling individual titles so that only the ones you want appear.
To do so, you’ll need to access the Windows Programs applet, which is part of the Control Panel. Open the Start menu and select Control Panel. In the Control Panel window, select Programs and then Turn Windows features on or off. (If the Control Panel is displaying an old-school grid of icons, choose Program and Features and then Turn Windows features on or off.)
If you’re already viewing the Games Explorer, you get to this view more quickly by clicking the Tools toolbar menu item and then Programs and Features. Either way, you should now see the Windows Features window, shown in Figure below.
Figure: Windows Features lets you install and uninstall a subset of Windows features.
Windows Features doesn’t let you uninstall (or install) every single Windows feature, but it does provide a far wider range of options in Windows 7 than it has in several previous Windows versions.
To see which games are available on your system, expand the Games option. As shown in Figure below, you have a number of options, though what you see here will vary depending on which Windows 7 product edition you’re using.
Figure: Inside of Windows Features, you can uninstall and install various built-in games.
This will open the Windows Features screen where you can turn different default features on or off. Uncheck the Games folder completely.
To uninstall a particular game, uncheck the box next to its name. Likewise, you can install a missing game by checking the box next to its name. Once you’ve made your choices, click OK and Windows 7 will make the changes. These changes will be reflected in Games Explorer when the process is complete.
While you can install and uninstall any built-in games, you cannot uninstall Games Explorer. Instead, you can choose to hide it from the Games Explorer.
