Fifteen Minutes: Goodbye Minesweeper, Hello Love Connection
Gone are the days of Solitaire. Hearts and Minesweeper are all but obsolete. Classic computer procrastination techniques of yore have been usurped by flashy new Internet games on countless media-related sites. By putting up with a few MSN ads, the joy of online Jeopardy and "Las Vegas Casino" can be yours. Contestants beware: game chat rooms can suck hours (and e-mail addresses) away.
Boxerjam.com, the most elementary of Internet diversions, has four word games for self-proclaimed anagram and crossword aficionados. "Out of Order," seemingly the most popular with over 2,000 players at one time, scrambles words in sentences and famous quotes--the first to unscramble the words gets the most points. Linguistics concentrators and English majors may be stumped however; these words are supremely pop-culturesque or simply arcane. Chatting away in a box below the game action, contestants try to destroy each other's concentration with annoying comments.
Upping the ante of the Internet game-venues isn't hard. Sonygames.com takes all its regularly televised shows and converts them into cyber-contests. "College Jeopardy," "Wheel of Fortune" and "Trivial Pursuit" can all be accessed via a glitzy game page. Compete with BABYSNATCH from Arkansas and Slappy05 from Pittsburgh for world domination with a virtual Alex Trebek. Otherwise, the most intriguing SonyGame is obviously "The Dating Game." By creating a "virtual you" with Japanimation body parts and facial features, meet the love of your life by answering questions such as "what is the most erotic thing about a spoon?" By beating hussies like flirtygirl33 and the veteran lilkutie4u, you'll have a private chat room and a match made in...cyberspace.
For even more trashy games and retro chic, head to virgin.net/games for mini-golf, pool, football and celebrity trivia, and the world-renowned "big ass card game." For the Garbage-Pail-Kid generation, Pacman, Frogger and Arkanoid are still alive and kicking. Chat rooms are not integrated into these games--but did you ever want to hand over the joystick to Player Two?
--F. G. TILNEY