Playing games on teh intarwebs is quite fashionable of late, and it sometimes seems like all the cool kids are grinding levels on World of Warcraft, collecting a +3 loincloth of smiting, an epic beagle, and perhaps some sort of lemony potion. After playing three Final Fantasies in a row, the appeal of this sort of thing has diminished for me, and now I favour something more sedate: turn-based board gaming.
For those of us with slower reflexes, those who are content to sip a cup of earl grey and make one or two mouse clicks per hour on a 16-colour virtual gameboard, board gaming by web is quite rewarding.
As a mathematics student, otaku, and young intellectual, my game of choice is go, which I like to play at the Dragon Go Server. There are plenty of places to play go online, but I like this one best of the turn-based servers. The WoW players among you will like the fact that DGS awards you a ranking, which shifts up and down with your gaming fortunes. It’s a bit like experience points, except that they go away when you lose a match. Which would make the other player some sort of wight or revenant, if we stick with the RPG motif.
Another good’un, which I’ve just recently discovered, is Spiel By Web. SBW features hip Eurogames like Reef Encounter (in which you take the role of a deranged parrotfish gobbling up the Great Barrier Reef) and Tikal (in which you take the role of an old fashioned archaeologist looting the Americas).
And finally, for those who prefer the traditional games, there’s ItsYourTurn.com, which serves up turn-based chess, backgammon, and ‘Jamble’ — a game as similar to Scrabble as the rule of law will allow.
I heartily encourage you to abandon your expensive MMOs and join me on all of the above.
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