I have an IBM Thinkpad A20m laptop and I've decided to hook up a joystick I have. I don't have a gameport and I'm pretty sure I don't have a USB port. I do have a serial port though and I've heard you can do it form that. My question is what kind of adapter do I need? I've looked at some adapters and they don't seen to be the right kind.

Thanks in advance.

There is no way you can use a simple adapter to connect a joystick - the signals used are totally incompatible. You'd need some sort of a device that can take the joystick input and translate it to binary form. And then you'd need drivers for that thing..

Google some more or take a look here: http://www.epanorama.net/documents/joystick/pc_misc.html

The Thinkpad A20M does have a USB port- it's sideways (vertically oriented) and right next to the round mouse port on the back of the laptop. This odd orientation makes it easy to overlook!

You should be able to find a number of good, cheap USB joysticks that will work with your laptop.