By James Dunn

Everyone likes to take a break from work now and then, and thanks to the internet, there are plenty of ways to spend our downtime. With a variety of webpages and a number of games designed to be played over the internet, you can easily find a game you”ll enjoy and online friends to play it with.

The easiest way to play games online is to do a quick internet search for game sites. You”ll find millions of hits right off, so it might help if you know what kind of game you want: puzzle, action, board game, etc. You”ll find a much more manageable list once you narrow it down a bit. Once you”ve done that, it shouldn”t take you very many links to find a game you love.

Another way of finding a great game to play online is to search one of the major game sites. Yahoo games and MSN games both have a large number (I”d say around a hundred) games you can play in a variety of categories. What’’s nice about these sites is that they have both single player games that you can enjoy alone or multiplayer games that usually include a chat function. Yahoo, for example, has hearts, dominoes, and scrabble that you can play against people around the world.

Once you find a game you like, some of the sites offer downloadable versions that you can save on your computer to play any time. Some of these are free; some require a small fee to purchase the game. Often, the games that do require a fee include more levels or extra features not available in the online version.

Here are some of the most popular online games:

Slingo - Slingo has been around for quite some time. This interesting game is a combination of bingo and a slot machine. You have twenty rounds to fill in the entire board (a black out card, as it’’s called in bingo). Instead of someone drawing numbers, though, you get five random numbers that appear as if from a slot machine. The game includes some bonuses like gold coins (bonus points), jokers (wild cards), the devil (he takes away half of your points), and the angel (she saves you from the devil).

Text Twist (aka Word Whomp and several other names) ” This is a great game for anyone who likes words. You get six random letter tiles and have a specific amount of time to make as many words from them as you can. In many versions, you have to make at least one six-letter word to move on to the next level.

Bejeweled - This internet classic has you trying to match at least three of the same type of jewel together to make them disappear. The game is so popular it has spawned a sequel and is available for download from many different sites.

Diner Dash - Another incredibly popular game, Diner Dash puts players in the role of a waitress who has to seat customers, get their drinks, take their orders, deliver their meals, and then bus the tables. Of course, you have to do all of this while making sure customers don”t wait in line too long and impress the food critics!

Poppit - The objective of Poppit is to pop as many rows of the same-colored balloons as possible. If you manage to pop them in the right order, you”ll be able to eliminate all of the balloons and receive a massive bonus point. If you don”t and you end up with more than five balloons left, it’’s game over!

These are just a few of the great internet games out there that you can play. All of them are pretty addicting and very fun, too! Just don”t have too much fun - your boss might not want you spending all day on a game site!

About The Author

James Dunn is the owner of Play Game