Why the Online Community Loves to Play Games

What is it about today's modern society that has us more eager than ever to make use of the internet? The integration of the internet into our society has opened doors for people on a number of different levels. From adding simplicity to every day tasks, to enhancing leisure time, the internet has created a new edge for the way in which we function on a daily basis. 

One of the most common contemporary hobbies is that of online gaming. People truly enjoy utilizing the internet as an outlet to play games, interact with peers, and let loose into a world of fantasy that continues to grow steadily as the internet becomes more and more of a staple in our society.

There is no doubt about the fact that people love to play games online. There is a significant difference between online gaming and every other form of gaming. When you play games on the internet, you are automatically exposing yourself to thousands of games that are all readily accessible at your fingertips. There are countless online games websites to easily access. 

Each of these websites puts you in touch with a huge spectrum of pre-categorized online games that can be played with simplicity. When you play games online, there is no limit to how many times you can play each game or how many games you can play. All of your favorite games are available online, for free, twenty four hours a day, seven days per week. With so much simplicity combined with such a profound force of amusement, it comes as no surprise that the hobby of online gaming is skyrocketing and becoming a staple amongst people living in our technologically savvy era.

Some of the most popular categories to play games in when you immerse yourself in an online database include adventure games, escape games, and memory games. People love to play adventure games because this category offers a limitless amount of exploration and fantasy. People can truly escape the harsh reality of every day life when they immerse themselves in adventure games. 

No matter how old or young people are, when they play games from this category, they can be whoever they want and take it upon themselves to put themselves in a completely different scenario from that of reality. With hundreds of amusing adventure games to choose from online, there is never a dull moment. When you take the time to enjoy escape games, you get the same effect. You can escape reality without every having to leave the convenience of your own home. Memory games are a fantastic choice for anyone wanting to play games online because they keep the mind sharp and alert by implementing the factor of critical thinking skills into the realm of personal amusement.

No matter what it is that people find most appealing about using the internet to play games, there are several factors that cannot be overlooked. The internet poses no limitations on age. There are games that appeal to old and young, alike, so the internet is an extremely inclusive place to turn for fun for the whole family. Additionally, when you play games online you immerse yourself in a very social and interactive environment. Playing games online is always free and always an available option when you want to have fun from home.

The internet has the most extensive selection of options when you want to play games for free, at your convenience.

Online Role Playing Options

Role playing is an act that is natural to everyone. As children we do it constantly without ever knowing it, from playing doctor, to storming an evil castle, make believe is part of the intrinsic mechanisms in our brains. By engaging in this activity you are stretching your imagination, exercising your ability to think theoretically and to envision scenarios that are beyond the ordinary. Today, one of the best places to engage in these types of role playing games is on the internet.

World of Warcraft is probably the biggest and most popular role playing game around. It is a massively multiplayer graphically based system, which is much like a video game that you would play on a home console, except that your graphical avatar exists in a perpetual world, which is shared by millions of other characters who can log on at any time of the day or night, ensuring that there is always something new to do in the game.

There are hundreds of other graphic based multiplayer RPG games including Asheron's Call, Neverwinter Nights, and Furcadia. These vary in sophistication, with some being built on advanced 3d modeling technology, while others are much simpler, resembling the 16 bit Nintendo RPG's of the early nineties.

Beyond these graphical titles, there are also a number of mixed media, and literature based role playing systems, which attempt to give you a more subtle gaming experience. Many of these are based on forum or chat software systems that allow users to interact with one another, writing parts of a story in tandem. Each player assumes the role of a character and then the story progresses by the player writing about how their character reacts to what is taking place in the virtual world.

Some advanced systems incorporate pictures, videos, and music in order to create a more immersive atmosphere. Facebook and other social networks are often used for these types of games, even though their terms of service often expressly forbid the creation of fake role playing accounts.

WoW TCG Loot Cards - Why Going to a Darkmoon Faire Event Is Your Best Chance at Free WoW TCG Loot

Looking to get popular WoW TCG loot cards like the Spectral Tiger for a low price? Then check out a World of Warcraft Trading Card Game Darkmoon Faire event near you. Darkmoon Faire events are monthly mini-conventions that are managed by Cryptozoic Entertainment, and they give away tens of thousands of dollars in WoW TCG loot at every Darkmoon Faire.

Interested in learning what all takes place at a Darkmoon Faire, and what you can do to rake in some of those phat loots? Here are a few details that will help you know what to expect at one of these big WoW TCG events.

WoW TCG Beginners Events

One of the first things that players who have not played the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game will want to consider participating in is one of the beginner's events. These events take place throughout the weekend and are the perfect place to get yourself familiar with the game.

These events are a great value and a fantastic way to get acquainted with the rules. Beginner events are held multiple times each day and are a low $10 to enter. With that entry, you get a WoW TCG Class Starter Deck to play with for three rounds, and you will get one booster pack from the latest WoW TCG expansion: win or lose!

The Main Event

If you are a more experienced WoW TCG player and are looking for a way to win one of 8 Spectral Tiger loot cards, then take a crack at the main event that starts on Saturday. The format for the main event ranges from Classic Constructed, Core Constructed, and Sealed Pack, but the reward for making it into the top 8 at the end of this swiss elimination tournament is a Spectral Tiger.

Also, if you do well in the top cut playoffs on Sunday, you can win some other amazing prizes such as thousands of dollars in travel vouchers, electronics such as an Ipad, and more.

Lootapalooza

The Lootapalooza event is held on Sunday of the Darkmoon Faire. It is one of the craziest events for people to win loot cards. The Lootapalooza event costs $20 to enter and is a Class Starter Deck tournament, meaning you play with the random Class Starter Deck that they give you.

Each round of this swiss event has the judges awarding random loot cards out to participants. Yes, this includes a Spectral Tiger, which is given out in the last round of the tournament. Rare loot cards from the latest WoW TCG expansion are also given out to the people with the best records at the end of this tournament, making this one of the Darkmoon Faire's tournaments that gives you the biggest loot card bang for your buck.

The Darkmoon Faires are a fun event for everyone, but if you also want to save yourself a fortune on WoW TCG loot cards, then it's definitely worth checking out if one is in your area. With Cryptozoic Entertainment working hard to churn out more exciting events each month, these big tournaments are only getting more valuable to attend.

Gaming Chairs Make You a Better Gamer

So I went to London for Christmas and New Year this year and man it was cold! It snowed the whole time so my friend Billy, who I was staying with, had plenty of time to show off his gaming skills to me. We played a ton of games and he whooped me every time! Hate it when that happens! He's got All the latest games and a pimped up Xbox to play them on.

Yeah I was impressed. May be I'm the last gamer in the world to find out about them, but the thing that had me buzzing the most was his brand new Gaming Chair. I kind of knew about them but never seen or used one before. Once I got in it - I was hooked! Did it improve my game? Nope! Did I have more fun? Yup! It was awesome - had hours, no wait, DAYS of gaming chair nirvana!

The guy spends all his time in it. He even sits in it to watch movies on his fat 42" high-def. flat screen! He didn't get a lot of time in it once I caught the Gaming Chair bug though! It's really contagious. If you're a gamer and you haven't bought one yet - you got to get one.

The first thing I did when I got home was to hit the net and check out what's available out there. There are lots of different types and they are really affordable if you know where to look.

Computer gaming chairs might be new to the world of gaming but they are a great way to have a better gaming experience. I mean they're not magic - they won't make you a world-class champion gamer - but they will help you get there if you want to improve, because you won't want to get off the gaming chair once you're in it! Some of these gaming chairs have an amazing sound system built it. The best ones have wireless transmission, sub woofers with integrated vibration systems, swivel pedestal bases, rocker bases and they connect to most of the popular consoles including iPods, TV's and MP3 players too. And the best thing is that you don't have to break the bank to get one.

I bought the Lumisource - 4.1 Surround Boom Chair, which is the same gaming chair as my friend Billy. They had it on special and I got it for less than $140.00!

This gaming chair looks super cool, is easy on the back and butt, light to move around and has all the best features packed into it for less than half the price of an iPhone!

"The 4.1 Boom Chair has a unique silhouette with speakers both aimed right at the user and from the headrest! The unique features of this chair are sound-activated features an ergonomic design, and two PAIRS of 3 inch internal speakers. This chair has an adjustable headrest, breathable mesh, and additional lumbar support for added comfort. The 4.1 features adjustable volume and bass/treble along with a fade knob that controls which speakers you want to sound to come out of, for a custom sound environment." 

The main features are:

* 2 Pairs of 3 inch 2-way speakers! 

* Powerful 4 inch Subwoofer 

* Adjustable volume and bass/treble control 

* Adjustable Fade between speakers 

* Lumbar support/comfort padding 

* Adjustable headrest with speakers 

* RCA input/output ports

The Gaming Chairs Online site specializes in Lumisource Gaming Chairs only, so you don't have to trawl the site to find the chair that suits you best. I found their site to be really easy to buy from and they did exactly as they said they would. Five days after I bought it a UPS truck pulled up outside my apartment and I was having hours of fun in my pursuit to whoop Billy the next time I go up against him!

Watch out buddy!

The Pub Quiz

The Pub Quiz is a huge pastime in the UK and I reckon that if done in an entertaining and fun way the fun pub quiz could be huge in other countries like the USA too.

What this article sets out to explain is what a pub quiz is all about and maybe inspire some people to start a quiz of their own.

Some take it seriously and some do not but what ever type of quiz a pub hosts it is fast becoming a very popular event.

Personally, I go for the latter, I think a fun pub quiz is so much better than a serious pub quiz for many reasons.

To start with a fun pub quiz should be easy and when I say easy I mean that anybody should be able to answer about 70% of the questions correctly. Why do you think that The Weakest Link is so popular? It's for everybody, your every day Joe. Apply this to a pub quiz and you can easily see why a fun quiz will be so popular.

I've been a quiz master for 10 years and last Christmas I was gifted a quiz trivia book, called "The biggest trivia quiz book in the world", containing over 14,000 pub quiz questions. I could easily take any of the questions from that book and put together a tough quiz in a matter of minutes, but to make a fun quiz is a different story.

I had to go through hundreds of questions from this book just to get 20 for my first general knowledge round, it took me well over an hour! From this huge book I was able to use only about 5% of the questions where as with a tough pub quiz I could have used most of them.

A fun quiz needs to have not just questions but picture rounds, speed rounds, Dingbats and brain teasers to name a few things that make fun quizzes so popular.

Of course you will have to find a subject for the picture round first which you should try to vary as much as possible. Try to think of fresh subject matter each week to keep the quiz as varied as possible.

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about here are some picture round themes I have done before. Classic cars, planes, dogs, cartoon characters, logos, mystery objects and so on.. After a while it really does get more and more difficult to think of new picture round ideas, sometimes I can think one up in minutes and sometimes it can take me an hour or more.

You will find that a lot of pub quizzes always do the same subject for their picture round every week, mostly you will see them do celebrities because it's easy to get the pictures and does not require any thought process and is not time consuming. That's OK for some people but it can get boring after a short while.

Try to choose questions that anybody can at least have a good guess at

Here's an example of a question you would find in a typical pub quiz and a question taken from a fun pub quiz.

"Who scored England's first goal in the Euro 2000?"

"What's tattooed on Pop-eye's arm?"

Let's look at the first question, a typical question from a serious pub quiz, you either know the answer or you don't, and most people won't know the answer. If your quiz is full of questions that most people can't answer then the likelihood of them returning next week is going to be pretty slim.

If you look at the second question, taken from a fun quiz, even if you don't know the answer you can still have a pretty good guess. That's what you should try to do, pick questions that anybody can at least have a guess at. By the way, the answer is an anchor.

Can you see how the second question has a fun element to it?

People will attempt to guess the answer to the second one but they will simply leave the first one blank. Think about it. If at the end of the quiz you see that most of your pub quiz answer sheet is empty are you likely to hand it in for marking? Wouldn't you be embarrassed? More importantly, would you return next week?

In my next article I'm going to talk about other fun quiz rounds you can do to make a pub quiz fun, exciting and a great attraction that could fill your local pub week after week.

Keep it fun!

How to Create Fictional Orcish Leaders for Your RPG

When creating fictional leaders one needs to decide what it is about them that allowed them to assume the mantle of power to begin with. Too often orcs are just part of a nameless horde, directed by more intelligent allies to simply swarm forward and serve as cannon fodder, but a real tribe would have a real culture, real leaders, and reasons for those leaders to have control. Here we're going to create three fictional leaders so as to posit these very principles.

The first leader would be the head of a confederation of tribes that exist in the foothills of a might mountain range, arcing over the top of a wealthy human nation that they both trade with and raid on a regular basis. They number some twenty thousand individuals, and most of them are preoccupied with herding their sheep and goats and living the life herders. They are wealthy, armed with good iron and have modern saddles, and are strongly connected by blood and family. Their leader would have converted to the southern religion, and for the most part be relaxed and at ease with his power.

The second leader would rule over a wide territory, no open plains allowing cohesion but rather a mass of foothills and low mountains across whose valleys and slopes his tribe is scattered, broken more into clans and small tribes than one great entity. He would be a wily, violent orc, given to mounting deep raids into human territory and then fading back into his land, not seeking to impose order on his followers but leading them more because he brings back good loot than anything else. His tribe would number some 10,000, and barely hold together as one tribe.

The third leader would be a powerful, mean individual, one of several brothers who keep hold of their tribes by means of violence and intimidation. His curse is that the northern side of the mountain has few humans to raid on, forcing them to live off the land and be more impoverished then their southern neighbors. As such as spends much of his time trying to find a way south to crush the southern leader, and actively courts the highland orcs.

The Creation of Fictional Orcish Tribes

If one were to attempt to create a fictional world wherein Orcs were an actual race, a people with a culture, society and existence of their own, not just a band of monsters who seem to exist only to go to war, then how would one go about creating just such a concept? 

One would posit certain truths: that they would be a tribal society, that they would exist in areas of poor resources in order to justify their martial nature, and that they would be fractious and given to internecine warfare. How can one take this concept and make it real?

First, let's posit that they reside in a mountain range about the size of the Alps, large enough and infested with enough orcs that the humans wouldn't be able to cleanse them with a few sweeps of their army. Second, let's posit that the lowland tribes are the most prosperous, deal the most with the humans, and have evolved to be smaller and less strong. 

Therefore we have a difference between the more primordial highland orcs and the more civilized lowland orcs. Let's also posture that the lowland orcs control most of the passes except for the largest one which is manned by a human army, and that they are also herders of sheep and goats which they use for subsistence. Let's also give the lowland orcs mountain ponies so that they have some form of mounted combat.

Now, we would have three main lowland tribes, each covering an area as large as Switzerland along the mountain's edges, while the interior of the mountain belongs to one vast and broken tribe, equivalent to the Mongols but weak and more based on clans than a single tribal identity. 

These three lowland tribes would be huge, numbering some 30,000 individuals each, and derive their resources from a combination of trade, herding, taking tolls from use of the passes and raiding the southern and northern kingdoms. What are the identities of these three Orcish tribes, however? That's what we need to get into in the next article, as we examine their composition.