I played a few games online at Yahoo games (http://games.yahoo.com/), even before the
beginning of this class. One of the games that I enjoyed most was word racer.
Now this is a very addictive game! The object of this game is to compete
against your opponents in trying to form as many words as possible given a
board with letters placed all around, some touching on all four sides and
others touching on only one side. All of the letters in the formed words must
be touching, in correct order, in any direction, not necessarily in a straight
line. I know this seems confusing, but if you join in on a board you would pick
up fast. It is easier to play the game then try to explain it. I have played
with many people, though tending to choose one of the beginners games so I can
form more words before someone else finds them. With this game you play several
rounds, some you lose and some you win. In order to win, you have to form the
most words and collect the most points. I have gotten much better as I have
played, moving up in point standings. I have also improved my strategy for
finding words and have learned that if I find the word sun to look around for
an r, b, g, or p to make other words, like run, bun, gun and pun.
Another game that I tried is text twist, a one-person game.
This is another game where you have to form words, but this time they give you
the letters and you have to rearrange them to make 3-, 4-, 5-, and sometimes
6-letter words. If you make the longest word for that round, you get to move on
to the next round. There are definitely some harder games than others. I have
not really progressed with this game; I tended to fluctuate.
One of the games that I tried and did not have a vocabulary
theme was hearts. My opponents were very competitive. Most were much better
than me, but some were like me, not so great at the game. I never won, but I
did not lose every time either. It was a pretty difficult game to play even
though I understood the rules. I have not figured out a strategy that will work
well.
Overall, I have found the online gaming world to be
addictive, which is why I try to stay away from the games I might really like.
I do not have the time right now to become addicted to any of them. I might,
when I do have more time, check out some more of the games offered. I also
found it to be a very competitive environment. I had no idea who I was playing
against; all I knew of them was their login name. That was fine with me though
because I do not like meeting people on the Internet; it is too creepy.