The Most Addicting Games on the Planet

By Chris Robertson


If you're an avid gamer, you' probably enjoy most genres of games and puzzles. Someone asks if you'd like to play, and you immediately say, "I'm in!" In an admittedly informal survey of avid gamers (and after some very heated discussions), here are the games that they claimed were among the most addicting games on the planet.
Video Games
When it came to addicting video games, many of my gamer friends voted for the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (for the GameCube) and WarioWare: Smooth Moves (for the Wii). The guys in the crowd were partial to the Burnout Series and the Gran Turismo series (for the Playstation). And those who were into role-playing games were vocal in their support of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (on the Xbox 360).
Board Games
All of my gamer friends love to play board games, and most named Monopoly as one of the most addicting games on the planet. Other traditional board games that ranked high included Scrabble and Risk. Some mentioned unique board games, such as Axis & Allies and Starfarers of Catan, while others stuck with Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit.
Card Games
When it came to card games, more than a few of my gamer friends admitted to having stayed up all night playing poker. Several owned high-end poker chip sets and planned their activities around their monthly poker games. There weren't any bridge players in the group, but several mentioned learning old-time card games from their parents and grandparents. The fondly reminisced about playing card games of canasta, rummy, hearts, and spades as they were growing up.
Kid's Games
All of my gamer friends said that they came from game-playing families, and that they started playing games when they were very young. Aside from card games like Old Maid and Crazy Eights, most ranked Chutes and Ladders, Sorry!, and checkers as all-time favorites. Those with kids said that some of the newer games for kids, like Cranium Cadoo and Pictionary Junior, were big hits at home, although one said that her daughter loved jigsaw puzzles more than any particular game - and had over 50 in her collection!
Strategy Games
When the subject of strategy games came up, there was an intense discussion of the merits of checkers, chess, and backgammon. The chess players in the group dismissed checkers as too simple, while the checkers players argued that the chess players were just brainiacs. Everyone did agree, though, that backgammon was one of the most addicting games on the planet.
Party Games
Naturally, all of my gamer friends often attended "game night" parties, and all agreed that 25 Words or Less and Taboo were two of the most addicting games on the planet. For more organized fun, many voted for Bunco, a mindless dice game played by 12 or more players. Everyone vouched for the fact that Bunco allows you to visit with friends while rolling the dice, accumulating points, and periodically screaming "Bunco!"
Obviously, every gamer is unique and has his or her own personal list of the most addicting games on the planet. But if you haven't dabble in those that my gamer friends recommend, give them a try - you might find them addicting as well!
Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Learn more about The Most Addicting Games Ever or Majon's Family and Children directory.

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Enjoying Free Addicting Games Online

By Luciano Figallo


The online world offers different things to its different users. Right now the web is not only a great source of information. It is also the best place to find games and entertainment. If you would like to be engrossed with a good game or two, a horde of free addicting games online are now easily available to you. And they come in all types and categories that would fit your skills and specialty levels.
A good example is the currently popular FarmVille that is offered to Facebook users. This is an addicting game indeed as it involves the player mission of building a plantation out of a small parcel of land that he is given to begin with. With all the resources available to him and through the help of his generous neighbors, couple that with hours of hard work, owning a plantation becomes a reality. And when you do own one, you might be a very popular Facebook user.
While Farmville is exclusive to Facebook, other free addicting games online are available to the rest of the internet users. If you log on to an online gaming portal, you are presented with diverse farm-related ones that you can play without restrictions or fees. They are browser games as well, which needs no complex download to play. All you need is a relatively fast internet connection and you will be able to enjoy them to your heart content. But unlike Farmville, you do not have to log-in to play them. Just click and browse and you will be on your way to hours of fun and excitement.
There are other free addicting games online. Aside from FarmVille and its variations, you may find shooting games for boys too that would delight them to the core. Most of them involve special missions and group effort. Being multi-player games and all, they can easily provide the adrenalin that boys always seem to look for in every game that they play online. However, multi-player are usually log-in games. This means that players would need to set up an account before they get to enjoy it at all. And because of that, there is always the possibility of restricting the game servers or making it a paid one in the long run.
That is the main reason why it is best to settle for simple browser games that could provide you with an identical experience. There are first-person shooting games found at almost all free gaming portal over the net. And just like the massive multi-player or role playing that boys love, the same experience is guaranteed - and all without the risky downloads and the possibility of getting malware in the process.
There is a safer and better way to play and enjoy free addicting games online. And the first step is to find a reliable and dedicated portal that can offer you a wide choice of games that fits a general description. Through the free services of these websites, it will not be too hard to discover the best game that you can enjoy, from the first hour until you finish the game with flying colors.
Luciano Figallo - Developer, webmaster and owner of several entertainment sites including music, video and online gaming. Do you want to play free addicting games online? Then visit Addicting Games. Here you will find action, shooting, racing, puzzles, dress-up and more games. Play free addicting games here.

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Addicting Games are Only a Shuffleboard Stencil Away

By Lara Hill


Have Stencil, Will Shuffleboard
A game whose origins hearken back to 16th century England, shuffleboard is a low-intensity diversion of a sport that almost completely went into a steady decline in the middle of the last century, until it was revived in the mid-1980s, and has since enjoyed a period of steadily improving renown. Now, the game will probably never make ESPN primetime, and it's unlikely that any of us will be sporting designer gear with the name of a shuffleboard star anytime soon, but it is a pleasant enough pastime that seems to be ever popular among the senior crowd. Whether you play on a permanent concrete shuffleboard court or a roll-out court made of plastic, you can expect nothing less than a delightful time in the company of friends, acquaintances or chummy rivals.
Outside of a dedicated facility, it can be a little difficult to find a place to play some shuffleboard. This is unfortunate, really, because all you actually need is a nicely-sized hard, flat surface, and if you happen to be the owner of that surface, some stencils and a couple of paint canisters. Specifically, you may wish to avail of a durable shuffleboard stencil set. Since a standard deck shuffleboard court is 39 feet long by 6 feet wide, these stencil sets normally come in sets of three pieces, assembled together to build a court that adheres to official national standards court specifications. Well, do find one that is an official size, unless you don't mind, or actually prefer, a reduced court. There really is no more convenient method of painting a shuffleboard court on pavement, if you think about it. Would you rather painstakingly measure the court dimensions out with a ruler, and clumsily try to spray or paint the pigment in as straight a line as you can muster, or would you rather just lay down a few stencils and apply the paint without any headaches?
As with any stencil painting task, make sure you clear the concrete of rocks, dirt and other debris, so you don't end up accidentally painting on them. This not only benefits your painting process, but also improves the quality of your game. The ideal surface would be one that is extremely slippery, so the less imperfections there are, the better your game will go. Certainly, it won't be quite as perfect as a tournament level court, but it is the best you can get with parking lot pavement as your base. Once the area is clear, flatten the stencils out as best you can, and align them properly. You may want to bring some masking tape along just to hold the stencils in place once they are in position, so that they don't shift about while you are painting. Next, apply the paint. A marking wand may make the painting easier for you, so consider whether you'd want to invest in one. Lastly, wait about an hour or so for the paint to dry, and there you go, your very own shuffleboard court, for a very minute fraction of the cost of a permanent structure.
Lara Hill writes about unique arts and crafts projects. Pavement is an unconventional canvas for painting, but she enjoys art projects that are outside the box. Check out this durable shuffleboard stencil, easy enough even for beginners! To see a great selection of oversized stencils for sports and traffic, as well as the paint and tools needed to go with them, visit http://www.stop-painting.com.

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The Growing Popularity of Free & Casual Games

By Joshua Finley



Free online internet gaming has exploded over the past 10 years and now comprises of a large collection of game developers, publishers, web portals and millions of casual game players. Talented game developers are in more limited supply than publishers and portals, yet even they are steadily growing in supply as more companies and brands look for sponsorship deals with high quality upcoming free games.
Wide brand exposure can be gained from sponsoring free online games and more companies are looking towards game sponsorship and in game product placement as a serious advertising platform. Portals are in the greatest supply with a huge amount of gaming orientated sites offering the developers creations, indeed some game developers also offer their own web portals such Ninjakiwi and Armor Games. These are two of the more popular and innovative gaming developers with Armor Games holding a top 1000 traffic rating.
Behind such successes are talented flash game designers and coders, it is usually one or two experienced designers that plant the seeds from which top free gaming websites flourish. Casual gaming both free and paid downloads have become so huge online that the genre has the greatest presence in the world's most highly trafficked websites.
Ninjakiwi have an in house team of developers, they are owners of the very popular brand of games named Bloons. The first Bloons game was introduced back in mid 2007 and the series has already been played hundreds of millions of times. If you compare such an audience exposure rate to the most popular video watched on you tube, it is easy to see why advertisers are turning to free online games to reach global audiences. What's more intriguing are the demographics behind casual game players with a considerable percentage of the audience being young adults. This demographic has caught the attention of many blue chip companies including mobile giants Orange and O2 who regularly advertise through Mochiads - an in game preloading ads platform.
As the advertising revenue increases for free games so will the creativity, detail and complexity of their design. Developers are now creating games targeted specifically at certain age ranges, including teens, young adults and mums.
Ninjakiwis' list of games is expanding rapidly. As their brand has received greater exposure over the past year they have branched out from their original success of Bloons to produce other games with different concepts, some have been received with more enthusiasm than others. Some of their successes include:
  • Bloons - Including the player packs, more bloons and even more bloons, tower defense games, hot air bloon, bloons pop 3
  • Boombot Games - 1 and 2
  • Hotcorn Games - 1 and 2
  • Potion Madness
  • Powerpool
  • Replay Racer - 1 and 2
  • Rings
  • Shinju
  • Sinta
  • Zeba
Ninjakiwi has established a loyal fan base with their range being published across hundreds of medium to large sized gaming portals. One of their advertising platforms is through the previously mentioned Mochiads, a major advertising platform for both game developers and game publishers who earn revenue from publishing games. A small advert is shown whilst each game is loading in a web browser, developers and publishers earn money from game impressions and advert clicks.
The other free games developer previously mentioned, Armor games, is the larger of the 2. Armor develops in house games and sponsors independent developers, funding their creations and offering revenue sharing across their advertising platform. Armor games has a much more extensive range games than Ninjakiwi and has funded the creation of some of the most imaginative games on the internet, a list of some of their best games is compiled below:
  • Armed with Wings - 1 and 2
  • Crush the Castle
  • Hedgehog Launch
  • Hedgehog Launch 2
  • Fancy Pants Adventure - 1 and 2
  • Gemcraft
  • Gemcraft Chapter 0
  • The Last Stand 1 & 2
  • Pillage the Village
  • Sonny
  • Sonny 2
  • Warfare 1917
It is common to find developers and portals alike sharing each other's games. This idea was originally invoked by the biggest casual free game provider on the internet - Miniclip.com. Their success grew from allowing webmasters to publish their games on thousands of smaller sites. Sharing and creating viral copies of successful games can prove a very lucrative strategy on the internet.
There are many more high quality game developers, publishers and portals, ones worth a mention include Crazy Monkey Games, Addicting Games, Newgrounds and Kongregate.
Free game production has also seen the remake of many old classic arcade games which will delight fans of the 80's arcade.
Classic games such as PacMan, Ms PacMan, Space Invaders, Pong and Frogger have all been remade using flash and are now available to play as free online games. Paul Neave, a talented flash developer is responsible for such flash reproductions.
More comprehensive flash gaming communities have sprung up within this landmark 10 year period of growth. One example of an immensely popular community is MechQuest, this is one of currently 5 flash games created by Artix Entertainment. MechQuest is an online Fantasy/Sci-Fi Web RPG game that offers both a free and premium paid side. The game is built using flash and has millions of members in its community. Striking a balance between casual and hardcore game play it aims to offer a compromise allowing players who do not wish to spend all day at their PC's a casual multiplayer experience.
Of course free online games such as MechQuest, AdventureQuest, DragonFable, ArchKnight and BattleOn.com are a step in the right direction for what online gaming should be about (if we are looking from a healthy perspective), they offer gamers a balanced dosage of online fun which don't require a lifelong commitment to progress and gain in game rewards. The total opposite would be games such as World of Warcraft which are designed to reward excessive amounts of game play.
The free games market will continue to its rapid growth in the foreseeable future and more developers will come into the market. Whether flash will remain the markets main publishing platform remains to be seen but for now it will keep its dominant position with all free online game developers using it. Fans can expect to find more elaborate free online flash games being introduced in the coming years as free games compete and very much encroach upon paid game audiences.
Many of the free online games mentioned above can all be played at Games Lunatic, including Ninjakiwi's popular monkey games.

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