The sheer number of computer games is simply incredible. The growth of the Internet has spawned the equivalent growth in the number of on-line games being programmed and sold to toy makers such as Microsoft and Nintendo. These software programmers make and invent games designed for playing them on-line. These games are very addictive. There are many youngsters hooked on these games that they sometimes ignore other aspects of their personal lives. They keep playing and playing for hours on end that they even refuse human interactions just so as not to interrupt their playing enjoyment. These on-line games are sometimes detrimental to the mental health of young players. They often pay less attention to school and more keen on playing these addictive games. Even adults are addicted too. There are adults who neglect their jobs or careers to the detriment of their whole lives. This can be a case of “fatal attraction” with the challenge of playing the games so powerful that people are hooked. Often, these people need professional psychiatric help just to wean them from these “addictive” on-line games.

On-line games are even more enticing when these games are available for free. When these are played on-line, a player can pit his skills and wits with other players who are similarly connected to the Internet. There are even games which allow several players to play against each other at the same time. The increase in bandwidth and computing speed have allowed these games to be played very realistically. The graphics quality is very realistic as well as the movements of characters in these games. It is almost like seeing and playing these games in “actual reality” as opposed to the “virtual reality”.

Computer games are classified into certain categories such as those ideal for kids, young adults, true adults and for the young at heart. The content of the games are designed for the groups of people. So you will find games such as those based on cartoon characters for very young kids. Other games for older kids are those arcade games such as Super Mario Brothers, which incidentally, was once the most popular and largest selling computer game in the world. It has since been eclipsed by other more popular games such as those introduced on Microsoft’s X-Box game console. Among the other categories of on-line games are action games, puzzle games, fighting games, racing games, sports games and even those massive multi-player games. Shown above are examples of word games, numbers games and memory or trivia games.