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Sound familiar? If you’re a fan of swimming, there’s plenty of Olympic joy on TV for you. If you like judo… well, you’d better not hope you leave the room to make popcorn at just the wrong moment, or you’ll miss it. It’s just the limitation of traditional television: many Olympic events run at the same time as each other, and a TV station has to choose the most popular ones to feature.
And that, fellow long-suffering sports fans, is where the Internet comes in. There’s no limit to the number of virtual sports channels that can run at one time; it’s not like the Web is going to run out of room! So in this brave new world, if you want to watch Olympic ping-pong at four in the morning, by jove, you can. Check out MSNBC’s Olympics site for live coverage and archived video, plus medal counts, athlete profiles, and articles.
Best of all, if you’re watching on your computer monitor instead of the TV, you can play Desktop Tower Defense in between events!
It’s got a beat, and you can dive to it
Okay, so most of us aren’t going to be Olympic divers. (Unless they institute a belly-flop event; then I might have a shot.) But if you have Windows Live Messenger and a decent sense of rhythm, you can certainly fake it. World Championship Diving is a bit like Dance Dance Revolution Universe, one of my favorite Xbox 360 games, only you keep the beat with your fingers instead of your feet.
As with all Messenger games, Diving is for two players, but you can choose to play head-to-head or team up. As I figured I’d be a natural athlete at this game, I opted for head-to-head with a few of my coworkers, and I learned three things.
First, I discovered that it’s really hard to trash-talk your opponents when you’re watching cute, happy characters go through their moves, and listening to surf music. It just seems somehow wrong to interject comments about somebody’s parentage or inferiority in the face of such overwhelming cheerfulness.
Second, I realized that certain keyboards have a definite advantage in this game. Although you can play on a laptop keyboard, the wider spacing of a desktop system’s keyboard makes the diving moves easier. So call this a pro tip: if you’re up against a good buddy and bragging rights are on the line, switch to a desktop machine or plug a standard keyboard into your laptop for the big showdown!
Third, I learned humility. Turns out that I may be light on my feet when playing DDR, but everything’s different when you’re using your hands! On some of the higher levels, trying to keep up with the dive moves is like playing Twister with your fingers. After a while, I had quite the audience of colleagues peering over my shoulder, laughing along with me as I tried to keep up.
All in all, this is easily one of my favorite games on Messenger, and I can’t be alone: nobody on my contact list ever seems to reject my requests to play!
Going for the gold… Jewel Quest style
You just knew I’d be raving about this game, right? The first Jewel Quest introduced a whole new layer of strategy to the traditional match-three genre, and I loved it. The second Jewel Quest added a compelling story and new game twists, and I loved it. Now we have Jewel Quest III, which takes all the best aspects of the previous two games and adds even more challenge. And yes, I love it.
One of my favorite things about this latest installment is the setting… or, should I say, settings. Where each of the previous two games was confined to a single geographic region, this one wanders around the world, with backgrounds, jewel boards, and music to match. New artifacts have special effects on the board, and additional jewels are unlocked as you play. The big difference here is description: in previous games, new pieces appeared as you progressed, but you never really discovered anything about them. Here, each jewel is explained and described as you collect it to send back to your museum.
As with Jewel Quest II, the story really pulls you along for “just one more level” after “just one more level”, giving you an excellent excuse to postpone dinner or bedtime. Or finishing a column. Not that I’m saying anything. But wow, this one’s even more addictive than the previous two games, and that’s saying something!
The return of an old friend
Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of different games come and go on MSN Games. Some lasted a few months, others more than a decade. And without a doubt, the one that has been mourned the most after it retired was Bridge. Our Bridge players have an enviable passion for their favorite game, and a community that transcends age, nationality, and even that greatest of barriers, time zone. It didn’t matter what time of the day or night you logged into Bridge, there was always someone there ready for a friendly game and cheerful conversation.
I’ve really missed it.
Well, the dark days of Bridgelessness are finally at an end: MSN Games has partnered with the good folks at Bridge Base Online to bring Bridge back to our site! (If you haven’t heard of BBO, it’s where Bill Gates and Warren Buffet like to play. They’re both big Bridge fans!)
One of the most important things about finding a new version of Bridge to replace our classic game was the feature set: we weren’t willing to “settle” for a lesser version than the one we used to have. Additionally, our players were used to perks such as viewing other people’s games, chatting, tournaments, and so on. BBO is so well-regarded among Internet Bridge aficionados that it was the natural choice for a partnership. Needless to say, everyone here is very excited about it.
Just one request when you play: if we’re in a game together, go easy on me! Bridge has so many nuances that I still have a lot to learn. And I’ll probably still say the same in another ten years; that’s why I adore Bridge so much!
Maximum points!
Okay, just one more note. I like to say that I’m pretty darn good at Bookworm Adventures, and honestly, I am… to a point. But one of my colleagues has a skill at this game that puts me to shame, and it’s time to drag her into the spotlight. I am in awe of her mastery of the English language. She sometimes sends us screenshots of her more impressive achievements; this past week alone, she slew a Spooky Stockboy with “euthanasia” and buried a Rat in “democrats”, but even these victories pale when compared to this demonstration of her ultimate weapon:
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