The profits of the future are in the games of the past, according to Scottish startup Digital Bridges.

The company has launched a package of games for mobile phones supporting WAP (wireless application protocol). It hopes to license these, and other games in development, to mobile network operators, many of whom are attending the GSM World Congress.

But the limited display capabilities of WAP phones are forcing the company to keep things simple. "We went right back to the start of games, and did Tic Tac Toe, adding and sometimes taking away," said Kevin Bradshaw, Digital Bridges' CEO.

The line-up so far includes old favourites such as hangman, poker and blackjack. Unlike the games built in to some mobile phones, Digital Bridges' games allow players to compete with one another, adding a human dimension to an otherwise colourless interface. While WAP is the focus today, the company has plans to deliver games to a range of wireless devices and technologies through its Website, wirelessgames.com.

If card games do not appeal to you, Bradshaw says the company has other games in development to fire the imagination, including plans to bring the complete range of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks to the mobile phone. These books, written by Steve Jackson, one of the founders of UK board games designer Games Workshop, allowed readers to choose their own path through the plot from hundreds of predefined possibilities. Bradshaw said the company had a software engine to deliver Fighting Fantasy games over WAP but "the world's not quite ready for it yet".http://www.digitalbridges.com/http://www.wirelessgames.com/