I am always amazed by the number of online gaming pitches we get and then I realize -duh- I am totally addicted to online games, and have been ever since I was first introduced to Snood back in the day. Let’s just say there is no better way to keep your hands busy on a three hour conference call or while you’re sitting alone in the dark waiting for your kids to fall asleep.
Of course there is that guilt factor of indulging in a totally useless time suck (and don’t even try to play that “hand-eye coordination card) when you’ve got other stuff you should be doing. So now the new GamesThatGive website is rectifying that with a really interesting premise: Play any of nine popular games on their site including Solitaire, Sudoku, Blackjack or my favorite, Gem (like crack, that game) and for every minute you’re there clearing sapphires or hoping the dealer busts, they’ll be donating to charities that moms care about.
If you register with the site, you can even earmark your own playing time to your personal fave, from UNICEF to City Year to Mercy Corps.
The trade-off? You have to stare at a Starbucks or Pepsi logo behind your game the entire time. But considering a whole 70% of that ad revenue is going to charity, it doesn’t annoy me; it actually makes me think more of those companies. –Liz
Turn gametime into a charitable donation with GamesThatGive