Photo credit: lrargerich
Sometimes I stumble across sites that are more than a little distracting… that is, I start exploring them only to realise that time has flown by and I’ve been deflected from what I was meant to be doing. The problem is that many of these don’t really warrant a post all to themselves… so here’s a rundown of sites that I find distracting. I’m sure you’ll enjoy some, if not all of them.
Travian
I have to admit, this is the site that’s distracting me by far the most just now so I thought we’d get it out of the way at the start :) Travian is a long-term game where you build up a village, an army, and resources. You can decide to attack your neighbours or just peacefully build your village up. Ally with other players, or attack them… but remember that if you attack someone they’re a real person who may very well have friends or hold a grudge for a long time. This game has me addicted: I can’t help logging in just to see how my resources are doing and if I’ve been attacked recently. If you’re into games that take a slightly longer view, or involve a bit of strategy, you may enjoy this.
Using the link above will register you as having been referred by me, generating a little in-game “gold”.
The Video Game Museum
This one’s terrible for procrastination – The Video Game Museum has screenshots, music, endings, reviews, and plenty more for a load of games old and new. It doesn’t look like there’s anything for the current generation of consoles, but there’s enough nostalgia in this one site to keep you looking trough those rose-tinted specs for hours. I got stuck for quite a while on the SNES music page.
Write Upside Down
Does exactly what the title suggests – you enter some text, and it gives you the same text upside down. …sıɥʇ ǝʞı1
It’s just clever substitution of one character for another that looks upside down, but it can be fun on things like Twitter or Plurk, and will usually have people asking how on earth you did that. The site says it’s a great way to write spoilers or to have a string that people can interpret whilst computer can’t, but to be honest the only point I can see is using it to confuse people :)
The World of Monkey Island
Yet another nostalgia site, really. I loved the first two Monkey Island games (I never played 3, but did enjoy 4). TWOMI is sadly no longer being updated, but there’s a shedload of material on there that keeps me going back again and again. There are walkthroughs, screenshots, and midi/mp3 downloads of the music from the games. There was always a certain style to Monkey Island music, and it’s great to be able to listen again. If you have fond memories of Monkey Island check this site out. Just don’t get sucked into spending too long there!
Rathergood.com (NSFW)
I was wondering what to put in as the last site on the list when I got distracted by a new video on Rathergood.com… and spent about an hour there. Rathergood.com is the website of Joel Veitch, comedian, musician, and video maker. He’s created a number of adverts for UK TV, but the stuff he comes up with for the site is just incredible. He’s part of a band, 7 Seconds of Love, and their music is featured on the site along with some very creative videos. There’s also some plain weird stuff there, so you never quite know what you’re going to get into. I struggle to think of a favourite part of the site, although I think it comes down to these two songs/videos: Ninja or Rathergood HQ.
One warning before you head off to the site, though: you’ll need sound to get the most out of it, and there are some songs/images/clips that are most definitely not safe for work, and not suitable for those of a sensitive nature. In other words, it’s a bit rude at times.
Well there we are… a selection of the sites that steal my time. I’ll see you next year then when you finally get back :)
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If you think these are good, check out StumbleUpon.com I actually found your site through it!
Thanks Stumble_Addict – I’m glad StumbleUpon is helping people find the site :) Don’t forget to give us a thumbs up!