Internet Games -- Fun and Addictive

Internet games have lured me into hours of non-stop playing. There's something about accumulating tokens and winning badges at pogo.com that gives me a "high."

The pogo game site is one of my favorites. It's fun because, in addition to the games, I get to have an "image" (called a mini) which represents a fantasy "me." I can use my tokens to buy clothes for my mini. The other day I spent 7,000 tokens on a new outfit for my mini. I've finally won back the tokens, bringing me back to 3,525,760. Ahh, if it was money I'd be a wealthy woman! The fun thing about this mini is that when I win a game, my mini is displayed for all the other players to see, so style is important.

As I write this, I'm having a good laugh at myself over this addiction to winning tokens and badges, dressing my mini and the fun I have playing the games.

The games are free after an annual fee of $35.00. I can also buy "gems" (80 gems for $5.00), which can be spent on winning badges for my badge album and backgrounds for my mini. Badges are awarded for achieving the challenge proposed. For example, to win the Free Cell badge I had to win two games in 150 moves or less.

I've also played games at http://games.king.com/ . On that site, the games are free unless you choose to pit your skills in a tournament for money. The way I play now is "free.". Use caution at this site if you're a gambler. In the past, I spent about $1,000 using credit cards, $40 at a time, to pay the price of entering the tournaments. It's very akin to gambling, but the games are called tournaments, which in a small way, makes it different.

The dedicated effort I put into the games is similar to the dedication I would put into my own business. When I opened business as a secretarial service I spent hours creating a web page, making brochures and flyers, often working 16 hours a day.

Playing Internet games is one of several addictions in my life. When I'm not playing, I'm writing (since April 8, 2007). I feel more productive when I write, even if I'm writing about games. After all, the fun of playing games is a subject near and dear to my heart.

A couple years ago my computer needed repairs which took a couple days. It was not pretty (my behavior, that is). It was like losing part of me when my cyber-world was out of commission.

Now I'm starting to find the game characters attractive. The pilot named Joe on Flying Aces (www.pogo.com) says "Hi there" when he gets to his spot. I find myself saying, "Hi, Joe." *sigh* I know, I'm a sick puppy. Oh well, it's fun!