Tips for Choosing Online Games

There are literally millions of games you can play online, and most of them are available for free.  It can be a bit overwhelming trying to choose a game to play.  Not even review sites for online games can help because new games appear every day.  Here are some tips for choosing games for yourself and your family.

Set up an email account for spam

Most gaming websites will require you to sign up in order to play.  Many of them promise to protect your information and not share your email. Yet, it still frequently happens that you suddenly get bombarded with spam.  This is because a lot of websites for “free” games make money by selling your email to advertisers.  Make sure that you uncheck any boxes which say something like, “I want to receive updates…” To avoid having your main email spammed, you should create a separate email account that you will use whenever you want to sign up for a free games website.

Update Your Antivirus and Antimalware Programs

One of the most common ways that viruses and other malware make it to your computer is through online game downloads.  You can avoid this completely by only playing no-download games.  But a lot of the best online games have to be downloaded so this may not be the best choice.  Before downloading any game, make sure that your antivirus is updated.  You also should make sure you have a good anti-adware program since most of the games bring advertising popups or track your online activity for marketing purposes.

Find Out How the Game is Profiting

All online games are making money in some way.  Since few online games require you to pay to play, they usually use methods like ads in order to profit from your playing.  Be wary of any free games which don’t have any profitability factors, like banner ads, because they may be loaded with viruses or adware.  Some games are very discreet about how they are making money – such as games made by Coke or McDonalds in order to establish brand recognition so you will buy more of their products.

Make Sure they are Age Appropriate

Parents should always play a few rounds of a game before letting their kids play it.  Even if the game says that it is suitable for ages 6-8, for example, it may have themes which you find inappropriate for your child’s age group.  A lot of the free games for kids especially send inappropriate messages about beauty ideals (like those makeup or dress up games for girls) or violence (war or killing games for boys).

Look for Social Games

When you play games online with other people, you are getting a more interactive and social experience.  These games often require more time to play, such as the game Farmville which became a big hit amongst Facebook players, but are more rewarding then playing a game for a few minutes and then switching to another.