We use the Internet every day for work, emails and communication but, as the saying goes, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Once in a while, it’s nice to kick back with some ultimate time-wasting pleasures in the form of online gaming.
Gaming online has come a long way from the basic pixelated games that were prevalent 20 years ago. Remote processing power and more powerful graphics cards have vastly improved the possibilities of the games today.
The phones in our pockets are considerably more powerful than the desktops we used 20 years ago and have led to an online, mobile gaming revolution with far more engaging and visually-pleasing games.
Indeed, the mobile sector is now the fastest-growing of all game markets and is predicted to be worth a staggering $68.5 billion. With such eye-watering figures, it’s little wonder game developers are pumping so much effort into making the best mobile games possible.
Online bingo
Although it’s possible to pay to play bingo, many of the bigger gaming websites also offer taster sessions where are you can play for free. Most of these sites also come with a built-in chat platform, so you can arrange to meet friends (or make new ones) and have a convivial game together.
Online bingo is incredibly popular, and with such a diversity of services to choose from, it can often be difficult to know where to start. Thankfully, there are a number of online directories like bingo sites reviewer, which do a great job of outlining the best bingo sites and places to get started.
Candy Crush Saga
It would be fair to say, the staggering success of Candy Crush Saga took everyone by surprise – not least its producers. Indeed, one of the games co-developers, Sebastian Knutsson, commented recently he thought the success of the game was more down to luck than anything else.
In an interview with the UK’s Sun newspaper, Knutsson stated, “When we launched it, we thought six months later it was going to be dead and we’d have to come up with the next idea.”
Candy Crush was first launched in 2012 and most of its success has been attributed to piggybacking on the social network giant, Facebook. At the time, online gaming wasn’t being taken particularly seriously; however, the success of Candy Crush blew the market wide open and led to countless other copycat games being developed.
For a quick pick-me-up, put-me-down game, Candy Crush can be hard to beat and its addictive levels and gameplay mean you’ll definitely keep coming back for more.
Online puzzles and wordplay games
If you’re looking for something a little more cerebrally-challenging, wordplay puzzles can be a great way to fill a few minutes or hours. Online crosswords, word finders and word jumbles are extremely common and many are offered for free from the stores.
Of course, as with many other free games, you will likely see in-game advertising; however, this is a minor inconvenience considering the zero-price tag. Search the stores to find games that appeal to you.
Language games
Strictly-speaking, learning a language isn’t really a game but there are now a number of free mobile apps which have introduced gameplay elements to make learning more fun and enjoyable. Also, unlike pure mobile games, language-learning apps have the added benefit of letting you feel as though you’ve done something productive with your time.
There are many language learning apps available from the stores, but one of the most common, Duolingo, is available completely free. Search the stores for other options.
