Small forums sometimes need a place where the members will actually want to return to the site for something other then the slow moving content from lack of posters… bigger sites sometimes need a place for the members to simply relax while they wait for their chosen topics to be bumped.
Where would that place be? Well, on my forums, I have a fun and Games section, which in my humble opinion is FAR better then having an Arcade installed on your forum. The way I see it is that members will come to a site with an arcade simply to play the games, where as a Fun and Games section is still very much forum based.
The section for fun and games is just what it sounds like, text based games that revolve around the members to assist in them getting to know each other and to help instill a community feeling within the site.
I can not say that the posts generated here will assist in SEO of the site in any way even though some of the threads will generate a lot of content. I can say though, that such a section has kept me occupied on the forums during slow times and have given me a general diversion while I am doing something more involved.
So give them a try…
A few examples complete with links so that you can see the games in action:
This or That Games:
This or that games are pretty much just that, a game where members pick THIS or THAT.
- Love it or Leave it ~ a game where something is mentioned and the next poster says whether they love or leave it and give another topic. It’s pretty much like like/dislike and This or That. Such games help the members get to know each other on a more personal level which is good for community development.
Word Games:
Word games are based on one or more words in the previous post.
- The Last Letter Game ~ A word is given, and the next post has another word that starts with the last letter of the previous post.
- Word Game ~ Saying the first thing that comes to mind when viewing the last post.
- Green Glass Door ~ The funnest of the word games in my opinion, words that contain double letters are allowed within the Green Glass Door while words without double letters can’t come in. (see the link for examples)
- [TAG] The Acronym Game ~ Someone gives an Acronym, and the next poster takes a single word from that acronym and gives it a deeper meaning.
Story / Poetry games:
Story games are a community effort to either build a better story or to continue a given poem, etc.
- 3 word story ~ Simple enough, the next poster simply adds three more words to what becomes a very looooong story.
- Haiku game. ~ A poem is written followed by the topic of the next poem. The example is for Haikus but any style of poetry can effectively be used.
Person above/below games:
There are three main styles of these games…
- The Person Above ~ say something about the person above
- The Person Below ~ say something about the person below
- The ^<v game ~ ^ the person above, < yourself, and v the person below
I’ll be posting additional games in the future, but if you have any that you would like to share, then feel free to leave a comment with instructions and maybe a link to the game in action!
