Are you looking for a good, free way to waste time online? The following games are all fun, browser-based (so you can play them anywhere, on any computer with internet access), and free. I personally play all of these games, and can recommend all of them.
The main thing that KOL’s got going for it is its sense of humor. A times, the game is hilarious. The game is essentially a spoof of every adventure game ever made, especially the Final Fantasy series and Dungeons and Dragons. The game gives you a set number of “adventures" per day. Those adventures allow you to do things, fight monsters, use certain items, etc. Once you are out, you are pretty much limited as to what you can do for the day. There are methods that can increase your number of adventures per day, but still, the amount of time that can be wasted by the game per day is limited. The other "downside" might actually be considered a strength: the game is very deep. There are literally thousands of items to be found and crafted. It is a little overwhelming at times, but there is a KOL Wiki to help you out.
The main selling point of Star Pirates is in the title. It is a game about pirates. Pirates in space. What part of that isn’t cool? The game favours fast and furious gameplay. Of course, this is compared to other browser-based multiplayer games. Star Pirates is great because the bars that represent your ability to do things fill fast. You get Fuel, Energy, and Research points. Fuel is used to go on forays, missions, or explore the asteroid belt - basically, it is your ability to do PVE (Player vs. Enemy) play. Energy represents half of your ability to do research and your ability to attack other players. Research is how you improve your ship. You can mine for resources, play the slots, gamble against other players and play the stock market. There is no limit to how much time you can waste per day on this game.
Erepublik www.erepublik.com
This is the most limited, but at the same time, most freeform game on this list. It is the New World, or at least, it hails itself as the New World. It starts out slow, but once you get to level 5, it really starts to take off. This game is vicarious living at its best. The whole site looks kind of like a social networking site, such as Facebook, but it is a fictional game. It’s vicarious living because you can start and run your own company, run for your country’s government and/or fight in wars. You can do all three if you have the time and will to do so. My major complaint about the game is its steep learning curve with little assistance from the game, with limited obvious things to do and strange fighting system. But you get out of the game however much you put in. If you just go to work everyday and train to fight and don’t participate in the community or do any of the optional things, you will find it boring. But if you try different things–join the military, work in a political party, or start a company, the game is much more fun and fulfilling. The other fun thing is the wars that arise. Canada and the UK just fought a major war, and there is a chance that you could start in Denmark-occupied California, for example. If you are interested in this game, use my invitation link at http://www.erepublik.com/en/referrer/Spiggy and I can give you a hand.
