Playing chess amid Cairo turmoil

United States geography test

Click here for a United States geography test. Drag the state names to the correct state outline on the map.

CityVille tops FarmVille on Facebook

There must be a lot of bored FB users.

First it was the FarmVille game that captivated Facebook users. There are other FB games but the first really big one was FarmVille.



Instead of reading what our FB friends were doing, it was more like reading about how many bricks they needed friends to send them to build a barn, etc.

Thankfully it is easy to block out Facebook games. Some members are only on Facebook to play the games.

A report at the link below says that there is as new FB game that is bigger than FarmVille. It is CityVille. Another game on FB to block.

Link

Not even a flood can stop a good game of dominos

People are playing dominos in a street after flooding and landslides killed at least 30 people and forced thousands from their homes in Higuerote, Venezuela.

The new Monopoly game - recession edition

(click on cartoon to enlarge)

Is Q*bert bigger in Japan?

An interesting floor pattern in a building in Tokyo.

Looks like one of Valeta's tumbling blocks quilt patterns.

Candyland game on Lombard Street

San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, the city's most crooked street, was transformed into the world's largest game of Candyland to honor the 60th birthday of the popular children's board game.

Giant Rubik’s Cube at Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia

A woman (on right) and children (left) interact with a giant Rubik's Cube at the exhibition "The 80s are back" at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia last December.

World Domino Day

What is it about watching dominoes fall that is so hypnotic? One person said domino toppling is a cross between kinetic sculpture and pencil stacking.

The YouTube video here was taken at World Domino Day 2008

(click on picture to see video)

Rubik Cube Contest in Budapest, Hungary

A participant in the annual Rubik Cube Hungarian Open Championships attempts to solve a cube blindfolded in Budapest, Hungary.


Another contestant solves a Rubik Cube with his feet.

Video games sales remain strong in slow economy

CNN reports that video game sales are strong even thought many Americans are finding ways to trim their holiday budgets this year.

According to market researcher NPD Group, U.S. retail sales of video games totaled $2.91 billion in November, a 10 percent jump from a year ago. Overall sales this year through November are more than $16 billion, up 22 percent from 2007.

Video games can take between 10 and 40 hours, sometimes 50 hours, to complete. Gamers can often get two to three months out of one game.

Furthermore, during these recessionary times, Helgeson explains that video games "provide the ultimate escapism."

According to NPD, some of the top-selling game titles in November include "Gears of War 2," which sold 1.6 million copies, and "Call Of Duty: World At War," which sold 1.4 million. Nintendo's "Wii Play" and "Wii Fit" put up impressive numbers, as well.

With those kinds of sales, video games have potential to be one of the most popular stocking stuffers for kids this holiday season.

Link

Sudoku anyone?

Aerial view of contestants taking part in a sponsored Sudoku competition in a shopping mall in Singapore.