(A paid review)

Via ReviewMe.com, I've been asked to review the site/services offered by DailyGames.com

Topics addressed in this review:
WHAT THEY DO
WHO THEY ARE
HOW'S THEIR REPUTATION?
IS THE SITE USER FRIENDLY?
HANDY FEATURES
CAVEATS
IMPROVEMENTS I'D LIKE TO SEE
WOULD I USE DAILYGAMES.COM?
CONCLUSION

WHAT THEY DO

DailyGames.com is a website that hosts over 3000 Flash, Shockwave, and Java games that can be played in your web browser.

WHO THEY ARE

From what I could dig up, it's an English-language offshoot of the Spanish game site JuegosDiarios.com. The site is registered from Spain, and its archives stretch back to 2002 (well, the very first game is dated 2002, but the next earliest date listed is 2004).

HOW'S THEIR REPUTATION?

Essentially non-existent on the web. The only significant reference I found was a single ReviewMe.com-paid review (which was positive) that was posted on three different sites.

On the bright side, McAfee Site Advisor said "We tested this site and didn't find any significant problems", so you're not likely to pick up any adware, spyware, or malware from Dailygames.com. My own experiment with running Spybot before and after visiting the site seems to confirm this.

IS THE SITE USER FRIENDLY?

Quite.

First, unlike a lot of game sites, the layout is clean, orderly, and not befouled by dozens of annoying, blinking ads. The few ads on the page are from Google, and are contextually relevant. They're usually plain text, although there are occasional animated ones.

The search feature - which is prominently displayed above the fold - searches both title and description, giving you a better shot at finding what you're looking for.

All games posted in the last month were functional. I found a few broken ones while randomly poking around in the archives, but they seem to be few and far between. Even links from the very first page of the archives were all functional.

All game links open in a new window, and again, the new page only features the Google ads - usually text.

The main page has links to the three applications (Flash, Shockwave, and Java) that you might need to play the games, which is a convenience.

If you're using Internet Explorer, the game window is resizable. Sadly, this feature is currently unavailable in Firefox.

HANDY FEATURES

One of the best features on the site is the ability to add games to your "favorites list" (see right sidebar, above the fold) with a single click. Removing them is an equally convenient single click away.

The Top Games Section (above the fold, right sidebar) gives you the ability to have the top 15 and top 100 games listed by either player ratings or frequency of being played.

Games are listed in reverse-chronological order on the main page, with the newest ones on top. And when they say, "new games added daily", that's exactly true. I checked the last 30 days, and it's been pretty much three new games every day, with rare, sporadic bouts of two or four. Random archive spot checks show the same pattern.

If you're interested in adding links to the site's latest games in your sidebar, there's a page that gives you the code to do so. The image size, number of links, text color, and background color are all customizable, so it can be made to match any decor:

[full disclosure - scrollbars aren't customizable in the form. I had to do a simple code-tweak for that, i.e. set scrolling to "yes".]

They have a large and descriptive category listing, which should pretty much be all you need to figure out where to start browsing:

2 players
Ability
Action
Adventures
Animations
Bloody
Board games
Cards
Cars
Classics
Fight
Football
For girls
Infantile
Logic
Multiplayer
Platforms
Puzzle
Shooting
Sports
Starships
Strategy
War

Finally, in the rare event that a game doesn't work, you can click the handy link at the bottom of the main page and notify the webmaster. I did that Tuesday evening (June 12th), for the game Terminate (which worked for me in IE, but not Firefox) but haven't heard back yet. I'll update if/when I do.

CAVEATS

Games aren't always in English (for example, Operation Tomato is in Spanish; Red Fighter is in Japanese) but they're usually intuitive enough to play anyway.

Speaking of language issues, the game descriptions are obviously written by someone for whom English is a second language, as they are lightly sprinkled with typos and grammatical near-misses. Depending on how healthy your sense of humor is, this can be either slightly annoying or ironically hip & amusing, in an Lolcats kinda way. For example, this description of Othello:

Board game very ressembling to the ladies in which it wins the one that has more crads from the same color over its board.

However, this is merely a translation issue. The site is otherwise competently run, neatly organized, and well-designed.

IMPROVEMENTS I'D LIKE TO SEE

There are no major usability or functionality issues with DailyGames.com. There's nothing about the site that would drive me away.

However, if the webmaster would like to polish this gem, I can suggest the following:

* At the bottom of the individual game pages, the phrase "¿Do you like DailyGames?" does not need to be prepended with an upside down question mark.

* On the individual game pages, in the box that pops up from clicking the "Recommend game" link, the "You forgot your password?" link opens up a dialog box that's in Spanish, not English.

* Consider adding a game window zoom control button that will return the window to it's original size. Also, it would be to your advantage to make the zoom controls functional in Firefox, as the browser is rapidly gaining in popularity.

* At the bottom of the main page, add a link that will either take the visitor back to the top of the page, or to the DailyGames.com home page. I know that DailyGames.com is linked at the bottom with "online games", but that's not obvious to the casual user.

* Make the top banner on the main page clickable, and linked to the home page. It'd be handy to be able to get back to the home page easily after multiple sessions of browsing categories or search terms.

* Consider having a full, alphabetical, linked listing of all games at the bottom of the front page, under everything else. Your competitor, OnlineGames.net, does it and it looks pretty handy. I also like that they list the number of games that are included in each category - something else you might want to try.

* Offer an opt-in mailing list for people who would like to be notified as to what new games have been posted.

* Currently, only the 11 most recent games are listed on the home page. Consider bumping this number up to 21 so that those who only browse on weekends don't have to click around to see what they missed. Remember, the more games you list on one page, the easier it is for visitors to find something they like and click on it.

* Include the "There is a Game that doesnÂ’t work!" link on each individual game page. The easier that link is to find, the better chance you have of having your visitors help you keep all your links functional.

* Make obvious knock-off games easier to find with the site's search feature by including the similar and more popular game name in the description. For example, use the phrase "like Othello" in the description for the game 3-D Reversi.

* Consider adding a PayPal or Amazon donations box. Folks who find a great game at your site might be grateful enough to supplement your ad income. Doesn't hurt to ask.

* Host a discussion board for players to discuss strategy, hints, and tips.

WOULD I USE DAILYGAMES.COM?

Not only yes, but HELL yes!

They have a great selection of fun little time-wasters for those moments when I just don't feel like doing what I'm supposed to. For example:

Spaced Penguin - launch a penguin through space into his spaceship, taking changing gravity into account.

Pac-Xon - sorta like Qix.

Last Stand - kill zombies!

Electrocity - a PC, enviro-nut version of Sim City. Personally, I like to maximize pollution levels and scare all the hippies away.

Power pong - realistic-ish 3-D ping-pong game.

New Blackjack - pays 3 to 1 on Blackjack - Woo-hoo!

Clean your ass - an animation showing how to do the job in Sheryl Crow's "one square world" (warning, animation contains explicit cartoon poo)

The Hanged One - play Hangman while being heckled by a smart-ass Kangaroo.

Anyway, that's enough for starters. Best way to find more is click your favorite game category & just start browsing.

CONCLUSION

DailyGames.com is an excellent source of online games and a perfect way to waste otherwise unproductive time either at work or at home. Updated daily, so visit on a regular basis.

Definitely worth bookmarking.

Posted by: Harvey at 07:16 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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