I hope I am not alone in reminiscing about these games but this is what I grew up on!

Now when you have some time to kill you can browse on over to the authors home page here or his software company’s webpage here and play a similar Asteroids arcade game called Luminara.

Luminara plays in your browser using flash 10. All you have to do is go to their website and start playing! When you arrive at their site you will see this:

Click on the word Play in the center of the screen and you will be off and ready to play.

The premise is the same as the asteroids arcade game – you shoot using your mouse button and spin using your mouse. You break or destroy the asteroids that are coming at you. But the twist is addictive music, colors and awesome looking icons. There are 50 waves of colorful enemies and explosions ready to draw you in…

But as they always say it is better to show you then explain it to you. How do you explain pretty colors other than slipping someone a hit of acid? Well without further ado here is a 6 minute video walk through that will get you amped for this game:

So now that you see a little bit of what I am talking about, let’s see what the game has to offer. As you play you will be offered different power-ups like lasers and companion players. Those friendly assistants help you clear out those hard boards. Use your up and down arrows to guide your ship around the screen and collect those power-ups. Here I am after grabbing my first companion ship. They sure help!

And the author named the companion players after the regulars in his forums! That sure is funny. I bet they love playing this game. Hit the P key on your keyboard to pause the game and bring up your options as you can see below:

You bounce off the sides instead of going through and out on the other side like the classic game. Your bullets also bounce off the walls and can continue killing after they bounce. My day is seriously screwed as I tried to get this game in between doing my duties! I am addicted.

We would love to hear about your high scores and your other favorite (FREE!) games. Leave them in the comments so all of our MakeUseOf readers can benefit.  Do you have a game you cannot get through the day without playing? Then hook us up, put us on and we might just do a full review of it here. Remember we are writing for you, the readers, so let us know what you want to see more of (or less of!)

Ok that’s enough for today boys and girls I umm have to…you know…get back to work. No really I have stuff to do

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An idle time game is what it says. It’s a game you play in your idle time. The beauty of idle time games is that they are designed to provide you with some down time away from the game too. Certain components require specific time frames to complete with no interaction from you, thus leaving you time to go back to doing other stuff.

When you have a break from email, work, and checking out all the other MakeUseOf tips, programs and websites, log in to Facebook, click “Applications”, and check out the top five most popular idle time Facebook games.

On top of the list is FarmVille, by Zynga, with nearly 60 million “active monthly users”.

A similar game by Slashkey, called Farm Town, ranks fifth, with nearly 18 million users.

These two top Facebook games are very similar, allowing me to kill two digitally rendered, unreal virtual birds with one stone.

Both games provide a chunk of cyberspace upon which to grow “crops”. You’re a farmer (customizable avatar) with a small farm and a few coins to buy seeds with. You plant crops, which have varying times to maturity, and wait for them to grow. Later, you come back and harvest them to earn coins. You then plow the land to prepare for more crops. Harvesting and plowing earn you experience points which help you “level up”.

Barns, pathways, water features, and fences are just a sample of the items available for purchase with your earnings to personalize your farm. As you progress in levels the items you can buy get more enticing and more profitable seeds are available. You can also increase your farm’s size.

There are a few differences in the two games which may determine which you prefer. Take both for a test drive and decide for yourself. You might get addicted to both, like me. Farm Town allows you to earn coins and experience by helping other farmers who aren’t your neighbors and includes chat features. Both games have animals you can purchase, but only FarmVille allows the animals to be “harvested”. Cows give milk, sheep give wool, and so on.

Mafia Wars, another Zynga game, boasts 26 million users. If you’re in the mood for stealing, robbing, or icing someone in cyberspace this may be your game. It’s a dashboard-only game, meaning you do not have an avatar or a character to move around. If you want to do a job, you click a button, and the results are displayed. Many other idle time games are designed this way, and as someone used to Grand Theft Auto action, I personally don’t enjoy this type of game.

You earn money for doing jobs which include robbing a pimp, collecting on a loan, and other mafioso tasks. You recruit friends to be part of your mafia, and you can fight other people’s mafias. Websites outside of Mafia Wars have popped up where you recruit people other than your friends to be in your Mafia. The more members you have, the more successful you are. You can purchase items, and you level up by building experience with jobs and fights.

Energy, stamina, and health are important, as jobs require varying levels of these traits to perform. This is where the game invokes idle time. Once your resources are depleted, a clock is displayed and you have to wait it out until they begin being refilled.

Pet Society by Playfish is a cute game that seems to be designed for the younger crowd, yet it claims fourth place with 19 million users. This game allows you to have a customizable pet that interacts with the environment. The pet has a home and a community to explore. The community includes a home improvement center, a cafe, and a grocery store, among others. You can decorate your home, play with your pet, and feed your pet.

This game has a mini-Sims like feel as it has three status bars you try to keep maxed out to ensure your pet is healthy, happy and clean. The feel is cartoon-like, but it’s is a relatively simple and safe game for children if you allow them to use the computer during your idle time.

Similar to Pet Society, YoVille is an interactive community with people-based avatars, but this game includes chat features. You work at a “job” to earn coins. You can only work so often and at specific intervals, thus the idle time feature. Your character is given an apartment to live in and you recruit your Facebook friends to be your neighbors and coworkers.

All of these games share common traits. You earn coins and experience to purchase cooler items and to level up. They encourage your friends to play as well, as some features can’t be unlocked unless you have a certain number of neighbors, co-workers or mafia members.

Each has a gifting feature where you can choose a gift to send to your friends or neighbors. The gifts are items they could eventually buy within the games, but they may not be at the level where the gift is unlocked. If you just don’t want to wait on a harvest or a job, you can use real money to purchase game money. However, all games are free to play.

Most of the games are beta, so you may have some connection issue or other issues from time to time. The biggest drawback to these games is their addictive nature, turning them from “idle time” to “all the time”.

Which Facebook game takes up all your time?   Let us know all about it in the comments.

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So what would you do if you’re a teen and you’re bored? I was once there myself. I’m not someone you’d consider physically active so most of my free time was spent at a desk, staring at a monitor. To tell you the truth, even I got bored sometimes, not knowing what else to surf for. So I’ve come up with a list of things that bored teens can resort to, in order to save them from the misery.

It is ridiculously easy to be enveloped by the rubbish that’s online. So if you’re a parent, you’d want to read through these suggestions and pass them on to your teenage child. If you’re a teenager, I’m sure you’ll find these sites utterly entertaining.

1. Watch Videos

Let’s start with the most enjoyed leisurely activity. I’ve spent countless hours watching videos, either entertaining or educational. Time well spent. Here are some resources.

1. YouTube — Undoubtably the world leader in online videos, YouTube is the place to go for entertainment. There are also a couple of educational videos there as well. If you have no idea what to watch, check out what others are watching or their most viewed videos.

   

2. Veoh — An alternative source for online videos, Veoh features short clips as well as full-length movies which may not be found over at YouTube.

   

3. Metacafe — Probably better for watching offbeat and less mainstream videos. Metacafe hosts lots of funny clips and weirdly, magic tricks.

   

4. Dailymotion — Like everything else online, there isn’t an ultimate repository for something. In this case, YouTube can’t possibly host every video on earth. For the rest, there’s Dailymotion.

   

5. CollegeHumor — Is probably targeted at the more mature viewers, yet their videos don’t exactly feature explicit content, merely tantalizing. Encircling the “funny” genre, CollegeHumor has tons of comedic and absurd videos.

   

6. SouthParkStudios — This site doesn’t require a description. Oh my God, they killed Kenny!

   

2. Play Games

Alright, if the videos didn’t tickle your fancy, don’t sweat it. Perhaps a couple of hours of online gaming will cure your boredom. Contrary to what most parents believe, not all online games will render you a stoner. Some games really make you think and test your reflexes.

1. Pogo — Has lots of popular games namely Boggle, Battleship, Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, Mini Golf, Pool, card games like Poker, Blackjack and more.

   

2. Miniclip — Hinted by the name of the site, Miniclip packs lots of small, fun, addictive games which span from tennis, golf, sports, girly games, shooting games, soccer, 5-minute games and brain trainers.

   

3. Kongregate– One of the largest sites for online flash gaming with well over 25,000 games, they are elaborate and well-designed. If you’re looking for a way to download and play Kongregate games offline, Jason wrote a tutorial that will show you how.

   

4. Newgrounds — This site has a lot of great puzzle games that will take up quite a bit of your spare time. The games are not mainstream but the ideas are simply innovative.

   

3. Read The News

As a teenager, you should start to understand and be aware of the current affairs of the world. Plus, news isn’t just about politicians or murder. News report on inventions, sports, advancements in science, social affairs and of course, celebrities and their lifestyles. There are just too many news websites for me to list and if they may very well be different from your personal favourite, especially if it’s about sports. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.

Let me give you a few examples of some of the websites that I visit frequently, maybe that will point you in the right direction.

For technology news:

1. Engadget — These gearheads review just about anything under the sun that is powered by electricity or run on batteries.

   

2. Gizmodo — My second favourite gadget news site. These guys have a real sense of humor and review the most outrageous stuff.

   

3. T3 — From the popular and ubiquitous tech magazine, this is its online love child. They do great reviews so if you’re ever thinking of buying electronics, check this site out first.

   

For health news:

1. WebMD — This health website is dedicated to providing medical and health information to the layperson in simple, easily-digestible nuggets. What is Pneumonia? What is vertigo? Do you have ADHD? No, the last one is not a band. If you are ever curious about the human body and everything that relates to it, WebMD can deliver it to you.
2. The New York Times Health News — The NYT definitely provides more in-depth health news. They’ve also got great articles with tips to help you keep your disease at bay. If you suffer from a disease, it’s always better to learn more about it so that you’re able to differentiate myth from the truth.
3. That’s Fit — is a health news sites that’s a little lighter on the details and medical terms. It’s generally for everyone to enjoy, with great tips on how to stay slim, lose weight, eat healthily, maintain your youth, and some valuable information for girls: the types of dieting and whether or not they work.
4. Men’s Health — Okay, this isn’t exactly a health news site but since this article is targeted at teenagers who are, let’s face it — experiencing some biological changes, they do need some guidance during the transition. My mantra is “Better to know than not”. So let your curiosity run wild and find out as much as you can about being a man. Weirdly, understanding women is key to being a better man. Don’t be let down by the fact that you have to know more about the opposite sex in order to be more masculine.
5. Women’s Health — I’m assuming that there may be at least some female readers so I not taking any chances. Women need to know myth from fact as well as men. Do cucumbers really remove dark circles under your eyes? Does shaving make your hair grow thicker? This website has the answers.

For celebrity news:
This is a topic that I’m 100% sure to be outdated. However, I’m willing to risk it and suggest a couple websites for celebrity news.

1. Perez Hilton — It doesn’t really help that this Hollywood queen’s website is pink. But if it’s celebrity news and gossip that you want, I don’t think there’s anywhere better.

   

2. TMZ — May be less provocative than Perez Hilton but it’s also one of the top celebrity news sites.

   

This could take a while, so I’m going to skip the rest of the news sites. I do have one final suggestion, that’s Alltop.com. It basically aggregates all the top stories from most of the top sites online and gathers them into this great webpage. You can then configure and personalize your own Alltop homepage with the news that you care about. Alltop was co-founded by Guy Kawasaki, an Apple evangelist.

4. Learn Something

We’ve arrived at my favourite part of this article. There’s so much to learn from the Internet. Especially when you’re a teenager and have so much free time, it’s a great opportunity to learn something new. Not only that, teenage guys love to make and fix things, processes which involve their hands. Perhaps mastering a magic trick or a guitar solo to impress girls.

Ladies, on the other hand, may be interested in the finer arts like cooking, crochet, fashion, etc. For this reason, I’ve separated this section. One for guys, the other for girls.

Pour les hommes

Let’s start with the sites that teach you how to use your hands. Instructables is the go-to site for everything DIY. This website teaches you everything from making your own lightsaber to fixing a leaky faucet. They’ve also got tutorials that teach you how to conduct your very own science experiments.

Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories is another one of my favourite websites. They’ve got some weird and crazy, out-of-this-world inventions, like this Larson Scanner Kit for Halloween. Everything listed here come with their how-to tutorial so that you can follow in their evil, mad footsteps.

The last site that I’d like to feature is Makezine, specifically their Projects page where you can find lots of cool DIY urm, projects to work your hands with.

Pour les femmes

If you (or your daughter) are into crafts: making your own jewelry, sewing, knitting, embroidery, making your own accessories, paper crafts; then I’ve got two sites for you to spend your time on. The first is CraftStylish. It has a huge directory on craft-making and their tutorials are easy to follow with photos for each step.

The second is the feminine version of Makezine — Craftzine. Like the boys’ site, Craftzine is a sea of craft-inspired projects that circles around fashion accessories, home design and making your own apparel. Pretty cool stuff.

If you’re into cooking, then I recommend these very fine cookery websites. My personal favourite is Jamie Oliver, a UK-based chef. His recipes are mind-numbingly simple (provided you have the right ingredients) and mind-blowingly delicious.

Another great website for foodies is Allrecipes, a community-driven website that’s rich in content, photos and reviews. It has recipes for every cuisine including Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Indian and Middle Eastern food.

If you were vigilant enough, you will have noticed that I’ve only listed 4 things for bored teenagers to do online. And they were in increasing order of usefulness and difficulty. Sorry folks, but the next 4 tips will have to come in the second part of this article. I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading this post and now have a few more things to do when you or your teen child is bored. If you have any suggestions for part 2, please feel free to voice them out in the comments.

Image credit: SAMAEL TRIP

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Are you curious? Or do you think SL is crap? What is SL anyways and what does it offer?

SL is a 3D virtual reality, it’s an interactive graphics chat world, SL is a game and a playground, it’s all about sex, it’s a role playing game, people in SL have relationships and families, it’s an online community, it’s all about money, SL players spend real money, people with various skills make real money, SL can be experienced for free, SL is for geeks, SL allows the “socially handicapped” to connect, SL supports charity (e.g. Relay for Life), and that’s just a small selection. Maybe something caught your attention and interest here. Curious now?

Getting started in SL takes some time and patience. The initial learning curve may appear steep, but isn’t that true for everything new you try? With a bit of common sense it’s not that hard. The following Second Life step by step how-to guide should help

1. Start Slow!

Go to the Second Life website, sign up, download the client, install, and log in.

Your first login will take you to Orientation Island. Take your time to go through all the tutorials and get familiar with the software. It will help you tremendously in your future Second Life experience. You will also have to pass some tests before you may proceed to Help Island.

Help Island is restricted to fellow newcomers and mentors. Pick up all the free stuff you can find and play with it. Don’t hesitate to chat with passers by or ask for help from a mentor. You never know, you might as well meet your first SL companion. In any case remain open-minded.

2. Drop the Newbie Look!

Everyone starts out looking more or less the same. There are different female and male avatars to choose from when signing up. These avatars are only good for the first couple of steps and are frowned upon by advanced residents.

To blend in you should demonstrate individuality in shaping your individual character. Start by editing your appearance and sculpt your avatar until you like what you see.

In the store at Help Island you will find a few alternative outfits, try them on and also browse the public Library, which is part of your inventory, for more clothes. Later I will show you where to find more free stuff, including shapes, skins, hair, shoes and clothes.

3. Work on your Profile!

Your profile gives everyone an impression of who you are. It’s part of your character. Leaving it empty doesn’t make you mysterious, it makes you look like the noob you are.

When in SL, right-click on your avatar and select > Profile… from the pie menu. Go through the different tabs and fill in some details about yourself. To view the profile of another avatar, just right-click on their body or name-tag and select > Profile… from the pie menu.

4. Work on your Skills!

Help Island offers tutorials on building and inventory management. You’ll find a sandbox, an area where you can drop items from your inventory or start building. Use it to get familiar with the tools you have, it’s free!

To start building, right-click on the ground and select > Create from the pie menu. From the menu that comes up you can select the type of object you would like to create, then click onto the ground again and the item will apear. Now go ahead and play with it.

5. Know what is Expecting you!

On Help Island you will also find a lot of posters. Some give out information in the form of notecards. Just left-click them, accept the inventory offer (blue menu in the top-right of your screen) and keep the notecard that is being given to you. All of this is valuable information that you should not pass up on. My advice: read, read, read!

6. Explore

What is the first thing you would like to see in Second Life? A club, a park, people, a shopping mall? Whatever it is, by now you should know how to find it.

Use > Search button in the bottom of your viewer, jump to the > Classifieds, > Events or > Places tab and proceed to discover your first destination. > Showcase features some of the hottest locations in SL.

When you think you’ve found an interesting destination click the > Teleport button to leave Help Island. Alternatively, you can use the Exit at Help Island which will send you to a welcome hub on the mainland.

In the next hour or so take some time to explore. Visit the landmarks you received on Help Island or find other adventures. Walk, run, and fly, collect impressions of land and people, and don’t worry too much about still looking like a newbie.

Remember to keep a landmark (> World > Create Landmark Here) of the places you might want to check out again later.

7. Collect Free Stuff

After seeing what is possible, you might want to pick up some new clothes and a nicer skin. Search the > Classifieds for “free” stuff in the > Shopping category. Many stores offer freebies for L$0 or Dollarbies at L$1. For now you don’t want to spend any Lindens, so go with the L$0 stuff.

Many stores have special offers for newbies 30 days old or younger. This is your chance to lay your hands on high quality apparel and body parts for free. So watch out and take advantage of this opportunity.

In > Groups search for lucky chairs or dumpster diving to find groups dedicated to sharing places where you can pick up free stuff.

8. Collect Linden Dollars

Search for “money tree” in the Classifieds or even better the Places tab. While you are 30 days old or younger you can pick up Linden Dollars hidden in money trees. Other residents leave them there for new players.

9. Get Involved

Talk to people around you, make friends, if you have some more time browse the events calendar (> Search > Events) and visit a party, join groups and try to have a good time. Meeting people and making connections or friends is the best part of SL. You never know where these encounters may take you. In the end you might open a SL business.

10. Get a Job

Unless you have met someone who has offered you a job, your quest starts with searching again. Browse all available jobs in the > Employment category of the > Classifieds section and reply to those that sound interesting. Remember to tick the “Include Mature content” box if you’re ready to explore all there is to offer.

And that’s it, welcome to Second Life!

What is your experience with SL or other virtual worlds? Did you find this little guide helpful for your start into a Second Life? What’s missing? Leave your feedback in the comments!

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This time we wanted to try something different.

Some time ago, an acquaintance of mine wanted to know what the most popular free online logic puzzle games were. I decided to find out.

Armed with Opera 10 and the latest version of Flash, I went to Kongregate, one of the most popular flash game communities. The following games were those of the highest rating in the puzzle category (at the time of writing). In descending order, here they are.

Red Remover

Red shapes are miserable, it’s up to you to release them from their suffering. Kill them, that is. Green shapes, on the other hand, are lovely, try not to hurt them. Finally, blue shapes are neutral. You can do whatever you want to them. Easy, right?

You need to remove all red shapes from the screen without losing the green ones. Things get a tad harder when the game introduces moving objects and different shades of gravity.

This game certainly won’t exactly make the biggest intellectual challenge, but it’s easy to imagine why it’s currently at the top of Kongregate. It serves a lite snack of braintainment and manages to keep the fun  up. With cute sound effects, solving a free online logic puzzle like this brings even more of a smile on your face.

Super Stacker 2, the second most popular game is pretty similar to Red Remover, which is why we won’t go too deep on it. The game uses the same cute physics style, but instead of removing items, you need to keep all of them in the level. Mad stacking skills are rudimentary.

Little Wheel

Little Wheel heads an entirely different direction. Wonderful artwork and great animation makes this point and click adventure one of the most compelling I’ve ever seen. And an adventure it certainly is, with the developer’s only pointer being “use the mouse”. Add a grain of dry humor to the mix, and you’ve got yourself a killer.

After playing for a while, my first impressions were confirmed. This game is a cult-hit-like flashgame – original and incredibly entertaining. The level of quality is enormous, which earns the developer my well-meant kudos. If you like a puzzle adventure, and something different to what you’re used to, this game comes highly recommended.

Fantastic Contraption

Lately, there have been a few games like Fantastic Contraption, better described as physics puzzle engineering. Nevertheless, Fantastic Contraption is one of the best in its genre. Because of the sheer simplicity of the interface, a lot of room is left for the levels’ difficulty.

One of the mistakes I made, being overconfident with ‘puzzle experience’, was to hop in somewhere near the end of the game, only to be stuck after a few seconds. Don’t skip a level — during the game’s progress, new ‘techniques’ will be revealed that you’ll need later on.

All in all, Fantastic Contraption is an incredibly fun game. Although graphically challenged, some of the levels are not to be taken lightly. Fantastic Contraption is the most difficult of these three games, but perhaps also the most fun if you’re up for a little engineering.

Which of these games stand out for you? Tell us your favorite logic puzzle games, the ones you’d include in a list like this, in the comments section below!

As I final note, in case you would like to know how to play these games offline, check out How To Download and Play Kongregate Games Offline.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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With new questing systems, exciting worlds and hideous monsters. Oh, and it’s based on one of the biggest nerd phenomena in existence – Dungeons and Dragons – need I say more?

Read our review of Dungeons & Dragons Online – Eberron Unlimited, and give it a shot. Yes, it’s most definitely worth it.

Dungeons & Dragons Online – Eberron Unlimited

The digital spin-off of the popular (old school) D&D role-playing game was originally released three years ago in February 2006. The game, then still working under the monthly subscription strategy, didn’t live up to expectations. Even though gameplay was great, the anticipated user-mass stayed out and the under-populated servers were not the MMORPG place to be.

Three years later, Dungeons & Dragons Online relaunches with Eberron Unlimited. The hefty price? – zero USD per month to access this Dungeons & Dragons online free server!

A success is the least we can say about DDO – Eberron Unlimited. Only a few days in the running, new sign-ups to this Dungeons & Dragons online free server are rising greatly. This time it’s not too hard to see DDO reaching the top - in my personal expectation, it’s only a matter of time.

Gameplay and Quests

Similar to most MMORPG’s, DDO focuses on quests for game progression and rewards. Nevertheless, do not expect solely monster-bashing gameplay like in World of Warcraft. DDO is filled with exciting puzzles and the like and often the creature-killing isn’t even central in a quest.

At the start of the game, low-level quests can be played solo. However, as the game progresses, it becomes necessary to work in teams of up to 6 characters, usually with multiple roles, like tanks (melee), healers and casters (magic).

Overall, quests can be played on 4 different difficulty levels – Solo, Normal, Hard and Elite. Solo is only available in low-level quests, and hard and elite raise the stakes with additional XP and monetary bonuses.

Innovative New Pricing Model

The marketing guys behind DDO preach their “innovative new pricing model”. To the critical public, this could easily be written off as ‘micropayments — again’. However, it’s not as simple as that.

Evidently for a free to play game, you don’t need to put any money in it. There are plenty of worlds to explore and quests to enjoy that you’d wonder ‘why bother’.

However, for those gamers who are willing to spend an extra dime, there are two available systems. New lands, quests or items that might be released later on can be purchased through micro-payments. Alternatively, people who continue to enjoy the game on a monthly fee basis receive this goodness automatically and get an additional amount of ‘credits’ to spend on various other in-game items. To sum up, premium members can now have the menu, or order a la carte.

But whether you’re free or premium, you shall play the game. Download it here.

Minimum System Requirements
Processor: P4 1.6GHz or AMD equivalent with SSE
Memory: 512MB RAM
Graphics Card: 64 MB Hardware T&L-compatible video card
Network Connection” 56.6K modem
Software: Windows XP, DirectX 9
Disc Space: 3GB, 5GB for high resolution

Recommended System Requirements
Processor: P4 3.0GHz or AMD equivalent with SSE
Memory: 1GB RAM
Graphics Card: GeForce FX or better with 128MB of memory
Network Connection: Cable Modem or DSL connection

And give us your personal opinion in the comments section below. The file might be around 3 GB, but it’s most definitely worth it.

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If a kid is especially skilled at leveling up in specific popular MMOG’s, or has a natural skill at creating virtual items, clothes or acquiring virtual “toys” (you’d be absolutely amazed what kids can do online today), then your own kid stands the chance to earn some pretty good money. In fact, should they spend several hours a day focused on this “job,” they could probably make almost as much as you do! Don’t believe it? I recently wrote an article about how teens can make money online by writing articles or writing programs for clients, but in this article I’d like to introduce you to the brave new frontier known as the virtual marketplace.

#1 – How Kids Can Make Money Online With Account Leveling

Do your kids spend countless hours playing popular multiplayer online games? Or maybe you don’t allow them to, but they constantly beg for more time for gaming? Or, on a more personal level, maybe you are one of those kids who love online gaming but your parents are constantly hounding you about getting off Halo or Second Life and telling you to find a job with all of that “spare time” you’ve got to play games.

Well, I’m here to offer all of the kids of a world with a powerful bargaining chip. What if gaming could be a job? What if you could earn more by leveling up in World of Warcraft than you could by flipping burgers are your local Burger King? This could be one of the most remarkable ways for kids to make money. Well I’m here to show you how that’s actually possible – depending on your particular skills within the virtual world.

Starting with the most popular MMOG site, World Of Warcraft, it’s not difficult to recognize how quickly such a community can turn into a dream opportunity for entrepreneurs. You’ve got a huge community of folks all working toward achieving similar goals. Some folks are much better at it than others, and excel much faster. In fact, there are some gamers who can level up on games like WoW or Halo to crazy levels in just a matter of hours. They know what to do, where to go and how to get it done.

Other people like to socialize, spend hours just roaming around and performing occasional quests. One thing mostly all MMOG players have in common is an envy for the “top echelon” of levels, and a common respect for those gamers who’ve made it there. This envy creates a marketplace by principle of “supply and demand.”  The demand for having an account that’s at a high, powerful level – and a low supply because of the difficulty and skill required in getting there. This gives skilled gamers an edge in a growing niche market.

If you want proof that there’s such a marketplace that even exists, just take a look at BuyMMOAccounts, one of the more popular places online to buy and sell WorldOfWarcraft accounts. Sure, some of these levels are amazing and not exactly easy, but you can be sure that if someone will pay almost $200 for a top account, they’ll be willing to pay you $50 to $100 for an account that gets them past all of the boring and annoying newbie levels that new players have to suffer through. There are people willing to invest in bypassing those levels, and you could use your gaming skills to offer them that valuable product that they desire. While WoW is the most popular for buying and selling accounts, almost every single MMOG out there creates its own marketplace. Play4Uber is a good example of a place where you can enter six such marketplaces to peddle your high-level accounts.

Play4Uber includes a section for WoW (both US and EU), GuildWars, Lord of the Rings Online, Final Fantasy XI and Eve Online. These are only two sample websites in a growing sea of sites that are popping up and offering you, the expert gamer, an opportunity to earn some awesome cash from those skills that you’ve developed during those late-night, Red Bull fueled gaming sessions.

#2 – Making Money With Special Items

If you or your kid is not so much a “leveling-up” sort of gamer, but you instead prefer participating in virtual worlds where items are earned, created, bought and sold in much the same way they are in the real world, then there are also money making opportunities for you too. In particular, the world of Second Life is seriously transforming what it means to be working online.This represents one of the coolest ways for kids to make money virtually.

At first, Second Life was a huge online community that was mostly just a novelty. But, as that community grew and the user base exploded, opportunities also grew for savvy and creative virtual entrepreneurs. Second Life offers users a creative and very flexible design tool where users can build their own items, from amazing cars to clothing to jewelry and more. Scripting is included so creators can incorporate functionality and behavior to those items. Rare, customized items are very much a status symbol within this virtual world – and they are rapidly increasing in demand and value. The place where you sell your items are most commonly right there in the virtual world. Blogs and forums throughout the Internet discuss the amazing items within their favorite niche, which you can find and buy on Second Life, such as this UK blog called “Music Thing.”

People actively spend their time designing item after item, and place them up for sale in their virtual Second Life store. Think kids can’t do something like this? Well then you may not be aware of Teen Second Life.

#3 – Raking In The Cash With Toddler Games Too

Most of the virtual income opportunities I’ve discussed in this article are focused on older kids, usually teens, who are now pros at games like Halo or World of Warcraft. But, what about those little ones who’ve grown tired of their Webkinz account (or should we say their Webkinz mansion) that they’ve spent several years building up. You’ve spent lots of cash buying those little stuffed animals and collecting codes, and your little kid spent hours playing games and collecting cool Webkinz items for their Webkinz home. Is there a way for your child to rake in a little cash for all of that effort? You bet there is – help them sell their Webkinz home.

Searching Craigslist for Webkinz accounts or Webkinz homes turns up an entire marketplace for Webkinz, and if your kid is especially adept at turning that $5 to $10 Webkinz code that comes with a stuffed animal into a sweet $50+ sale in a few days, that’s a nice wad of cash for their piggy bank!

It’s a whole new world online, and getting a “real job” just doesn’t mean what it used to. There are now virtual jobs that pay more than real jobs in most communities, and letting your kids explore the virtual world as an entrepreneur (rather than just as a gamer) will teach them business and marketing skills that they’d probably never otherwise learn.

Do you think online gaming is a growing market opportunity? Have you ever sold gaming items or accounts for real cash? Share your experience in the comments section below!

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The game is called Monopoly City Streets and the objective of the game is to buy streets around the world, make some money through rent and sabotage other users’ properties and streets.. Basically, you play monopoly online with other people (without downloading anything) using real world streets.

Before I get started on how to play the game, let me give you some background information. It has been live since the 9th of September. It is an online game that loads entirely in your browser. There is nothing to download and you only need to register in order to play it. However, on the 11th of September, the Monopoly City Streets Blog announced that they will be restarting the game in about a week’s time. This is to ensure that every knows what they are doing and how to use it. So it is best to join, get the feel of the game, and then when it goes live, you can rule a suburb, city or a country. Also, the game will only be active until 31st January 2010, but they don’t know what they will do to the game afterwards. So get your hands on it while you still can!

Playing the Game

To play the game, simple go to this website and click on ‘Play’.

Then just find a street you would like to buy, anywhere in the world. Since the game has been running for a while, all the good streets are taken. So find an area that you like, and expand from there. Most of the world is playable, but there are a few exceptions.

Since I am located in Melbourne, I am going to start my street purchases there. The streets that are blue have been purchased, but you can offer a deal to buy them from the current owner, obviously it will cost a bit more. Also note that some streets are not available to be purchased as you can see in the image below, Collins St. cannot be purchased.

So since Melbourne is too busy for me, I am going to purchase a road that is a bit out of town. You may also have noticed that we have not registered yet. You can do this when you purchase your first street. I am going to purchase Springvale Rd. So just find it on the map, then click on the street name in the box on the right.

Once you click on the street you want to purchase, a registration box will appear. You also get M$3,000,000 in Monopoly money to spend.

Now, I want to build on the street. Since I am not rich, I will start of small. Click on the street, then select ‘Build Property’, then select what type of building you want to build. I am just going to buy a small City Centre Cottage. The game will give you options on where to build the house, then just select it on the map.

Fortunately, I still have heaps of cash left. I am going to buy another street in the area. Click on the ‘Buy Street’ button on the bottom toolbar (it looks like a pile of money), find a street and repeat the process again. I found a good long stretch of road and now I am going to develop it.

As I said before, click on the street, select ‘Build Property’ and select your what you want to build.

Your buildings will now appear. As you progress through the game, just like the Monopoly Board Game, you can also get Chance Cards. Bugger! Oh well.

I hope that I have inspired you to play. It is quite fun, but remember, everything I have done today will be lost when the game resets. I better get in early and buy up big when it starts again in a week’s time.

If you want to play, just go to the main page, start buying and building an earning. Also read the FAQs and the Game Rules.

Are you a fan of Monopoly? Will you play Monopoly online with other people? What streets have you purchased? Let us know.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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For most sites, you can just use some of the many online tools and tricks available. Aibek wrote an article on it last year — How To Download and Play Flash Games Offline. Sadly, MiniClip.com isn’t what we’d consider ‘most sites’.

If you want to download a flash game, MiniClip can be a real hard-ass. They do their best to ensure that the games keep being played on their site. That’s were the nerds come in.

Today, we’ll show you how to download free flash MiniClip games to enjoy on your computer or on a USB stick. The process seems a little bit difficult at first, but if you follow the instructions, you’ll do it in no-time.

Downloading Free Flash MiniClip Games

If you are to download a game from MiniClip.com, you must be willing to get your hands dirty. Where fancy tools do not work, we go in the old-fashioned way.

First off, we’ll be looking for the location of the flash file (a separate file in which the game is contained). To do this, we’re going to take a look at the source code. For those of you who are not that technologically skilled, it is a document filled with code. These lines define how the webpage is built, how it looks and – most importantly for us – what files are embedded.

Open the source code with Ctrl+U (Firefox on Windows), or right-click on the page and click View Source. This ought to work in any current-day browser, even though the phrasing might differ slightly.

Next, press Ctrl+F to initiate a search, and use .swf as a query (including the dot will filter out unnecessary results). Your first result should be something of the kind you see below: value=”doodle2.swf”. The exact name depends on which file you’re trying to download. Write your value (the name between the quotation marks) down, or copy it to your clipboard.

Now we know the file’s name, getting it to your desktop is easy. Just put the value behind the game’s original browser address, and you’ve got your download link. Now all you have to do is download the file.

However, if you haven’t got a download manager, downloading with the URL from a browser can be tricky. Because of their support for flash files, your browser will probably try to open the file, not save it. This can be avoided using a simple workaround.

Go to an online HTML code tester, like the one on Draac.com and enter your link in the following way: <a href=”YourLinkComesHere“>text</a>. Just press the button and you’ve got a clickable link waiting for you!

True, this is more work than we’re used to when downloading flash files — probably MiniClip wants to assure web-traffic by disallowing users to download the file. However, if you really want the file and know the drill, this won’t take more than a minute.

Putting the files on Your USB stick

Right now you can just put the files on your USB, if you want. From there, you can carry it to a friend’s, or enjoy yourself at school or work. However, not all computers can just open these free flash MiniClip games. There are two possible ways of going about this.

First of all, you could simply use your web browser. All browsers (Firefox, IE, etc.) with the flash plug-in installed, can also play these files from your desktop. However, you’ll need to point your computer in the right direction with right-click -> Open with…

Alternatively, you can install one of the many desktop flash players out there. One free solution that worked pretty well for me is the Swiff Player, but there are plenty of alternatives.

We hope you’ve learned something useful from this MakeUseOf tutorial. If you’ve got any remarks, suggestions or questions about the article, feel free to write something in the comments section below. If you are aware of easier way to download Miniclip flash games for free share it comments as well.

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And so begins one of the pinnacles of my childhood – Luke Skywalker fighting the evil Darth Vader.   I can still remember playing Star Wars games in the school playground where we would take turns playing the Jedi Knight. We would get the pleasure of beating the hell out of the poor soul who had ended up getting the part of the hapless stormtrooper, chasing him around the playground while he shouted “right, it’s my turn to be Luke Skywalker now!“”

Nowadays, you can still play Star Wars but, as with everything else these days, it has moved itself online.   Here are some online Star Wars games you could play (and I don’t mean the drinking game).   OK granted, they are not as good as the paid PC games but if you have a spare 5 minutes to kill, these freebies are good enough to satisfy your Star Wars fix.

Star Wars Lightsaber Simulator

Well, this isn’t really a game as such.   All you can do here is swing a lightsaber about which does get boring after a while.   But if you want to practise your Jedi moves before moving onto an actual real game, this is a good one to start off with.  Just choose your lightsaber from the bottom, click your mouse to activate it and then use the mouse to swing back and forth.  Can you feel the Force yet?

Lightsaber Training

This basic game (but still quite fun and addictive) involves killing droids with your lightsaber by deflecting the lasers (which they are shooting at you) back at them with the lightsaber.   It is actually not that easy to do and you lose points if the laser hits you instead. And yes, I got my butt whooped.  By a droid.   I’ll never live it down in the bars of Mos Eisley.

Jedi Versus Jedi – Blades Of Light

This one has a bit more to it and the graphics are MUCH better.   Hosted by Hasbro who make the Star Wars toys, you have to choose which Jedi you are going to be and then begin fighting the other one.   Pressing A & D on your keyboard gives you the fighting moves while pressing the space bar releases the Force (if you have enough that is)

I predictably got my ass well and truly kicked. Can you do better?

Clone Wars

This one involves you aiming your mens guns (who are in fixed positions) so that, when the time runs out, they will then fire and hit your opponent’s men, wiping them out.   Each side has three men and the first one to wipe out the other side wins.   I actually won at this one!   Maybe I am not such a write-off after all at this gaming lark.

Gunship Over Florrum

Another offering from the Star Wars website.   This one has you in control of a gunship and you have to use your left mouse button to fire at the enemy which are flying your way shooting at you.   Use the spacebar to drop bombs too if you have any.

The Star Wars site also offers other free online games called Sharpshooter and LiveFire.

There’s a lot of stupid pointless games online as well (including one I found where you have to fire at Imperial Tie-Fighters but they don’t tell you where the fire button is – you have to find it yourself!).   If you want a decent free game, the Star Wars website is the best place to go but as we’ve seen, there are a few other sites if you keep looking.

Which sites do you go to when you want to play Star Wars for free?   Let us know in the comments.

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There are many online tycoon games which will grab your attention and give you immense pleasure and satisfaction while playing them. All these games have business structures as their main theme. The storylines of these games are similar to the way real businesses are run. You need to buy things, make investments and sell your stuff.

If you are in a mood to play free online tycoon games, then you should consider these 10 best ones:

Youda Marina

In this game you play the role of the business owner which controls a bay. It all starts with choosing a terrain on which you wish to start your business. Then you are given all the powers of a harbor master. Your primary task is to develop a harbor which can do great business as well as make it an awesome tourist spot. You can build hotels, restaurants, take your tourists to fishing, and construct yachts.

To play this game, you need to be good with time management and should have the zeal to be a great harbor master. All you need to do is make a perfect and popular harbor.

Fish Tycoon Game

This game is very popular among the kids. You play a role of a fish breeder. Its whole layout is so colorful and this is the main reason why kids are highly attracted to it.

As a beginner, you start with a few adult and a few baby fishes. Then you breed them, feed them and sell them. You have an option to come up with new breeds. You can buy a few vitamin chemicals and interesting fish breeding supplies from the market.

Oiligarchy Game

This game takes you back to the time when World War II was over. You play the role of a CEO of an oil company of that time. The game is simply amazing when it comes to the tasks that the gamer needs to perform.

You start with some barren lands, where you need to search for oil wells. Once you find a few, you can drill to take out the oil which can be stored or sold. You are required to meet the yearly goals and if you fail to do so, then the shareholders will fire you. You also need to bribe politicians in the White House and clear some of the oil ordinances that would benefit your business.

Indecision 2008: Money

This is the ultimate free online tycoon game. You play the role of overlord in this game. You have to start with a piece of land with an oil well. You can build homes, oil refineries, hospitals, airports, shopping malls, apartments, movie theatres, parks, theme parks, and many more establishments.

The theme is simple, you need to earn money by building all the establishments. In between you will charged with some taxes, or your city might fall prey to natural disaster causing massive destruction to your properties.

Grand Prix Tycoon

Have you ever felt like placing yourself into the shoes of a F1 franchise owner? Then this is the best way to live your dream.

The best thing about this game is its detail.  It starts with choosing a franchise and a driver for it. Then you can upgrade each and every part of your vehicle. Your choice exists even in the selection of grid girls. This doesn’t end here; you can also have a close watch on your engineers and pit crew. If you want to keep yourself busy with a tycoon game, then this is the stand out option especially if you are a racing freak.

Youda Camper

Youda has always been into the tycoon games. Youda Camper is one of their best products. Like most of the other Youda games, this one is also based on entertaining tourists and earning money.

In this game, you are in charge of a camp site. You start with a barren terrain and some cash. You have to set up different types of tents to accommodate people. Then you also have to build good restaurants and bars, where people could chill out. You also need to take good care of the road system.

Your job does not end with this, as you also need to advertise your camp site. You have to make an attractive camp site where tourists would come in their summer break, which would fetch you a lot of money. It is a comprehensive tycoon game and while playing, you can unlock a number of interesting items.

Coffee Tycoon

Coffee shops are undoubtedly the best place to hang around. But what does it take to run a coffee shop? This game gives you a chance to build your own coffee empire.

In this game, you start as the owner of a coffee shop. You have a number of milestones to achieve along your journey to expand your business. You have to expand your menu in order to attract more customers. You can increase your income by establishing more coffee shops, advertising your services and by standardizing your brand by installing the latest coffee shop equipments.

You can build your own corporate houses to coffee plants. It also allows you to enter the stock market, where you can keep an eye on your market growth. This is an amazing game to play while enjoying your coffee.

Cinema Tycoon

Movie theaters are one the best places to have a fun time. But running a movie theater is equally difficult. What would you do if were given a chance to run a theatre? Jot down your plans; if you are looking forward to play this game.

Your career starts with an objective to make $1 million in one year. You can run the season’s biggest hits on your screen to earn more. You have to invest some money to improve the standards of your theatre by buying the latest equipment, comfortable seats and setting a nominal ticket price. Try this game and see if you can become a cinema mogul.

Now Boarding

Maintaining an airline company and taking it to new heights is not an easy job. You have to keep your customers happy, as they form the fundamental part of your airline empire. You need to make sure that flights are on time. You have to add all the latest technologies to your airport. You also need to maintain the quality in terms of the facilities provided by your airlines. Buy more airplanes, send them to more places and earn more money.

Imperium

This game will make you feel like the king of a budding empire. You have to build an empire with workers and an army. You have to construct farms, carpenters and markets. You have to generate income by exporting the logs, food and iron. At the same time, you need to build a huge army in order to capture the nearby kingdoms. This is authentic tycoon cum strategy game, where your planning comes into play.

These are some of the best online tycoon games that I have come across and I am sure that you would love playing them. Playing these online tycoon games can be a great stress buster and the best part is that you do not even need any management degree to play them.

Do you know of any other tycoon game which we have forgotten?  Let us know in the comments.

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When two kids drop over from our world into Pangaea during a full moon night, they don’t receive the welcoming they might expect.

In their constant battle for attention and affection, the toy souls have become to compete more and more violently, engaging each other with toy weapons, blunts and guns.

If they’re ever to return home again, these two children need to collect enough essences, magical crystals that are shattered across Pangaea. In their quest, they get caught on in the toy souls’ battles. Get ready to join their adventure.

Manga Fighter

Manga Fighter, by GamesCampus is set in the Pangaea toy world. With its non-violent character (temporarily disabling your opponents, instead of killing them), it’s mostly interesting for younger people.

Although the name of the game implies a manga-like style, this idea doesn’t bring it much further than the title and conceptual art. In its transition to 3D, the game took on a more cartoony style, with more visible western, than eastern influences.

Manga Fighter is a third-person online fighting game – an arena fighter, hack ‘n slash and shooter. This means that players are sustained in a smaller, rather circular environment, in which they engage each other.

There’s a notable difference in gameplay between Manga Fighter and other free online fighting games. The first concept that’s thrown out of the window is character equality. Where other games’ characters mostly differ in additional items and skills, players in Manga Fighter need to choose between characters mainly differing in basic attributes, like strength, force and speed.

Skills on the other hand can be activated by filling up the skill gauge, and will momentarily boost some of these attributes, by assigning special powers to the player.

The basic setting, added to the skills, makes up an interesting arena mix. Even though the game has a very slow pace and lacks the depth and challenge of many games in its genre, it’s a game that entertains, at least for a while.

There are several different levels, depicting different parts of the toy world. Enabled by the subject, there’s a wide variety and creativity present – so we’ve got urban environments, but also varieties on Ancient Egypt, a giant dollhouse and the magical gardens.

A Game For Kids

Due to various different factors, including the slow and accessible pace, the cartoony visuals and the non-violent setting, this is an online fighting game that’s not too interesting for a mature audience, but one I might recommend for kids.

This is a place where younger gamers could be able to obtain experience, and some feel for the shooting or arena genre. There used to be a great, nearly insurmountable difference between the less and more experienced players. Lately, GamesCampus has been adding a lot of extra features that help the new players remain on their feet, and close the distance to higher levels, thus making the game a lot more accessible, and also a lot less frustrating.

The pressure here isn’t as high as on most other online fighting games, and the community consists mostly of younger players. It’s one you might try, but if you’re looking for alternatives, be sure to check out The Top 3 Online Multiplayer Games For Youngsters.

What did you think of the game? Worth your while, or do you prefer other games? Tell us about it in the comments!

More technicalities can be found here, on the site’s help page.

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Ragnarok Online is a freely downloadable client much like Gunbound or Rakion, the only difference being that you have to pay a subscription in order to play. This is originally a Korean based MMORPG, but since its inception in 2001, the game has been sponsored by various regional ventures which have been given much freedom in determining how they would like to run the platform. Recently, the U.S. region has decided to try out a “free to play” server called “Valkryie,” supplemented with a shop where gamers can pay real money to purchase certain items and such.

Ragnarok Online is based off a manga called Ragnarok, and there is obviously an amazing story filled with fairies, swords, magical items, and evil powers at work. If anyone who is reading this has played Diablo 2, World of Warcraft, or other games of this nature, Ragnarok Online has the same taste.

Players can gain experience points and obtain more powerful weapons by accepting quests or just going out into the open and fighting monsters. But what makes this game so fun is the gameplay and the community. People form guilds, fight larger battles, and interact with each other. I personally played this for some time, and the players on the servers are helpful, gregarious, and fun to be around, which is not something we can say about all online games these days.

In addition to the fun atmosphere, what’s truly addicting about this (and probably all MMORPGs) is the battle system. Players all start out labeled “novice,” and as they gain experience and level up by battling monsters and passing so-called “exams,” they move up by being able to choose more specified professions ranging from high wizard to mechanic to clown. Here we are fighting some Porings and Chonchons:

If you don’t want to battle monsters, you can also fight other players via the nature of PvP, or player vs. player. There are certain arenas split by level bounds that players can duke it out in. Death in some arenas result in penalties such as a loss of experience points. We could sit here all day and discuss the game, but the best option is for you to go out and try it! Here is a small trailer of the game when it first came out (you may want to watch it in HQ):

The downside to playing Ragnarok is that the engine updates and patches every couple of days, so if you don’t play for a long time, you will have to wait a while for the system to update itself.

System Requirements

Intel Pentium 500 MHz equivalent

At least 128MB RAM

At least Direct X 8

8MB graphics card

At least 1 GB Hard Drive Space

As stated before, the game differs from region to region, so if you don’t live in the U.S., you may want to check if your country supports the game and has the free server available. If you DO live in the U.S., you can get it here.

Note that you will want to download the Ragnarok “Valkryie” option to get the free version so you can play Ragnarok for free, do not download the premium version.

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Just like everything else she was only interested in it once or twice. So I have come to love the Internet for its ever changing content and have found several websites with preschool online games that my daughter visits daily and I am going to share them with you! Your kid will love you for it!

The first television show my daughter watched was on a channel we have in the United States called Noggin. Noggin has all the big shows like Dora The Explorer, The Backyardigans, The Wonder Pets and Lazy Town. For the really small ones you can run a program called Baby Smash on top of your browser to not let the baby change the page or mess with the web site. I wrote a post here about it.

There are loads more shows and they all have a mini-website built into Noggin. Each mini site contains lots of preschool online games and music as you can see below from Jack’s Big Music Show. You can see and listen to all this season’s music videos and there is a link to the last seasons videos as well.

Your kid (or you) can get lost on this page as well.

Next up on the same site is the Backyardigan’s mini-site which my daughter adores. There is all sorts of stuff, from video games to creative arts and crafts you can do at your home and even printables for parties and activities.

Next up to bat is the ever popular Sesame Street. Sesame Street has been around since I was a kid but we didn’t have an interactive website like this! Just like Noggin there are loads of games, videos and playlists. They also create a playlist for the day around a specific theme.

Below, the theme is “Guessing Day” others have been “Father’s Day” and “The Letter K”. You can get into the themed play list by hitting the green play button on the home screen after the flash intro plays. The playlist is made up of videos, games and more. If you have a really little one you will probably want to stick with the videos.

Each character has its own links. You can click on the Muppets link on the top to see the break down.

After clicking on any Muppet you will see a screen similar to the one for Elmo:

You can click on any of those links to videos, games or combo playlists all with the character of your choice!

What websites with preschool online games do you let your young ones play with? We would love to hear about them so my daughter will stop trying to find new ones on Google!

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Hit that curve with all you’ve got and show that pitcher what you’re made of. Hit it out of the park, and sprint your way to all the bases, adrenaline pumping in your ears.

This is baseball – when you forget for a time that you’re just playing a computer game.

MLB Dugout Heroes

MLB Dugout Heroes is a MMO baseball game, created by Wisecat and published by Gamescampus. Although developed in Korea, the game completely focuses on the American baseball scene. Earlier this year, they signed a licensing deal with Major League Baseball, allowing them to use the real-life baseball parks and players ingame. All existing MLB teams are now represented in the game, and more stadiums are in the making.

One way to describe this game would be accessible. The basic gameplay system has a pretty low learning curve so even the youngest can enjoy it, while the leveling, upgrading and the strategic aspects of the game keep it interesting for the more advanced gamer.

All this is presented in a cartoony package. The characters seem very similar to the Mii guys of Nintendo – here representing major league baseball players – and although the graphics aren’t exactly high-end, the great animations make up for a lot.

Players can take on the role of batter, pitcher and fielder. As a batter, players not only have to time their swing right, but need to guess on curves and fastballs. This might seem strange at first, but similar to the real game, you’ll soon start noticing the subtle differences in the pitch and get used to spotting the right throws.

Batting and pitching is controlled with the mouse, where fielding and base running is done with the keyboard. Controls are simple to grasp, and winning is a tasty mix of tactics and mastering the different positions.

And then there’s the difference between NUTs and Campus Credits. NUTs can be earned in-game, while playing the game. Campus Credits, on the other hand, are bought with real-money deposits.

The problem is that – while you can buy some pretty useful stuff with your NUTs – too much depends on Campus Credits. Not only can the major items only be obtained through Campus Credits, they recently started giving insane sums of NUTs every time you make a purchase, giving the paying gamers a huge advantage over the rest.

However, save these capitalist gents, the people in-game are tons of fun, and even without spending a dime, you can have the time of your life.

What do you think? Have you played this game before, or do you prefer other baseball games? Let us know which ones you think are best in the comments section below!

More technicalities can be found here, on the client download page.

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This is the world in which we find a robot shooter game Exteel. A chaotic fight for survival, where people struggle for control of the planet. They’re trying to control the resources, and perhaps ultimately, ensure their further existence.

In this future world, battles get fought on a more personal level than today, but the influences of time and technology are obvious.

Exteel

Soldiers mount statuesque Mechanaughts robots, and face each other head on. Equipped with a wide variety of plasma and conventional weapons, swords and guns, they engage in a fast-paced, adrenaline-powered battle.

Exteel is one of the best games of its kind, and free as well. It’s hard not to lose yourself in the rush of gameplay. With its fast pace and fluent controls, how could a robot-fighting game not be cool? Fly, or boost yourself around the level, and frag some of those Cylons mech warriors to hell.

You can play with up to 16 players in online deathmatches, capture-the-flag, and other traditional game modes. As far as comparisons go, this game plays pretty similar to the popular S4 League game.

Expandability and Customizability

However, one of the biggest standout features of the game, is its expandability. Players can customize their robots by choosing from a multitude of weapons, armor parts and skills. Once you get started, no two mech warriors are the same. Parts can be bought in all-in-packages, called ’sets’, or separately.

Skills can be purchased with in-game credits earned while working your way through the game, or real-money deposits, but we’ll get back on that later on. Skills are weapon-specific, and will give you an extra advantage in battle.

On the Downside

On the downside, Exteel doesn’t feature a particularly extensive storyline, like you’d expect from such a big MMORPG. Instead of offering a lot of depth, the game just manages to keep you entertained. Well entertained, if I might say so – which is good enough for me. Although a story is often preferred, it’s pretty superfluous and shouldn’t really interfere with the actual gameplay.

Nevertheless, a substantial downside comes from the importance of NCcoins. People can make micro-transactions to raise their credits in-game. For those willing to spend, buying better armour and skills becomes increasingly easier, and although they might not be as skilled as many opponents, they’ve got an obvious advantage.

Like it or hate it? Let us know what you think about the game, or direct any possible questions to the comments section below. If you have played other robot shooter games share your thoughts as well.

Minimum System Requirements

AMD Athlon or Intel Pentium III 800 MHz
GeForce Series 4 video card
256 MB RAM
1 GB available HDD space
Windows 2000/XP

Recommended System Requirements

AMD Athlon 64 2800+ or Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz
GeForce 5700 or ATI Radeon 9200 Series video card
512 MB RAM

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Until now, we’ve mostly read about these things on gaming blogs and in magazines, but a new medium is rising. Over the past year, a number of satirical flash games have traveled around the world, from browser to browser. These funny flash games ridicule and take on some of the critiques on the current-day gaming industry.

We’ve listed the three best and most famous of these games for you, and the messages they are trying to tell.

You Have To Burn The Rope (YHTBTR)

This game has made its parade around the internet, and was instantly loved by nearly anyone who played it. The concept isn’t too complicated — you have to burn the rope.

You play the role of a Kirby-like creature, equipped with an infinite number of axes. At the end of the first (and last) tunnel, there’s a boss to be fought – The Grinning Colossus. Your axes are futile against this mighty beast, you’ll have to burn the rope.

If you can’t figure it out, there’s a walkthrough on YouTube here.

The Message

You get told everything from the start of the game. In fact, the game is even titled to spoil the solution. Why? It’s a pretty obvious satire — games are getting too damn easy.

There were days that not everyone finished every game. To reach the end would be a nearly unreachable goal in the old days, or a huge victory if you did. But although games have gotten infinitely cheaper these past decades (they have, really!), people neglect to buy something they can’t finish. They feel cheated.

As a result – with a few exceptions of course – gameplay has gotten increasingly easier. Sure, a ‘veteran’ mode is often included, but most of the time that just means it’s rigged with bugs or has impossible settings. It’s like playing the same game of tic-tac-toe while someone keeps hitting you over the head with a baseball bat.

Achievement Unlocked

Try to unlock all achievements in Achievement Unlocked. Have you used the arrow keys yet? Try jumping up and down. Woah, you’re the best! Unlock all 100 achievements and show the world who’s the (wo)man!

The game’s concept? Story? — Why, you’re earning achievements, aren’t you? Have fun!

The Message

This funny flash game, released a few months after YHTBTR, continued the satirical approach of the gaming industry. By pushing it into excess, Achievement Unlocked ridicules the increasing focus on Achievements and Trophies in games these days.

Although most aren’t as extreme as this game (you can unlock about fourty achievements in the first twenty seconds, by simply jumping up and down and exploring the room) achievements are taking on a bigger role in gaming every day. I’ll be the last to say they aren’t fun (I’ve quite fervently hunted for them in a few games), but only as peripherals.

Achievements should never – and let that be cast in stone – shove aside, or even worse, replace the gameplay of a game.

UPGRADE COMPLETE!

Nephew of Achievement Unlocked, UPGRADE COMPLETE carries on the flag of cynicism attacks. The only problem — the game’s so enormously fun that you’d almost start doubting the point it tries to make.

In this game, it’s all about upgrading. Be sure to upgrade your preloader and menu buttons if you want to play, perhaps you’ll want to upgrade your music as well. Fight off  hordes of enemies in the arcade shooter, and upgrade your plane for the coming waves.

This game looks pretty ugly when you start playing. You might want to upgrade your graphics as well.

The Message

If this game weren’t so darn fun, it would make its point perfectly. All this upgrading is simply ridiculous. Like Achievement Unlocked, it wags its finger at a peripheral system that’s playing an increasingly bigger role in games.

More noticeable than achievement problems, there are plenty of games out there with big free-roaming worlds and a great upgrading system. Only, in the process, they kind of forgot the concept, story and – quite simply – the rest of the gameplay.

The game developer puts it quite simply, once you finish the game: “Maybe next time you’re playing a game you’ll rate it more on how much fun you’re having and less on how complex the upgrade system is”

Of course, if you disagree, you can upgrade to a different final screen, telling you quite cynically how awesome you are for obtaining all the upgrades.

It’s a recent thing, these funny flash game critiques, but so far they’ve had a pretty big following. What do you think about the games — or about the points they’re making? Tell us why you agree or disagree in the comments section below.

Alright, maybe after you’re done with making fun of present-day gaming, you’d like to play some “real” games:

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There’s a hidden grace, in the simple complexity of the dance. A fluent chain of movements with no moves wasted.

There’s a strange intesity that comes from MMORPGs. Getting inside the character’s head – no, becoming the character and walking the strangest of worlds. You’re living the most instense of experiences, and become the hero of your own adventure.

Now try to imagine a martial arts MMORPG. Imagine corruptness, the vilest of evils and its sickening touch on the world. Imagine a battle between good and evil, fought with martial arts and magic alike. Imagine Xiah Rebirth.

Xiah Rebirth

Xiah Rebirth, also known as Oriental Fantasy-Xiah, is an asian-themed online fighting game, created by GamesCampus. You might now these guys from other great (free) online games previously seen on MakeUseOf, like Cue Online and Asda Story. Although the game originally dates back to 2005, regular updates keep Xiah Rebirth an enthralling game that miserably fails to disappoint.

In Xiah Rebirth’s world – based on ancient asian mythology – four legendary warriors must take up arms against the heritage of the evil Blood Emperor and weigh the combined forces of good against the ancient forces of evil.

Multiplayer Online Fighting Game

Focused in the gameplay of Xiah Rebirth are asian martial arts. Through fierce training, you can try your character in. Work hard to level up and unlock various new abilities and powers. Boosting your experience level gets even easier if you participate in one of the many guilds, or play in a party with other players. There are a few major guilds that dominate the political landscape, fight hard and define ‘the good side’ by pushing your faction to the top.

The martial art moves are worked out in the slightest detail, and the game can be enjoyed in both first and third person perspectives. Keep your distance, or experience everything first-hand. There are various paths to addiction and you can choose which fits you best.

Rebirth and Five Elements System

Like an oversized reincarnating Pokémon, you’re able to be reborn several times during the game, each time achieving vastly greater powers and abilities.

Not only does the system allow you to increase your mastery of in-game items, through time you can also unlock the infamous Dragon Attacks – which include special magic techniques that are only known to expert rebirth masters and a handful of blind monks in the tunnels below the southern Himalayas.

The Five Element magic, on the other hand, allows you to greatly enhance the overall strength of your rare weaponry. Enchanted weapons are sure to inflict a multitude of damage, combined with special elemental attacks, such as enchanted fire and water strikes.

Check out Xiah Rebirth Game Trailer below:

You can download the game here. If you’ve got anything to say, remark, or ask – head to the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you!

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Ogame – A Space War Like No Other

When I first started playing the free online strategy game known as Ogame, I figured I’d play for about a couple of weeks and call it good. I was on vacation from work and looking for something to pass the time with a few of my online friends. We each signed up for a free account in Universe 36, claimed our first planet, and started our slow climb up the ranks.

The opening login screen itself really captured my interest unlike any other online game I’ve ever played. While the fact that I’ve always been a sci-fi fan might explain my fascination with the graphics, the animated front page filled with fascinating and subtly moving images of space sparked my imagination. It reminded me of a game I was once hooked on as a young kid in high school called Sentinel Worlds by Electronic Arts. That sense of adventure and excitement from those long ago late-nights of game playing came rushing back to me, and I knew that Ogame already had me hooked.

Navigating Through Ogame

While there’s a lot of detail, complex game play and a lot of strategy involved in this game, overall navigating through the various control screens is a piece of cake once you get used to it. From the main screen, you have an overview of all of the planets that you’ve colonized.

Yes, there’s also an interplayer messaging system that can get pretty busy at times, especially when you’re trying to coordinate an attack of several battleship fleets between you and your buddies against another team (or “alliance”). Clicking on any one of your planets takes you to a “planetary control” menu, where you can build additional structures to further colonize your planet (and add functionality). You can access these building options by clicking on the “buildings” link on the left menu.

Or you can assign fleet production tasks to a particular planet – like building a fleet of fighters, cargo ships, or whatever else you feel you need added to your existing “fleet.” You can access your ship building area by clicking “Shipyard” in the left menu.

Just keep in mind that in many corners of this space world – the size of your fleet defines you. In Ogame, size matters. Of course, the clever players understand that all brawn and no brains just makes for an easy target, so ultimately you’ll turn to your “Research” area in order to build up your capabilities and your strength in battle.

As you build up your various technologies (all “building” activities are time-based), you’ll achieve more powerful “hits” against your opponents in battle, when spying on their planets, or the various other activities where you’re trying to gain additional resources.

The Game Play and Action

The “coolness” factor of Ogame comes down to the action. You could literally spend weeks just building technologies, fleet ships and buildings – but what good is it if there’s no action? The action in this game comes from “raiding” other player’s planets for their resources. And the addictive part of the game comes from the need for revenge when someone “crashes” your planet, wipes out your fleet, and takes all of your resources. That happens only once or twice, and you’ll discover that you’ve taken a sworn oathe of revenge, and you are officially an Ogame addict.

When you click on “Galaxy” in the left menu, you’ll see a screen like that above, where you’ll be spending most of your time, sifting through from one “system” to the next. What are you searching for? Ultimately you’re hunting for vulnerable planets – those with a code letter “i” or “I” signifying that the player has been idle for a long time. You send over your “probes” to check out whether there’s a fleet, defenses or resources on the planet – and when you see an undefended planet with lots of resources, you send in your fleet to sweep up the goods and add them to your stash. Sounds easy enough doesn’t it?  That is, until one of their buddies “ninja’s” you, landing a fleet twice as large as yours on the planet just before your fleet gets there, wiping out your attack. Or someone much higher than you sends over a “deathstar” to wipe out anything you’ve got on your planet.

If you’ve a savvy and clever player, you’ll quickly team up with a good alliance of gamers and after many, many months of building up your planets, your fleet, and waging war against other alliances and other worlds, you just might become the king of Ogame… at least in your particular Universe. Once you’re done there, you’ve got dozens of other Universes that are also available for conquering.

Have you ever played Ogame, or any similar free online strategy games? Share your experiences in the comments section below.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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But not all of us have intricate knowledge of Python or C++, and few are prepared to really go down the learning route (someday, perhaps). So dreams stay dreams, and we get over to the reality side of business.

Oh really? MakeUseOf showed you could have your non-coding hand in games before, when Damien wrote about Sploder, a game where you could create the next chapter. However, BonusLevel takes this concept of creating your own video games to the next level. Literally.

BonusLevel

BonusLevel hosts several really fun flash games, but that just makes it one of many sites for flash gaming. The reason this site is different, is because it’s about creating and expanding the games, as well as playing them.

The Games – Creating Your Own Video Game Levels

BonusLevel was launched by 3 game developers, with a few of their flash games. Since then, it has changed to a user-supported system for games and game levels. Anyone who wants to develop a game with the BonusLevel API is welcome to do so, but that’s not always an easy objective.

As a result, the total number of available game is very limited, only seven at the moment. But that certainly does not limit the fun that’s to be had. The available games are top quality, and sometimes even genre-redefining, like Push, which comes highly recommended.

Apart from the level-creating system, about which you’ll read more below, registered users can keep themselves busy by competing for the charts and earning various awards.

Creating Levels

This is what makes BonusLevel stand out. This is where the site gets its strength.

To create levels, you must register for a free account on the site. Once that’s done, you can summon an editor from every game page on the site.

Each and every game that’s available on BonusLevel, is accompanied by a simple level editor. This means anyone can produce new content for the games. As a result, these games never end. If someone writes a good game engine with merely five levels, you can come back in a few days and play some more, or continue the game yourself.

To make sure the site isn’t bombed with crap, all newly created levels are played, judged and moderated by a special group of selected members. If your level is deemed worthy and fun, it’s shared with all other users, registered and guests, to enjoy.

These days, a lot of levels are seeing the light of day, thanks to the size of the community and the user support. This self-maintaining system keeps even the oldest games up to date and ensures a whole lot of additional fun.

What do you think of the idea of creating your own video game levels? Have you tried making your own games? What were the tools you used? Let us know in the comments.

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This is one of the reasons we never let go of those classic retro gaming classics like Pong and Space Invaders. The fact that I’ve got an eleven year old sister who knows all about Pacman (way before her time) just confirms my theory.

But even more interesting than solely reflecting on the past is to compare it with the future. I’m not talking about a Zelda versus inFamous comparison here, but about a comparison with the modern remakes of those classics we all hold so dear in our hearts. If you’re curious what people did with Pong (amateur acts of love, not corporate franchise milking) in the last 35 years, or with Breakout in the last 30, read on.

(1) Pong

Starting chronologically, Pong was released in 1975 and was considered one of the first real computer games available to the public. In that time, people would gather around an arcade machine the size of a decent fridge to steer your bar across the screen. This was before artificial intelligence, so it was a social experience, and one that gamers could keep up for hours. Pong was the prelude to all we have today, and it’s interesting to see what it has become.

Pwong 2

Pwong 2 is a flash game, created by JGames. You can play with a friend, or against the computer on several difficulty levels. And believe me, it gets difficult.

This Pong adaptation takes a different turn (pun intended) by putting multiple balls in the game, allowing you to shoot paddles sky high and introducing special upgrades like curved, bigger and sticky paddles. This classic game gives you everything, except a moment to catch your breath.

(2) Breakout

Breakout is similar to a one-sided Pong game, trying to hit and break away all up-lying blocks. This game was the first game in color, even while they were still using black and white screens, as they’d overlayed the screens with colored strips of cellophane.

The game was considered to be one of the most influential arcade games ever, and rightly so. Even these days, it’s a game you’ll find on nearly every cellphone, and sometimes even on iPods.

Uber Breakout II

What would you get when you bring Breakout back to the drawing table. Twice. Uber Breakout II! This game literally takes a whole other turn with the franchise. You control two dependant paddles on the edge of a circle, while trying to hit all of the bubbles inside.

This classic game not only asks you to be agile, but also requires you to have the reflexes of a cyborg. Because of the shape of the bubbles, the ball can fly nearly everywhere, so you better be ready. And then they introduce special bubbles.

(3) Space Invaders

Space Invaders was a forerunner of modern day shooters. That’s right, next time you play Counter Strike or Crysis, you can think back to these blocky guys.

The concept was rather simple. Shoot down all the descending aliens, but don’t let them shoot you. It was one of the first games involving a computated enemy, and although there was no real artificial intelligence, those blocky alien guys were deemed creepy as hell.

Space Mutants – From Space

Space Mutants – From Space keeps most of the original gameplay intact. When looking at the imaginary changelog, most notable are the increased fluency and the updated graphics of the game.

However, this Space Mutants game also comes with an upgrading system to customize your little tank. With the points earned by shooting our alien friends out of the sky, you can reinforce your armor, increase your speed, and so on.

If you enjoyed Space Invaders back in the old days, you should certainly give this one a try. Even ported to current-day technology and with an integrated upgrading system, it’s still more than obvious whose grandson you’re playing with.

(4) Asteroids

In Asteroids, you need to score as many points as possible by destroying the rocks that would otherwise hit and crash your ship. Shooting big rocks, result in slightly smaller rocks, and before you know it you’re flying through an asteroid minefield.

This highly entertaining game was released on arcade machines in the late seventies and was an instant hit. You can play the classic version of the game here.

Asteroids Revenge III

In Asteroids Revenge III, you play with an asteroid who was living the quiet life – the interstellar dream – when spaceships arrived and started shooting down his friends and family. Powered by revenge, this asteroid will try to serve justice, and crash these evil spaceships.

Asteroids Revenge III certainly is an entertaining game, not the least because of the concept. When you proceed in the game, you’ll receive speed upgrades and will be able to control a whole bunch of asteroids.

Good remakes, or do you prefer the originals? Tell us what you think in the comments. Also, to find out how to download flash games and how to play Kongregate games offline.

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One group of games that is still missing from our passive sportive arsenal here are pro billiards and snooker games.

And that is a real shame because those sports might just be some the geekiest sports known to man. Every single shot in those games is based on an insight or ‘feeling’ for the fundamentals of geometry and physics. Ergo, not to be discluded on a site like this.

Today, we try to make it up to you. Reader, meet Cue Online. I’m sure you’ll get along really well.

Cue Online

Cue Online was released earlier this year by GameCampus.com, the guys behind soul mate MMORPG Asda Story, and is without any doubt, one of the best pool games out there. Since then, it has received several nominations — amongst which, one for “Best Game of the Month” by the Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Cue Online allows you to enjoy games of eightball, nineball and snooker, accompanied by astonishing 3D graphics — but great graphics isn’t even the trump card of Cue Online. The game is based on one of the most realistic engines on the market, the physics of which allows you to manipulate every detail of the game, even pull off pro billiards trick shots.

Ultimate Pro Billiards Realism and Manipulation

As would be expected, the player can control aim and power but in Cue Online, you can also adjust the angle of your shots and the exact place to hit the ball, to give it a spin or to make it jump.

Apart from how the shot is exercised, the movement of the ball gets influenced by a few other factors like the realistic cloth friction. Make the sum of all this, and you’ve got a first class realistic pool game that will satisfy even the most critical of minds.

Playing Skills

During gameplay, the player can improve upon five different skills; power, spin, push, pull and masse. Unlike most skill-based games (mostly MMORPGs), you don’t get better only by using them often, but also by really learning how to use them well.

It is to be expected that skill would play a major role in a precision pro billiards sports game like Cue Online, but the game’s system provides various possibilities of gameplay. You’ll notice that each player is unique, with different strengths, weaknesses and a defining playing style, just like in real life.

If you’re up for a great game of eightball, nineball, or snooker, you must download this game.

Let us know what you think about it, or which of the 3 games you enjoy playing. Also, let us know about the other sources of billiard games. Don’t be shy, the comments section is below.

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In any event, I did check out Roblox. Not only is it fun, it has some great features. It’s a cool, free virtual world for kids where you get to create your own character, much as you would for SecondLife or any number of other virtual world games.

In this one, the characters are blocky, and reminiscent of those little yellow Lego fellows. It’s kind of like Sims, where you get to build your own buildings and towns. Sort of like Webkinz in that you can earn points (known as tickets or Robux in Robloxian) so that you can do different things like buy user-created online goods for your Roblox character.

What really sets it apart is that kids playing on Roblox can create their own games and put them out there for the world to use.

Parent’s – take note of this site. Here are some of the uber cool tools you can use to keep your wee ones safe:

• All in-game chat is filtered for coarse language. As the parent, you can control whether they can chat or use something called menu chat. It’s a list of pre-written questions and responses. The kid’s just choose them and that’s all the communication they are allowed.
• You can control something called SuperSafe Privacy mode for the kids too. What that does is block ALL text fields from accepting any input. So your precious one cannot put any personal information out there.
• As the parent, you login for them using your email account. That keeps you in control of their playing time AND adds another layer of security from weirdos.
• Most importantly, Roblox has a team of paid and volunteer monitors who pore over all chat logs and forum discussions. There is zero tolerance for course or violent language.
• The Roblox team provides tips for online security and recommends other resources to help you have a fun, safe time online.

As a Dad, I’m very pleased to see this. But as a grown-up kid, I want the games! There are a lot of games on this site, many of them user-built. As a result, some of them are not so good and some are way cool. Area 51 was pretty cool but I’m not sure exactly what the objective of it was. I found a flying saucer and got in it, but I couldn’t go anywhere. Then,I got infected with some sort of alien virus and that’s how you die, I guess. You don’t really die, you just regenerate.

The Roblox-created game, Crossroads, was really fun, too! It’s a good starting ground to learn how to use your tools (which are really weapons) with a bunch of other players. Some of them hang out there regularly and talk to each other and team up. That was so much fun, my wonderful one had to tell me to get back to writing. I wish she wouldn’t use the cattle prod, though.

Sure, the game play seems juvenile, but guess what? It’s supposed to be. The point is that this is an online gaming community that the kids themselves can create. They can do that through the Roblox Studio. It strongly resembles the Visual Basic Studio and allows you to design your own spaces and games. Unfortunately, it’s not terribly intuitive to me, but they do have great documentation over at the Roblox Wiki.

To really get the full effect of building your own games and items in Roblox, you would need a Builder’s Club account, which does cost. Maybe give your kids a couple months of using the site in general, before commiting to that.

With the ability to build games, sell items that they make and interact with other games, kids are learning priciples of programming, design, marketing, business and Math skills. I fail to see the downside to Roblox.

Are you a Robloxian? Or maybe your kids are? What do you like best or least about Roblox? Is this your first time hearing of Roblox and you want to thank me with gratuitous praise? Are you aware of any other free virtual world for kids? Well, my fellow Robloxians, that’s what the comments below are for.

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Of course, for those of us who don’t feel like making the music but like experiencing it, we can trace our steps to the game that started it all: Dance Dance Revolution.

As there are many PC clones of Guitar Hero, like Frets on Fire and JamLegend, it’s not a surprise to find PC adaptations of DDR as well. However, so far we only reviewed rhythmic online flash games and missed some of the bigger fish in these waters.

Today, we’ll show you one of, if not the most popular rhythmic dance games on the block. You better tie those shoelaces, because we’re getting ready for a dance battle.

DISCLAIMER – Playing these games will most probably not make you a great dancer. Even more so, if you are Michael Jackson’s offspring, you’d do better hitting the club. Burning some calories, you know.

Audition

Audition was based on a popular comic, and quickly grew out to one of the most popular rhythmic dance games since Dance Dance Revolution. Two summers past, Audition even made it to a PSP – and later, cellphone-adaptation, Audition Portable.

North American gamers were first supported by Nexon – the guys from MapleStory and Combat Arms – and support was later passed on to the now all Audition-dedicated RedBana. At the time, Audition is the playground for over 300 million dancers worldwide.

Gameplay

Gameplay is slightly different from most rhythm games. Players press the arrows displayed on their screen, and hit Spacebar or the Control key every fourth beat of a song. This starts out rather easy, but gets increasingly difficult, with more complex beats and the introduction of red arrows. When a red arrow scrolls by, you have to press the opposite directional arrow. Although you’re only using about four keys, your fingers will be quickly dancing across the keys.

Players can join an existing room, or create a new one (and seize the role of the DJ). This player is given control over the difficulty and choice of music. Creating rooms is especially fun when you want to play with a couple of friends, but there are enough rooms to join if you’re only there for a quick shake.

With great moves, players earn experience, and level up. Leveling up gives you a status in the game, but also makes it increasingly difficult to rise. Once you’re past level 5, you need to do a license challenge each time you raise a level. If you fail, you won’t have the license necessary to earn experience.

Community

Meanwhile, you can keep in contact with friends over the game. Hang out, or just have a chat. Audition comes with a built-in messenger tool, so you can view who’s online and where they’re at.

With the messenger, and in-game bulletin boards, Audition aims for interacting players and a community feel, and hits it right on the head. Audition is a great game to play with friends, or to make new ones, and it doesn’t stop after you log off. On the Audition forums, the show goes on long after the game has stopped.

Bana Cash

Like many free games, Audition does need a source of income, and if they don’t want to bury you under the ads, most of the time that means in-game money.

The currency used in Audition is Bana Cash, which is bought through mini-transactions. Luckily, all purchasable articles are fashion-related, and none are gamebreaking. If you don’t mind wearing last year’s virtual clothes, you won’t notice a difference between free and paid play.

What do you think? Do your (virtual) feet itch yet, or do you prefer to rock out on a guitar? Which are your favourite, free rhythmic games? Tell us all about it in the comments, we’d love to hear!

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There seemed to be no way to play Kongregate games offline. Until now.

We’re going to show you how to download Kongregate games and play them locally on your computer.

This tutorial requires Firefox with the Live HTTP Headers addon. Get them before moving on.

Download Kongregate Games

1. Open up Firefox and head over to Kongregate. Click Tools > Live HTTP Headers. In the resulting window, switch to the Generator tab. Check request and uncheck images and CSS on the right  side. Make sure Capture is checked at the bottom.
   
2. Load game you want to download, and watch the Live HTTP Headers window fill with entries. Uncheck Capture when the game starts to load (or you’ll be bogged down with a large number of irrelevant entries). Look for the following pattern:
   

   #request# GET http://chat.kongregate.com/gamez/[numbers]/[numbers]/live/[game-name].swf?kongregate_game_version=[numbers]

   For our example, we’re going to use the Little Wheel game. Our entry appeared like this:

   #request# GET http://chat.kongregate.com/gamez/0004/8108/live/littlewheel.swf?kongregate_game_version=1244712350

3. Right click and Copy the entry.
   

   Paste it into Firefox, remove #request# GET from the URL, and when the page loads you should be greeted by the Flash game filling the whole window. Hit File > Save Page As and select a location to download. It should save as a swf file.

Playing the Game

Head over to where you saved the Flash game and Open With… > Mozilla Firefox. There are two possible outcomes:

1. The game opens fine and perfectly. You’re at the end of the article. This is the case with Little Wheel.
2. The game opens, but the game doesn’t work or a message displays telling you to go to Kongregate. You’ll need to follow the next part of the tutorial, which requires XAMPP. XAMPP will emulate a web site so we can trick the Flash game into believing it’s operating on Kongregate.com. In the video tutorial below, we’ve used the Fantastic Contraption game, which doesn’t work without this following step.

The Workaround

1. Grab the Self Extracting ZIP Archive from the XAMPP download page. Double-click the extractor, and let it place the files at C: (it’ll create a folder called “xampp” automatically). Don’t be creative with the path, by sticking to a top level folder you skip a step.
2. Head into C:\xampp\htdocs and create a folder called kongregate.com
3. Move the Flash game file (swf) into the newly created folder (C:xampp\htdocs\kongregate.com)
   
4. Run C:\xampp\xampp-control.exe and fire up the Apache server by clicking Start next to where it says Apache. It should say Running once you click it, as seen in the screenshot below
   
5. Direct your browser to http://localhost/kongregate.com/. You’ll be greeted by minimalistic list of files in the directory. Click on the Flash game you put into the folder. If all goes well, it should work perfectly – the game should fill up the Firefox window.

To further clarify the steps above, I’ve prepared a short video tutorial:

That’s it for saving Kongregate games to your computer and playing offline. If you have any questions or aware of any easier way to download Kongregate games, feel free to tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

For more post on flash games, check out:

MUO Games – The Best Websites to Play Flash Games
4 Web Flash Games to Kick-Start your Brain
The Best Online Flash Games
Orisinal.com – Cute Flash Games For All

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But then something else comes along — a magical experience presents itself and defies almost anything you’ve seen before.

Runes of Magic – Rise of the Demon Lord

Frogster’s Runes of Magic is a free-to-play MMORPG, and to be quite frank, it’s one of the best free MMORPGs around. It even beats a lot of the retail ones.

Since its launch a few months ago, it has been criticized numerous times for being a World of Warcraft lookalike, or even clone. Although they might produce various similarities – which, in my opinion, is a positive thing – the game also manages to throw new elements in the ring and goes way beyond a simple copycat.

Runes of Magic had been in the beta phase for a while, and it finally went live mid-March, with its first installment of the series, Rise of the Demon Lord.

Earlier this month, they also released a teaser for The Elven Prophecy chapter sequel, introducing an additional race, new classes, and a ton of upcoming features. Although crossing fingers is about as much as we can do at the moment, it’s certain that Runes of Magic is here to stay.

The Game

Runes of Magic further pursues the main characteristics of this genre. In the game, you play a character from one of six character classes, including Warrior, Scout, Rogue, Mage, Priest and Knight, each with their own characteristics. Besides the upcoming elven character, Runes of Magic has already hinted on a mysterious eighth class.

You can choose to play the game non-violently, by focusing on crafting additional skills, but you’d be missing out on a serious part of the game. Upon launch, it was accompanied by over a thousand attainable quests, a phenomenal number for a free-to-play game, and one that will continue to grow.

Once you’ve reached level 10, be it by monster-fighting (or PvP), quest-solving, or craftmanship, you can choose a secondary class to further develop their character abilities and give a new edge to the way you experience the game.

This is, without any doubt, one of the most professional and most ‘complete’ free Internet multiplayer games I’ve come around. A definite must-try for the fans of the game genre.

So what do you think? Which MMORPG do you prefer, and why? Tell us and your fellow MakeUseOf readers all about it in the comments.

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Orisinal.com is a site started in 2001 by a quirky guy named Ferry Halim, winning awards and acclaim for its simple yet addictive cute flash games. This website is the essence of simple, cute, fun, and relaxing to take your mind off your worries and put you at ease, at least for a while. So, let’s talk a bit about the games, shall we?

Each of these little squares represents a separate flash game. Each flash game has its own custom composed music, controls, gameplay, and graphics. No two games are alike.

Orisinal likes to use lots of cute and cuddly animals in its games, and the music is some of the best ambient and gentle music I have ever heard. As for the gameplay, most if it requires that you have a mouse and are at least half awake. Take probably its most famous game, for instance: Winter Bells (depicted below). As you move your mouse around the screen, the bunny follows. Once you click, the bunny jumps into the air. The goal is to jump on consecutive bells and go higher and higher, trying to not fall back onto the ground:

There are some other features on the site including linkback, guestbook, “tell a friend”, and an online store where you can purchase mugs, t-shirts, clocks (like the raccoon clock below), and other assortments of goods to make your abode a sunnier, happier place.

You can also arrange flowers in a vase of some sort and send it to someone’s email to brighten their day. Spending a couple of minutes on this site is like enjoying a cup of camomile tea: it’s warm, its relaxing and it generally calms your nerves.

So, when you have some free time (maybe even now), give this great site a shot. It’s main purpose is to have you spend 5 hours at work playing its cute flash games instead of working, then whistle your way back home. Who knows, you might even hug a co-worker or two. Let us know if this brightened up your day.

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It’s a ton of fun. Just standing in front of the TV and swinging your butt with the WiiMote in hand, like the real professionals do.

Of course, like with most sports, there are plenty of games to go around. Unfortunately, few of them are free and of really good quality.

OGPlanet’s Albatross 18 was one of the more popular and most fun golfing games available. Sadly, due to circumstances, it was forced offline. However, the project has been picked back up by Ntreev and has made a big comeback under the name of PangYa.

PangYa

With its kiddie anime graphics and playful atmosphere, one shouldn’t expect a serious game of golfing from PangYa. Instead, the game aims for the online multiplayer market with a more casual approach. Anyone can enjoy this game, without being limited by age or experience.

It’s a crazy world out there, with fantastic vulcanic landscapes and physically impossible golfing shots, and everyone can have a go.

Those of you that played Albatros 18, the American part of what is now called Pangya, can transfer over their accounts to Ntreev here.

Gameplay

PangYa uses the same basic gameplay system like most other (mini) golf or pool games: aim, power and accuracy. Instead, the real originality lies in the incredible surroundings and impossible challenges.

Versus Mode is like most golf games. The objective of this turn-based mode is to get the ball into the cup in as few swings as possible. Challenge your friends and play a game of 3, 6, 9 or 18 holes.

Family Mode is essentially the same as the versus mode, only it lets you play with up to four different characters on a single user name. This is a great way to play against family or friends without them needing to sign up.

Tournament Mode puts thirty people in one game. Instead of the turn-based gameplay in the Versus Mode, everybody gets to play at the same time. You must complete all 9 or 18 holes (depending on the game) within the time limit.

Pang Battle Mode is stroke play with a betting system. You can wager Pang on each hole, and the winner takes all. This gets even more exciting when nobody manages to claim a win, and the wages are pushed to the pot in the next hole.

Approach Shot Mode challenges you to get your ball as close to the cup as possible, without claiming it. It’s like boules with golf balls and a cup in your playground.

Often with these games, the initial gameplay is free, although some of the additional items – like extra clothes and new equipment – cost a little bit of money. However, to avoid favouratism of the money users, the impact of these extra items is kept as low as possible by Ntreev. An alternative currency, Pang, can be earned while playing the game, which can also be used to upgrade characters or purchase special items.

Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows 98 / 98SE / ME / 2000 / XP
CPU: Pentium III 800Mhz or higher
Memory: 256 MB or higher
Video Card: Geforce 2 MX or higher
Direct X version 8.1 or higher

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The use of Flash plug-ins in browsers is now almost obligatory. Yes, it’s easy to view and enjoy the rich media content delivered by interactive Flash embedded pages. But what if I want to download some of these files as keepsakes? The greatest benefit – I can watch them offline in my own jolly time. Convert them to a format of my choice. Or embed them again in a PowerPoint presentation. Or even transfer them to my mobile phone.

Flash animation files are embedded as SWF (Small Web Format) files in webpages. Rather than depending on any software or a third-party website, downloading Flash content is dead simple. The only tool required is a browser and a bit of patience to do the rummaging around.

Just one note: As we will be heading into the internet cache folders of the respective browsers, it pays to clear it of all old files before navigating to the desired page. It makes the Flash file search a lot easier.

So, here’s how to do it in three of our popular browsers.

Download SWF files using Firefox

1. Fire up Firefox and browse to the page which contains the embedded SWF Flash file that you are eyeing to download. Let the SWF file stream through once completely.
2. On any empty part of the page, right-click and select the Page Info context menu option. Or alternatively, go to Tools – Page Info.

   

3. Select the Media tab. The Media tab lists all image formats, icons, style sheets and flash files that were rendered by the webpage.

   

4. Look amongst the items to find the particular file with the SWF extension. The type column will show up with an Embed filetype. Highlight the file and click Save as to save the file on your hard drive.

Download SWF files using Internet Explorer

In IE8, we have to head to the Temporary Internet Files folder which stores all rendered files during a browsing session. (It can be directly accessed from here in Windows XP – C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files.)

1. Go to the IE Menu bar. Click on Tools – Internet Options.
2. On the General tab, click on Settings under Browsing History.
3. The Temporary Internet Files and Browsing History box opens up.

   

4. Click on View Files. You will get all the rendered webpage elements in this folder.
5. To rummage about effectively amidst the mass of files, choose View – Arrange by Type from the menu. Also go to Tools – Folder Options, and uncheck the Hide extensions for known file types option.
6. Seek out your SWF files, copy and then paste it to your preferred location.

   

Download SWF files using Opera

In Opera, downloaded SWF files can be accessed in two simple ways –

• Type opera:cache in the address bar.
• Go to Tools – Advanced – Cache from the toolbar.

Either way, a huge list of downloaded page elements opens up with their URLs. Search for a file with the .swf extension. Alternatively, you could search (Ctrl+F ) and hunt it down, with swf as the search query.

Right-click on the particular file and choose either Saved Linked Content As or Save to Download Folder to save the SWF file on the hard disk.

After downloading the SWF file, one can use the Adobe Flash Player to view the Flash file or a supported media player like Media Player Classic. Or, an easier way would be to just open it in a browser by right-clicking it and selecting the browser of choice.

These are the ways we can use to single out the Flash files from a webpage. In my experience, I personally have been more comfortable with Firefox than the other two. I am still searching a way perform this in Chrome but it is proving impossible without third-party support. Numerous third-party tools can do the same job better by converting it to a format of your choice. But it always pays to know that you can fall back on a browser alone.

Aibek had the same idea about offline Flash files when he covered How To Download and Play Flash Games Offline in a previous post. That post extends the possibilities of the fun we can have with Flash files.

What about you? Do you let it play on the webpage or do you dig under and take a Flash file offline?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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It was a really crappy computer, one of the crappiest I’ve ever seen. After two or three turns, it always crashed. And we kept rebooting, and kept trying, because even if you couldn’t finish any of those sessions, it was just such a darn fun game!

Times have changed now. My quad core system boots in under a minute, and crashes only occur when I’m working on something really important — Murphy’s law, anybody?

However, some things don’t change. We still play chess like we did decades ago (even longer than that, really), and in the electronic gaming industry some elements keep popping up as well. First person shooters remain much the same, though perfected, and turn-based artillery shooters are as fun as they were before – even more so, perhaps.

GunBound

Welcome to Lond, the place where eight moons rise, a place of anarchy. There’s ravaging of a constant war, everyone is involved, fighting to survive.

Welcome to GunBound, a multiplayer worms like game, an MMO artillery shooter, brought to us by softnyx. You might know softnyx as the fellows behind Rakion MMORPG (as seen on MakeUseOf), who have now released another free pearl.

General Gameplay

Although the well-known concept remains intact for the major part, several adjustments have been made to create a more extended and intensive experience.

The most significant change is probably the introduction of mobiles. Like in modern warfare, wars are no longer fought with your hands, nor solely with personal weaponry. Mobiles are combat vehicles, that will move you around the level, and destroy your adversaries. There are sixteen unique mobiles in the game, ranging from warhorses to tanks, and all have varying speed, strengths and weaknesses. They’re an important part of the gameplay, and you’ll need to choose one that fits your tactics.

Next thing you’ll learn – with your eyes, or in the massive nine part tutorial – is a more advanced interface. Shooting comes pretty easy, but you’ll need to mind not only your shooting angle, but also the wind direction, speed, and the moon disk order.

This last one will need you to keep a close eye on the moon icons at the bottom of the interface, because the number of shots the player manages to fire before the next transition, will determine the number of turns.

Items and Forces

Before each session, the player gets to fill up his slots with items. These items can be offensive or defensive, ranging from health boosts to lightning strikes, and take up one or two of six slots. Getting your items right is an essential key to victory, both to smite down your opponents, as to keep your own skin intact.

While helping you in battle, items also exercise a negative force, as using items adds up to the time until your next turn.

There are also 11 force icons in the game, that could affect the path or damage of a shot.

Players start with few items, initially only gaining you dual wielding ability. By doing good in-game, you can earn money to extend your collection. Like with most of these games, it’s also possible to purchase in-game money, but that tends to take away the fun, doesn’t it?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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