Tag Archive for Online Games

4 Online Computer Games That Fit Your Busy Schedule

In today’s economy, many people are taking any job they can get. At the same time, nearly everyone is trying to make themselves more marketable by adding to their educational credentials with an online MBA or other versatile degree. It is easy for people to get so focused on their work and educational goals that they forget to take some time out just to have a good time.

Taking a little personal time is important to a person’s overall well-being. It allows them to recharge their mental processes and reduce their stress levels. Shifting the focus away from work or school for a few minutes can make it much easier to concentrate on important tasks and increase productivity when they return their attention to work or school.

Online games are one of the most popular ways to take a break. There are numerous educational games that can help people feel productive while still providing a much needed breather from the daily grind. Here are 4 Games that are sure to appeal to someone engaged in an online MBA curriculum.

Spent

This game was designed by the Urban Ministries of Durham to help provide people with a perspective on how difficult life is for the unemployed. You start out with $1000 and need to find a place to live and a job. After 30 days, see how much money you have left after groceries, travel and some of the tough life decisions we are all faced with in any given month.

Virtonomics

This is a massive multi-player online business strategy game. It is a turn based game that refreshes once a day so it won’t consume large chunks of time. It simulates many of the decisions that need to be made in a real business and is an excellent way to learn and practice business concepts like financial control, marketing and business optimization.

Stock Market Game

This virtual stock trading game provides the new player with $1 million to get started in the market. The game uses real stock quotes and allows you to join or create a group. This allows players to compare their portfolio with their friends and test real trading strategies without risking actual money.

Airline Empire

This is another massive multi-player online business strategy game. Compete against other players to build the biggest, most profitable airline in the world. Every new player starts with two planes and needs to decide where in the world to base their airline. Establish profitable routes and invest in more planes and gates to make your airline grow. At the end of each stage, players are ranked based on their airlines overall value and profitability.

Any or all of these games are a great way to take a break from study or work. All of these games are browser based so there is no software to install and they can be played from any computer. Best of all, they do not demand incredible amounts of time in order to be fully enjoyed.

Female Players Reign Supreme in Casual Online Games

  By: R.L. Fielding

Online games offer an equal opportunity for women of all ages to get in on the fun – and advertisers are taking notice. In fact, a study by game industry research firm DFC Intelligence reveals that advertisers spent close to $150-million to buy space on casual game sites or in the games themselves in 2006, up from $74-million in 2002.

What’s behind this shift? Advertisers recognize that the audience for casual online games is expanding to encompass all genders and all ages. Research shows that these players spend more time online and consume less traditional media. Companies that ignore this space miss out on a critical opportunity to reach their target audiences while they’re at their most engaged.

Online Games Attract Women of All Ages

Casual online game sites continue to attract an ever-growing audience of female players who can’t get enough mind-bending puzzle and strategy games. While the total female online gaming audience in August 2008 grew 27 percent versus last year to nearly 43 million visitors, the number of female gamers in the 12-24 and 55-64 age segments grew at a substantially faster rate, reports comScore in its 2008 study of online gaming audiences.

This presents a significant opportunity for advertisers, who have primarily looked to the electronic game industry as an arena to reach young males. The increased interest in online gaming among teenage girls and adult women is encouraging marketers to move more of their ad budgets into the free online gaming space. And it’s not just retail brands that are making the move. Many pharmaceutical advertisers now use online game portals as a platform for reaching female consumers.

What’s more, the online games industry is encouraging the trend by developing gaming content, portals and websites that are geared toward the interests of a female audience. This strategy ensures that the popularity of casual online games among women of all ages will continue to skyrocket in the coming years.

A Passion for Casual Online Games

Not only are millions of women playing casual online games, these women are dedicated players. Adult women are almost twice as likely as men to spend 20 hours per week playing PC games, reports the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). In fact, a survey conducted by Slingo, a digital interactive entertainment company and thought-leader in the casual games industry, reveals that nearly half of all visitors to the Slingo.com portal play casual games seven days per week. The majority of respondents admitted to playing several different games in one sitting (71.6%) and to playing a particular game more than five times in a row (61.1%).

What does this mean for advertisers? Casual online game sites are among the stickiest entertainment sites on the Web. By tapping into this highly engaged audience, advertisers can connect with consumers more easily than in other advertising platforms where the message is often tuned out.

There are also a variety of innovative ad formats available in the online games space. In addition to rich-media and conventional banner ads, some casual online game sites offer in-game advertising, contest sponsorships, or branded “advergames”. These formats further enhance advertiser brand engagement, providing a tangible return-on-investment for advertisers in comparison with traditional media buys.

The take away: A quickly growing, diverse female audience is turning to casual online game sites to connect with like minded people, make new friends and have fun. Advertisers and media planners stand to win big by purchasing space in these online game destinations.

About Slingo

This article is provided by Slingo.com, a leading online destination for people who enjoy playing games, winning prizes and having fun. In fact, 1 out of every 20 people in the U.S. has played Slingo online. The Slingo website offers free, original online games, downloadable games, and contests with cash prizes, as well as a social-networking community for game players. For more information, please visit http://www.slingo.com/.

R.L. Fielding has been a freelance writer for 10 years, offering her expertise and skills to a variety of major organizations in the education, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing industries. She lives in New Jersey with her dog and two cats and enjoys rock climbing and ornamental gardening.

 

The Fun of Gaming Need Not Be Expensive

With the advanced graphics, shading, 3D rendering and complicated gameplay involved in today’s console games, it would be strange not to be attracted to them. But, the problem with these games is that they are expensive, requiring the purchase of the console and the game software. And if you’re going to play then on the PC, there are software and hardware requirements to consider. And most of the times, you have to upgrade your current system just to play the game that you want. Then you would also have to face installation and game issues after installation. For the avid gamer, he or she would say that it was all worth it. Yet as cool as console games are, you don’t need one to enjoy games. You don’t need to go out of your way and spend a lot just to experience the fin of gaming. One easy and economical alternative for people with limited budgets are online games. 

Online games feature the same diversity of games as console games do. You can play online shooting games and online war strategy games through online game sites. There are also computer arcade games based on popular arcade titles. And for those who prefer adventures, computer games adventure-themed are also offered by gaming sites. So when it comes to gaming action, online games are not lacking in number and diversity. Also, these games feature flash technology, which is not bad in the graphics and animation department. The sounds and audio aren’t too shabby either. Online games feature just the right balance between graphics, gameplay, animation and level of difficulty. You can’t expect online games to be as sophisticated as your console games, but online games are engaging enough for a good game experience. Of course, console games are on different level, but online games are comparable in quality; more than what you’d expect from games that you can play for free.

That is right—free action games, free online shooting games, and free online adventure games are widely available in the internet. This is one advantage of online games against console games. Online games are free and you don’t need to spend anything just to enjoy a good game. Nor should you bother with upgrades or installation issues. So if you’re short on cash, don’t let that hinder you from playing a good game. Just go with online games and play all you want for free.

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