If you think you can ignore because it will be the same as the other versions, think again. Yes, you’ll still be pitching birds across fields to kill pigs, but Rovio’s CEO Mikael Hed has hinted at differences that will set this version apart from the rest.

One change is supposedly a “more collaborative feel”. This hasn’t been clarified, but it shouldn’t be surprising – Rovio no doubt wants to tap in to the potential of gaming on a social network. It’s expected for a Facebook game to include a gameplay mechanic that helps players get ahead if they recruit friends and play alongside or against them.

A more cryptic statement promises more focus on the pigs, traditional villains of Angry Birds. This could reveal itself in any number of ways, from mere story elements to new gameplay modes. We’ll have to just wait and see.

Go ahead – start re-arranging your Valentine’s plans. Now is probably a good time to start looking at a nice Valentine’s day present.

Source: Slashgear

Despite its old school design, this site provides some fairly decent Java script games that are easy to use and fun to play. So if you have some time, you should definitely take a look.

The Basic Rundown

A Game A Day is one of the simplest sites that I’ve ever had the pleasure of using – no sign-ups, no hassles, no contract statements that involve me selling my future firstborn. It does exactly what would be expected of any good site, and that is for it to do what it is supposed to do. All it takes is for you to head over to the website once every single day to make this whole thing work.

The premise surrounding A Game A Day is that it provides one simple little brain teaser for you to play each day out of the year. Sometimes it’s just a question. Other times it’s simply a puzzle. Typically, these games are not very long seeing that they only involve one single problem, so this is great for people that are on the go. However, some of them actually seem to loop, so you can play once your brain has been fed. Basically, if you can check Facebook once a day, then you can play A Game A Day, too.

Raise The Bar

The games for the month are available at all times, so if you’ve missed a few days (or you want to skip ahead) then you’re in luck. However, if the month has already passed, then you are only able to play for the given month. The games come in two flavors – Level I and Level II – and while the first one is always good for casual players, the second one is just a smidgen harder. Dive in if you have a vast vocabulary and a mind with a knack for complex thinking. Granted, the games aren’t hard, and I believe anyone can figure them out. It’s just that one level might take a little more time out of your day than the other.

Most of the games are word puzzles dealing with antonyms or synonyms with a fill-in-the-blank type of format. However, there are quite a few meant to build up your word, geography, and visual knowledge. Some of the many games are listed below.

• How Do You Say? – Match up a common phrase in five different languages.
• Inquiring Cartographer – Identify countries on small land masses.
• Match Ups – Match symbols or images with their meanings.
• Antonyms – Simply write all the antonyms of the words you are given.

At first glance, the games may seem a little corny or too easy. However, they are great for a simple mind tease once a day, and they can get the brain going.

Conclusion

Like I said, this site is incredibly simple to use, and it serves its purpose well. The games are constantly updating, so you know that you’ll get something different each and every time.

What other brain teaser sites do you know of? Do you have any favorite games on A Game A Day?

The web gives us quite a few little games which are boredom killers in their own right. That perhaps explains the success of games like Angry Birds. Little Alchemy is a little gem tucked away in the Chrome Web Store. So, let’s install the Chrome app and play this free Alchemy game.

A Game for the Entire Family

An uncomplicated game has the advantage that it can be enjoyed by the entire family. How easy is Little Alchemy? It’s as simple as mixing four basic elements to create something new. The four elements that one starts off with are water, fire, earth, and air. You have to combine them by dragging and dropping them (only two at a time) to produce new surprising new forms.

But if you think that this simple game is unsophisticated, then you are wrong because it gets pretty addictive.

Mix, Match, and Create

Gameplay is so simple that a child can pick it up without hitting the ‘help’ icon on the left. In fact, your child should definitely play this game as it is educational to a degree too.

The screen is divided into two areas – the one on the right has four elements that you are supposed to mix-match and combine in order to create some interesting combos. The mixing and matching happens on the workspace that lies on the left of the screen.

Combine any two elements. One way of making this more interesting would be to guess what the resulting mix would be. Some combinations (especially the earlier ones) are dead simple. For instance, water + fire = steam.

You can then take the resulting ‘element’ (for instance, steam) and combine it further with another element from the library of elements. For e.g. steam + air = cloud. You can in fact, right click on any formed element and check the combinations again. Remember, not all elements with combine. The combinations are all logical. You can in fact use a form (click the bulb) to suggest combos of your own.

The combinations keep getting more intricate and increasingly difficult to predict. In the third or fourth try, I got ‘gunpowder’ by combining fire and dust. Your library of elements on the right that you can use to build more elements also starts stacking up. Click on Type to Search is your library is choc-a-bloc and you need to search for an element.

The Challenge – Score of 230

Your target is the possible 230 combinations that can be created from four basic elements. The early stages of Little Alchemy do not give away signs that the game will be addictive, but it gradually gets challenging and the target of 230 or at least the maximum possible number could soon get to you. So, as the notification above says – stay positive. Oh, there is an official cheats page too.

Little Alchemy is a nice addition to Chrome’s lineup of games. Which is your favorite Chrome browser game? What do you think of Little Alchemy…did it help to ward off the boredom?

Wikipedia games just give you another way to kill a few of those dull hours and gain a bit of grey matter in the process. We checked out one Wikipedia game when we were looking at 10 Websites That Make Browsing Wikipedia More Fun.

The Wiki Game gets you a double dose of fun and knowledge exploration. You can head over to this game, and then try out a few more of its ilk.

Catfishing

Catfishing is a very simple game that has existed online since 2006. I am not sure if the game has been updated or not, but as with all knowledge games, it’s still worth a play. Catfishing is a guessing game built upon clues taken from Wikipedia articles. You are given a set of clues and you must think aloud the subject or the article the clues are common to. There’s a scoring system in place, and yes – you do get deducted for wrong answers. You can play the game solo too but it requires uncommon honesty.

wikiAata

wikiAata is a puzzle and a guessing game rolled into one. Gameplay is based on simple rules – you are given a view of a starting Wikipedia article and an ending article. Your job is to go from the first to the last article using the hyperlinks in the articles. You have to reach the ultimate article using only the specified number of clicks allowed for the puzzle. You can use the tabs in the game to move back or view the ending article. You have to sign-in with your Google account. The points system is based on the time you take to finish the puzzle. Test your knowledge and put yourself on the leaderboard.

Wikipedia Maze

Wikimedia Maze is quite similar to the above mentioned Wikipedia game. It’s also a “Cancer” to “McDonald’s” kind of follow-link and get a few points game. On the face of it, Wikipedia Maze is a better designed or at least a better looking game than wikiAata. A few differences exist: You can choose Themes which are like game categories. You can create your own puzzles, and also earn badges for extra achievements on the site.

WikiTrivia

Pick a category and the trivia game based on Wikipedia starts throwing trivia questions at you. You have to continue with the trivia game by answering the questions correctly or incorrectly.

WikiGuess

WikiGuess is a Google Android game and a free download from the Android Market. The app displays a real Wikipedia article and you have to guess what the article is all about. You have a photo taken from the article and a few keywords as clues to help you solve the Wikipedia puzzle. We have mentioned WikiGuess in our Directory.

When it comes to knowledge games, Wikipedia fits in nicely. Of course, it might not be the thing for all age groups, but if you have a smidgen of interest in the world around you, Wikipedia and the games it has spawned is a nice start. Tell us how you find these games based on Wikipedia.

The free game includes 27 levels, and you can play it right now simply by pointing your browser to CutTheRope.ie. As mentioned, the game was developed entirely in HTML5, no Flash in sight (ideally), and was made especially for playing on Microsoft’s flagship browser, Internet Explorer 9.

If pure HTML 5 sounds too good to be true, you’re probably right. As mentioned in a Behind the Scenes page made by the game’s developers, some media playback issues in Chrome and Firefox forced them to fall back on a Flash plugin for correct music and sound effects. I tried the game on Chrome, and while it worked well, even with Flash disabled (except for some minor audio bugs), it wouldn’t even load when all of my plugins were automatically blocked. This might be due to a bug in Chrome.

While the game works well in all browsers, some levels, which are unique to this version, can only be unlocked by pinning the game to the taskbar, an exclusive feature to Internet Explorer 9. So this might be a good a time as any to try IE9, if you haven’t done so yet.

Happy Om Nom Nomming!

Source: PCMag

Finding cool flash games online is not necessarily hard, but having all your favorite games waiting for you in iGoogle is pretty convenient. Personally, I love retro games, and find it extremely enjoyable to have some good retro games on my iGoogle page, and have a quick play wherever I am without having to look for that specific game I like again. If you love retro games too, here are 5 awesome retro games you should add to your iGoogle page.

How To Add Games To iGoogle

If you’ve never added games to iGoogle before, don’t worry. It’s very easy. Simply head over to your iGoogle page (you will have to sign into your Google account), and click on “Add gadgets”.

You can now browse what iGoogle has to offer you, or head over to the right side and use the search box. Type in the name of the game you’re looking for, choose a game from the list and click on “Add it now”. The game will now be added to your personal iGoogle page.

When playing a game, click the cog icon to control the gadget. You can choose “Maximize this gadget” for a better playing experience.

That’s it! You can now head over to your iGoogle page and play your favorite games. Here are some great suggestions.

Pacman

When looking for “Pacman” in iGoogle, several options pop up. I recommend adding “Pacman Clasic” (yes, this is how it’s actually spelled) or “PacMan (Maximizable)”, which is the same game, only bigger.

This is the classic Pacman game we all know and love, complete with those tasty white dots, the occasional fruit and the villainous ghosts. Very addictive.

Frogger

Frogger is another of those awesome retro games which is so simple yet so addictive. The goal of the game is to help the poor frog cross the road and river, without getting run over by weird cars and trucks and without drowning.

When searching for “Frogger” in iGoogle, the best option to add is the first one which says “Original game by Sega”. This version has the least ads on it and provides the best playing experience I could find.

If you’re using Google Chrome, you may encounter a weird issue with this gadget’s menu. The problem doesn’t exist on Firefox, and is not always present on Chrome either. If you really need to access the gadget’s menu from Chrome, try disabling flash for a few minutes and enabling it again when you’re done.

Space Invaders

Who wasn’t addicted to Space Invaders at some point in their life? There’s something simply irresistible about those slow-moving aliens and that elusive red spaceship. I even own two entire Space Invaders themed t-shirts.

When searching for “space invaders” in iGoogle, the best option is the one called Invaders (Maximizable). This one lets you play the game on a relatively big screen with a minimal amount of ads.

Super Mario

There is not a game in the world I love more than Super Mario. I used to be so addicted to it, I could play for hours on end. Many times I have felt like installing a NES emulator, or finding a flash game that somehow sort of mimics the experience. Although it’s not the same, having it right on my iGoogle page is lots of fun.

When you search for “Mario”, lots of options pop up. I have tried many of them, and the one I’ve found to be the best is the one called Super Mario World Game. The screen, even at maximize, is a bit small, but you can click on “play fullscreen” to play a bigger version. This will take you to a different page, though.

The controls are a bit hard to master at first (A to jump, S to run), but this only adds to the challenge!

Asteroids

I must admit, I never played Asteroids as a kid. But when I got to know the game as an adult, I found it strangely addictive.

When you search for “Asteroids”, only one option will pop up. This version is playable, but as you can see, has some ads on it. For a quick play on iGoogle, it’s really not a problem. If you want a bigger screen and less ads, you can click on the full screen link at the top.

Deleting Gadgets

Are you tired of a certain game? No sweat. Simply access the gadget menu by clicking on the cog icon, and choose “Delete this gadget”. The gadget will immediately disappear from your homepage.

Your Turn

Any recommendations for cool retro games for iGoogle? Any suggestions for iGoogle games in general? If so, share them in the comments!

According to Trion, unauthorized intruders gained access to a database that includes every important tidbit of information imaginable. Usernames, passwords, email addresses, billing addresses and more have been hijacked. Trion has not stated when the attack took place, so it’s unclear if the attack recently occurred or was only recently discovered.

The good news is that full credit card information was not stolen, and while password data was hijacked, Trion had enough sense to make sure it was encrypted. However, the first four and last four digits of credit cards, along with expiration dates, were taken.

Trion recommends the usual protections, like changing the passwords of any other non-Rift related accounts that use the same password as your account with the company.

In hopes of smoothing over the matter with players, three days of complimentary game time has been granted to everyone and a new item called Moneybag’s Purse, which provides a bonus to looted coin, is available. You’ll only receive this compensation if you update your password and security questions.

Trion has not finished their investigation, however, so it’s possible more issues could be discovered. In the meantime, watch your credit card for unauthorized transactions and be sure to reset your passwords.

Source: Rock, Paper, Shotgun

It could take forever to go through each individual website of every MMO you may be interested in to check out screenshots and gameplay. However, I’m here to share five MMO directories that I’ve had plenty of luck with in narrowing doing the choices.

These directories do all the work for you and present the most enjoyable, sustainable, and free games to the user. All you’ve got to do is make the decision on which to play or download.

Free MMORPG List

Despite the name, Free MMORPG List features much more than just massively-multiplayer online roleplaying games. It’s first on the list because it’s probably my favorite. The site features categories for free, action, strategy (or RTS), kids, simulation, sports, browser-based, and social games. The site features 28 pages of games in total with a dozen of games displayed per page. The listing of each game offers a high-quality description, screenshot, and immediate links to download and visit the game’s official website.

What MMORPG

If you’re specifically searching for a MMORPG, What MMORPG is the absolute best resource you’re going to find online. What MMORPG takes this MMO genre and breaks it down into subgenres of fantasy, horror, modern, space, superhero, historical, racing, and so many more.

You can also narrow games down to their cost (free included), their play style (PvE vs. PvP), their developer, and their artistic style (2D, 3D, etc.). This is a very extensive resource. Game listing pages also include ratings of every game, contributed by players like yourself.

F2P Games

F2P Games is 100% dedicated to bringing you MMOs that are completely free. This directory also separates free browser-based games. F2P Games also includes a very interactive and informative forum where you can go to get all the latest user-contributed F2P news.

This directory contains a little over 100 games for you to choose from. It’s got a simple list style: not as descriptive as the rest in this list, but you can browse and choose what you want quickly.

MMO Games.com

This directory has the benefit of having one of the better eye-pleasing designs compared to the rest. Not much sets MMO Games.com apart from the rest, but they do have specific categories for mobile and Facebook games.

The site features MMOs in general with a slight bias towards the MMORPG genre.

TIGdb

The Indie Game Database is a lot different from the previous directories we’ve mentioned. This website currently features 757 games, all created by indie developers. Not all of them are free and not all of them are MMO. You will be able to narrow down your selection using their filters though.

This directory is really cool and unique and a refreshing change from the rest. I managed to find one of my favorite indie games ever, Altitude, using this very website.

We’ve wrote before on MMO Hut, a similar directory. We’ve also whipped up a nice little article showing you three of the very best MMOs to try out. Got any more suggestions on where we can go to find these games, or fun and free MMOs in specific? Share them with us in the comments!

The new service is called Unlimited PC Play, and it does what it says. Subscribers can download a client, then play the available games as much as they’d like for no additional charge. The games are the same retail versions that you’d find for sale on Steam or Impulse.

What’s the downside? For now, it’s a limited selection of titles. While there appears to be a fair number at first glance, many of the games are titles like 18 Wheels of Steel: Haulin – not exactly the stuff that makes hardcore PC gamers salivate. Still, there are some enjoyable titles available including Assassin’s Creed, Sam & Max and Saint’s Row 2. No Mac compatible games are included.

Currently this feature is considered to be in beta, so you might run into a glitch or two as you enjoy the titles on offer. Pricing starts at $15.95 per month for a GameFly membership, which allows you to have one physical game disc out at a time. Upgrading to the two-disc plan means spending $22.95 per month instead. The Unlimited PC Play feature is available to all subscribers at no extra charge.

Source: SlashGear

Now that has changed, as PopCap has introduced two of its greatest hits – Plants vs. Zombies and Peggle. These excellent games have just made it to the official market and are each priced at $2.99, making these among the least expensive renditions of each game (though Peggle is available on the iTunes Store for $0.99)

While these games were developed by PopCap, they are being distributed on the market by Electronic Arts. It doesn’t appear that the mechanics or content of either game has been altered for the mobile platform. These are full-fledged versions of the originals, but don’t look for any notable new content except for device-specific touch controls.

You will need Android version 2.2 or better to play these games. Official support is extended only to devices with HVGA, FWVGA-WVGA or qHD resolution. Keen eyes will note this means there is no official tablet support. The game may run, but graphics quality will be compromised.

User reviews are showing that Droid X2 users are having problem as well, so you may want to wait a few weeks if you use that device.

Source: PopCap