6 of the Most Addictive Video Games

Playing video games are in most cases a lot of fun. Sure, some times you find yourself playing a game that is just a piece of trash and all it does is fuel your rage, but mostly playing games is good fun. Sometimes though, playing games are so fun that you spend a lot more time than you had planned playing them. Then there are some games that are so addictive that they steal almost all your waking hours. Here is a list of some of the most devilishly addictive games ever made.

World of Warcraft

Everybody in the world either plays or knows about World of Warcraft. Released all the way back in 2004 it is still easily the most popular Massive Online Multiplayer game in the world. The massive success of the game allows Blizzard to release additions and extensions to the game to keep old players interested.

What makes WoW so addicting? Constantly developing your game character and interacting with the millions of players all over the world. The WoW community has long since evolved into something more than just a game community and in many ways WoW foreshadowed the rise of the social network sites. People take WoW so seriously that a whole real life economy has evolved around the selling and buying of game characters, items and commodities.

Bejeweled Blitz

Bejeweled Blitz is a one minute puzzle game that is available through Facebook, and a number of game platforms like the PC and the Nintendo DS. The game only lasts for one minute where players swap jewels to form rows of three or more jewels of the same color. A string of three jewels will explode and introduce new jewels to the game screen. Combinations or more than three jewels being matched gives the player various bonuses to help them run up a higher score.

The game itself takes one minute to play, but it's not uncommon to end up playing it for hours. The thrill of massive cascades of jewels and the following super high scores are enough to keep players starting the game over and over gunning for that next high score.

Civilization

The spiritual father of the strategy game genre, the original Civilization game has spawned a long run of sequels and spin offs as well as countless copies and 'reinventions'. The original dos game starts you off with a small band of settlers and challenges you to develop a civilization to conquer the world and even the stars.

The game centers around establishing cites, developing technology and building and deploying military units. All the time balancing warfare with civil advances to keep your people happy and entertained. Civilization is the perfection of 'just one more turn' gameplay where it's almost impossible to step away from the game. The game was released in 1991, but it is still as addictive as ever before to this day.

The Sims

The Sims is a game that in theory should not work at all. Simulating just living your life sounds on the surface like it would be less satisfying than actually living your own life. Yet, the Sims strikes up a perfect balance of familiar day to day routine and outrageous humor and situations to keep your interest in your new virtual family.

Like many other super addictive games, The Sims keeps players hooked by presenting a vast array of collectible items. Players will happily sink hours into their virtual job as a waitress to be able to afford virtual hard woods floors throughout their 600 square foot virtual bathroom.

Solitaire

The most played game in the world, the pack in game with Windows is probably one of the biggest productivity sinks in the world. It is doubtful if there is anyone who has owned a computer that hasn't wasted a fair amount of time on this game. Just beating the classic card game itself is addicting enough, but Microsoft has also added a Vegas mode where you can accumulate winnings by advancing in the game. This gives people the perfect excuse to play the game forever. "I will get back to work as soon as I have made $10 000 on solitaire" is the perfect excuse for not getting any work done the entire week.

FarmVille

The front runner of a new generation of time wasters, FarmVille is one of the most successful games ever released. In it's little more than one year on the market it seems like everyone in the world are tending to their wheat or collecting their turtle eggs.

The unending appeal of FarmVille is kept alive by Zynga by releasing new collectible items all the time. The game even expands from time to time including new types of game elements. This very aggressive and brilliant use of pushing out new game content keeps weary farmers coming back for more day in and day out. The game is so popular that 7-Eleven introduced special products with FarmVille codes that unlock special items in the game.

Before you try any of these games, be warned that they will suck away your time without mercy. You will forget to eat and frequently realize that 'just one more level' turned into you having to go straight to work without any sleep (and you will probably play the games some more at work as soon as you get in).