My Online Monopoly

If you need a birthday gift for a golf lover, there are plenty out there to choose from. From funny to unique, birthday golf gift items can be found all over the internet. Here are a few great gift ideas for golf lovers:

Do you have a love hate relationship with money?

How many people fear money? This question might seem a bit confusing because the average person thinks that people fear not having money or worry about running out of money. One would think that just about everyone wants it and can't get enough if it. But seeing how fast people throw it away (spend it foolishly) you would think they absolutely hate it!

The truth is that millions of people fear having money itself. Think about it. Why else would they spend it so fast and so foolishly. They might think they don't deserve money or they may fear the responsibilities that can go along with having large sums of money.

I think that's the real truth of the matter. Being afraid of having the responsibilities that come with money is what people are really afraid of. A profound quote comes to mind, “To whom much is given much is required”.

If people constantly fear money then it will always elude them. Opportunities to make money appear almost daily but if we're afraid of responsibility, change and success that comes with money then we'll never see them.

Having an excess of money is definitely a great problem to have. But not having the basic financial education to manage it can prove financially fatal. Luckily the solutions are relatively simply.

1. Play financial board games

If you haven't played Monopoly for a while I highly recommend it. Ask yourself how it can be applied to real life. Your own finances. Your own business.

Actually you can play virtually any board game that uses play money and involves a significant amount of strategy. Feel free to do some research for tips and game strategies before you play in order to learn how to win the game. This will start teaching you to do research about investment opportunities before you play the game of money for real.

You could also invite a few people over to play and ask them to each bring over a surprise gift worth five dollars or so then the winner gets the prizes. It's amazing how much more real the game gets when there's actually something to gain after you win instead of just simply winning.

2. Make a list of your money fears

Grab a piece of paper and a pencil. Draw a line down the middle. At the top of the left column write, “Things I love about money” and at the top of the other column write, “Things I hate about money”. Write 10 things in the left column and 10 thing in the right column. Only spend a few seconds thinking up each one then write them down quickly. Then when you're done think about some of the things you can change to start converting the “hate money” column over into the, “love money” column. If you're stumped about how to do that then read the next solution…

3. Help others solve their own money fears and problems.

The best way to solve your own problems is to help other people solve the same problems. Try taking a job for a financial management company. You could become a financial consultant of some type. Maybe you could be a business opportunity retailer. By doing this a universal law kicks into action and like magic, your own worries and problems start to correct themselves.

All the best.

BrianNational Home Office Council

Brian works with world class internet marketing gurus to build successful online businesses. Discover more insider secrets and the exact proven strategies to make money online:

www.fastinstantcash.com

You have permission to reprint this article on your web site or in your e-zine as long as it is not edited and you will simply leave the signature with the article.

The following spelling games can be used by parents to reinforce spelling in children:

SPELLING GAME 1: USE BOARD GAMES, SUCH AS MONOPOLY

Play any game that is normally played with dice with the child — Monopoly, for example. The parent can continue to move her token forward in the normal way by throwing the dice, but the child must orally spell a word to move forward.

To select words that can be used, the parent can use words from the child's schoolwork that he often misspells. She must make word cards of these words. It is best to use not fewer than 20 words and not more than 30. When playing a board game, the same 20-30 words can be used, or if the child already knows how to spell them, other words can be selected. The parent must thoroughly shuffle the word cards, and then put them in a pile upside down on the table between the two (or more) players.

When it is the child's turn to play, the parent must take a word from the top of the pile and then say the word aloud. The child must spell the word. If the child spells the word correctly, he may move his token the same number of spaces as there are letters in the word. For example, for a word of seven letters he may move his token forward seven spaces. The word card is then put aside. If, however, he misspells the word, the parent must show the word to the child, and the child must spell the word aloud three times while looking at the word, and then three times without looking at it. Then the word is put at the bottom of the pile, so that it will come up again later. If the child misspells a word, he may also not move his token for that turn.

SPELLING GAME 2: HIDE AND SEEK GAME

Use the letters of a particular word, and build new words with these letters. For example, if one decides to use the word ?difficulty,? one would write this word on a piece of paper and put it in front of the child.

The aim of the game is that the child must make a list of all the words he can think of using only the letters of the chosen word. It can also be played as a competition, meaning the parent can play it with the child, and at the end, the one with the largest number of correctly spelled words, wins.

There are always many words that can be formed in this way, and in an indirect manner the spelling of the chosen word is practiced, while many other words are also tested for spelling. A few examples of words that can be formed from the letters of ?difficulty? are: if, left, cult, cliff, fifty, duty, etc.

Note that each letter may be used once only. The letter f appears twice in the word ?difficulty,? and therefore a word like ?fifty? is acceptable. ?Dull,? however, is not acceptable.

Some examples of words to be used: alphabetical misunderstanding occasionally postponement mayonnaise multimillionaire credibility determination education friendship generosity hippopotamus.

SPELLING GAME 3: WORD JUMBLES

Another interesting method of practicing spelling is by making word jumbles. The child then has to sort out the confused letters to come up with a word, which he has been taught before.

Words must be selected from the child's schoolwork. Use a piece of paper, and write the word jumble on the paper. For example, if the letters ?hergun? are written on the paper, the child must rearrange them to form the word ?hunger.?

SPELLING GAME 4: NAME, SURNAME, ANIMAL, AND CITY/TOWN

To play this game, the parent and child will both need a piece of paper and a pencil. Write the 26 letters of the alphabet on a piece of paper, and select a letter at random. The parent and the child must now, as fast as they can, write down a name, surname, animal and town that starts with the selected letter. The one that finishes first gives the other party only 5 seconds, before shouting “Stop!” and then all pencils must be put down.

Ten points are awarded for each correctly spelled word. If both parent and child had exactly the same word under one of the headings, for example, both had the same animal, only 5 points will be awarded if the word was correctly spelled.

Say, for instance, the letter “d” was selected:

Names: Douglas, Danny, David.

Surnames: Davis.

Animals: dog, dinosaur, deer.

City/Town: Dallas, Durban.

About The Author

Benetta Strydom holds a B.Occup.Ther. Degree. Visit her online magazine, Learning Disabilities Online, http://www.audiblox2000.com/learning_disabilities/index.htm

The Settlers of Catan has been the flagship for German Style Designer Games for many reasons, some of the main ones being its elegant simplicity and its depth of strategy. Your choice of strategies will influence your initial setup and overall game play. The separation of strategies that are outlined in this series is a bit artificial, but it is useful to understand the concepts behind them. In practice, players will use a combination of these strategies during gameplay. This article, the third in this series, will discuss the Rare Resource Strategy.

In the Rare Resource Strategy, examine the board to see which commodity will be the hardest to get, and consider putting one of your settlements on the best tile for that commodity. A supply of a rare commodity may be more important than an extra 2/36 chance of a sheep.

Basically, this strategy is about identifying the rarest resources, and making sure you have access to them. There are two types of rare: rare in overall production (due to bad numbers being on them), and rare in position availability (fewer number of hexes have the resource, like ore and brick in the basic game, which only has three hexes each instead of four hexes like wool, grain, and wood). In many cases both will happen, such as when ore and brick have bad numbers on them in the basic game.

This strategy is not a monopoly: you don't necessarily want to be the only person on these hexes (as seen in the Monopoly strategy in Part 4, this may not be such a good idea). You just want to make sure you have them. This could be taken to the extreme, for example a player who goes for ore and brick, because they are the two rarest, but is more commonly used along with another strategy. This strategy can work well with a Cartel strategy, described in Part 4.

The crux of this strategy is realizing that you will pay dearly for rare resources later on in the game, and so you should plan ahead by getting them early. A reduced overall production value early in the game to get those rare resources is usually more than offset by not making 3:1 or 4:1 trades later in the game to get them.

For more information about the game, please visit the author's Settlers of Catan fansite. This series is based upon the Settlers of Catan Strategy and Tactics Guide, which is located at http://settlersofcatan.blogspot.com

Dan Kozarchuk is a self admitted board game junkie who has an obsession with designer board games, particularly the Settlers of Catan.

Many parents are constantly worrying about the influences in the lives of their kids, especially with the world that we live in. There are many inappropriate influences however you can combat these influences by making sure that you give your kids a Biblical grounding when they are young. This will equip them to look at life and judge outside influences on the Bible.

One way that you can give them this Biblical grounding is to use Bible games that are educational for your children. They will teach your kids more about the Bible and you will be able to have great time together as a family too.

One game to consider is called Settlers of Canaan. This game is based on a Bible story and allows you to use strategy and team work as well. No doubt you will enjoy the competition involved, and you will also enjoy the fun of coming up with strategies together and making treaties with each other as well.

Not only do Bible Games provide fun, but many of them can really teach you a great deal as well. One great education game based on the Bible is the Ten Commandments Board Game. This game is designed to help you learn more about the Ten Commandments and some basic biblical beliefs and values.

You can also find quite a selection of Bible computer games as well. Many kids enjoy computer games, and of course you will want to make sure that the games they play on the computer are fun and wholesome. Using Bible computer games is a great way to teach your kids more about the Bible.

Bible Champions is one really great game that your kids will no doubt love. This game has 14 settings in which the solve various puzzles and get to meet interesting Bible characters too. Kids of almost every age will love this game, and no doubt you'll enjoy playing it with them too.

There are a variety of kids card games out there that are excellent Bible games that are not games of chance. You can find games like Apples to Apples with a Biblical theme to it. No doubt you, your children, and their friends will find it fun, educational, and a great promotion for some good discussions as well.

Kids also love to dance and sing, and you can provide your children with great DVD's that they can sing and dance too. Almost all kids enjoy dancing and singing, and there are some great praise DVD's available that have great songs and dances. Dance Praise Expansion is just one example of the DVD's available that your kids will enjoy. It teaches great religious tunes that teach your kids more about the Bible too.

If you want to be sure that your kids get a spiritual education that is based on the Bible, then you need to start educating them about the Bible and what it has to say. Remember, there is more to education than adding and subtracting, so check out the educational Bible games that are available for your family.

Picking up Bible skills can be fun, and games can be educational. Give your kids the best of both worlds, come visit 123KidsGames.com - Educational Kids Games and discover the best, most fun way to grow and learn. For educational Bible games Visit Educational Bible Games

Games are known to evolve with the advancement in technology. Web designing has enhanced the process and given rise to game design schools. Game design careers are for people who have a passion for games and computers. These game designers plan a layout of the game flow and create new variations. Game design schools help in designing the outline, the backdrop and the characters. All this leads to 3-D animation, texturing, game design strategies and visual story telling. This brings out the creativity of game designing.

The game-designing industry is flourishing and is now a multi-billion dollar industry. The aim to create more challenging games has led to the specialization in game designing. This in turn creates the demand for designers. These schools prepare such artists by giving them the relevant information, background and experience, to keep up with the pace and remain competent. When these designers enter the market, their employment chances increase.

The game designers follow a plan, handled by one or a group. The general procedure involves the game designer writing the game plan or discussing it with the other designers. The primary design has to be approved by the head of the department and then the production can commence.

Once the production of the game begins, the game designer can work on further developments, if required. It is the duty of the game designer to keep an account of all the developments that take place, like a change in character. While making the changes, the game designer has to make sure to improve the shortcomings.

The game designers must be dedicated and innovative. They must keep in mind all the suggestions that are made by the other team members. It is essential for the designer to be committed to the job and the designing at hand.

Game Design provides detailed information on Game Design, Video Game Designs, Game Design And Development, Game Design Software and more. Game Design is affiliated with Kid Board Games.

There seems to be more and more pressure on parents these days to enrol their pre school children in all sorts of innovative learning programs. There are music and swimming classes, craft centres and activities to promote movement, motor skills or sporting ability.

Did you know some of the best learning tools for your kids are right at your fingertips, literally! We as parents are the primary carers and therefore the first teachers of our children before they start school. Without all the classes and activities that we could pay for them to do, just playing simple free child games, your kids will get all the stimulation and encouragement that they need to get the best start.

By providing them with an enriched environment with free activities based around your home and neighbourhood you will get more quality time with your children while enhancing their imagination and creativity.

Top 5 Free Child Games / Activities- Indoors

1. Storytelling- Telling stories to children promotes language, listening skills and imagination. Don't feel confined to reading from books, tell your children a special family story that helps them to know their place in the world. How mum and dad met, how great grandpa sailed in a tall-ship to start a new life in a new country, or the story of their birth. These tales will delight them time and time again, perhaps you have photos to help them put faces to names.

2. Dressing Up- As children the dress-ups box was always our favorite treasure trove for creating characters for a play or story. Pretending to be dinosaurs, truck drivers, doctors, zoo keepers or even mum can keep children entertained for hours. The more props the better so always have a store of blankets for cubbies or tents and assorted boxes for cars, dolls beds or wherever their imagination takes them.

3. Music- Children love a chance to dance and jump around. By the age of three they will already have some favorites which will probably have actions to match. Given the opportunity to march, stomp, clap or any other loud action will be happily accompanied by any musical instruments that you have around the house. If you don't have any, a pot and wooden spoon will do just fine!

4. Craft- By using recycled materials you just need some glue, a little inspiration, and your child's creativity will do the rest. Materials can be used to create collages, space rockets, animals and a whole lot more. Keep a ready supply of recyclables by keeping cereal boxes, toilet rolls, candy wrappers, magazines and yoghurt containers. Other crafty ideas can involve play dough, paint, crayons, chalk and modelling clay! The ideas are endless.

5. Board Games and Card Games- Fun for the whole family or just two bored kids looking for something to do on a rainy day. For younger children these games help them with numerical skills, taking turns and gamesmanship, as well as the concept of chance and that anyone can win the game. Super for holidays as they are easy to set up and can last for hours. There are many card games to learn from easy kids games right up complicated ones for teenagers and adults. Best of all, the only equipment needed is a deck of cards. Board games like Scrabble and Monopoly have been played for generations and will continue to be, unless everything becomes computerised!

Most of these activities will be known to you, but have you played them all? If not, then get out there and enjoy some free child games with your tribe, they'll love you all the more for spending some one on one time with them.

The place to go for all your games needs for 0-6 year olds is Kids Fun and Games. Educational baby and toddler games, party games, crafts, indoor and outdoor games, festivals and more.

Free kids games are something that we are all searching for over the holiday season. The television and computer will only stimulate kids to a certain level without truly engaging them. Games that enhance their creativity and imagination are what really inspires and enlivens kids. There are a wide range of free, fun and simple kids games to play these holidays- here's our Top 5 ideas to get you started!

Top 5 Free Kids Games / Activities for the Holidays

1. Musical Games- Children love a chance to dance and jump around, especially if they are stuck indoors. Put on their favorite kiddy tunes and let them jump and stomp around. It will be even more fun if they have friends and instruments to accompany them. If you don't have any real instruments, a homemade shaker or lid and spoon will do just fine!

2. Dressing Up Games- For kids the dress-ups box is a fantastic resource for stories, make-believe or any kind of imaginative play. Pretending to be shop-keepers, truck drivers, mums and dads, doctors, or animals, will keep kids entertained for hours. The more props the better so always have a store of blankets for cubbies or tents and assorted boxes for cars, dolls beds or wherever their imagination takes them.

3. Treasure Hunt- A treasure hunt can be set up indoors or out, for a group of kids or just one or two kids. It gets their minds working searching for clues and the excitement builds as they get closer to completeing the task. Just remember to set the clues at the appropriate level for the ages of the children who are playing the game. Clues that are too hard will put children off playing the game!

4. Craft Activities- By using cheap or available materials around your home your child's creativity will create an amazing array of craft projects. Investing in a kids craft book will keep a ready supply of inspiration and give ideas for materials to be keeping. A store of recyclables like cereal boxes, toilet rolls, candy wrappers, magazines and yoghurt containers will provide a ready supply of resources. If your kids are not interested in glueing and pasting they can try modelling with play dough, plasticine or even paper mache.

5. Indoor Games- A great way to relieve the boredom on a rainy day whether you are at home or away on holidays. Indoor games can include simple card or board games, from matching pairs for younger children, or Scrabble or Monopoly for the older kids. Group games like these help them with numerical skills, taking turns and gamesmanship. Best of all they are easy to set up and can last for hours and can involve all the family.

So get the kids out from being sat in front of the tv or computer and involve them in some great free kids games these holidays!

The place to go for all your games needs for 0-8 year olds is Kids Fun and Games. Educational baby and toddler games, party games, crafts, indoor and outdoor games, festivals and much more.

Internet games use the cyber world technology for playing. Games are extremely popular and constantly evolving.

There are:

? Games played using e-mail.

? Games played on a browser window by using a web address.

? Games played using Internet Relay Chat, Telenet, MUD client, or a Web based forum.

? Games that are graphic need stand-alone software that permits players to play with or against one another using an Internet connection.

The first game, MUD, was developed in 1978, and the market has burgeoned since then.

To play, one needs:

? A reliable Internet connection.

? A personal computer or game console.

? Selected software required by specific games.

One can play simple board games like scrabble, or bingo, or games like poker, mahjong, and pool. Another popular category is simulation games?these imitate real-life situations and cover aspects like combat, city planning, strategies, as well as flight simulation.

For serious gaming the computer performance must be optimized. This can be done by:

? Running the disk defragmenter and organizing the computer files. This should ideally be done once a month at least.

? Correct folder and file errors by using scandisk—use once a week and the computer will give trouble free performance.

? Clean your hard drives?get rid of Internet files, temporary files, as well as files in the trash/recycle bin. Clear the cache and uninstall programs that are not in everyday use.

? Update the operating system software. Download any new security patches. Keep video drivers updated.

? Clear space on the hard drive—store files on a back up system.

? Clear any spyware you have inherited from websites.

? Minimize number of programs running?when playing a graphic intensive game if there are too many programs running simultaneously the graphics will become choppy and game will be slow.

? Delete add on game files?wall papers and other paraphernalia will just clutter the computer.

? Run an anti-virus program regularly but disable it when you are loading/playing games. Antivirus programs slow down games.

? Always shut down the computer properly.

The Internet allows gamers to compete with people across oceans, on the other side of the world and anywhere in the universe. Some use PCs while others use consoles. What you use is a personal choice and depends on issues like costs and so on.

Before you buy a game you must:

? Consider ?system requirements? ? some games can run on systems that are not exact others need specific hardware.

? Find out if the game is single player or multi-player. Many games need the Internet?and, the broadband connection is more efficient than the dial-up connection. Many like Xbox Live only work on a broadband connection.

? Find out if the game can be played using a mouse/keyboard or whether it will need a full-featured joy stick.

Be wise and try a demo before making an actual purchase. Playing a demo benefits the player as well as game developer. Many online games offer free trial periods —beta testing is a great opportunity to find out if the game suits your taste as well as pockets.

Do your research thoroughly?usually there are several games competing for players within a genre. Read game reviews before taking the final step.

Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for http://www.1888FreeOnlineGames.com, the premier website to play thousands of free online games including arcade games, action games, card games, flash games, strategy games, puzzle games and more. He also freelances for http://www.1888SoftwareDownloads.com

A woman convicted of probation violation tried to use the famous Monopoly ?get out of jail free? card to avoid incarceration, the judge humored her by asking the local sheriff if they accepted the cards to which he replied ?no?. She was eventually jailed, but not without at least trying her luck first.

The ?get out of jail free? card originated from the timeless game of Monopoly and made its debut in 1935, since then over 200 million games have been sold worldwide and has become the most widely played board game in history (recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records).

Since then the expression ?get out of jail free? has been immortalized in modern society to mean ?a way to get out of a sticky situation? and just like been given the card to get ourselves out of an undesirable situation, so is the act of debt consolidation when we find ourselves in financial difficulty and need a little outsider assistance.

Is Debt Consolidation Like a Get Out of Jail Free Card?

In a manner of speaking it is based upon a similar fundamental premise that if we?re in a situation where we?re struggling financially and are have difficulty coping with our current level of debt then we have the opportunity to alleviate that burden through consolidation.

When we?re not careful it?s easy to accumulate more debt than we think we have when we don?t proactively track our spending.

How Do I Know If Debt Consolidation is Right For Me?

1. When at least half of your income goes towards paying your debts.

2. When constantly worrying about the level of debt you have to the point where it effects your sleep, job performance and general behavior.

3. When you feel a sense of helplessness from being financially over extended on a regular basis, this is different if it?s once in a while and you?re able to eventually regain control of your finances, but if you constantly feel this way no matter how much extra you pay to get ahead only to find you?re still at square one, then consolidation might be the option for you.

4. When you don?t meet your financial commitments. If you miss payments or have a sketchy bill payment track record.

5. When you?re sacrificing important things. If you?re having to pay visa before paying the power bill then you?re not managing.

What Consolidation Will Do For You

Debt Consolidation will take all of your existing payments, credit cards, loans and condense them into one manageable weekly, monthly payment (whichever terms you agree upon).

Interest rates are competitive for these types of loans so it pays to shop around. I would start with your bank. If you have a home you can leverage it by borrowing against the equity you have. The equity is the difference between the current market value your home is appraised at and the amount owed on the mortgage. The equity is the amount that you can borrow up to the value of.

Because consolidation puts your total debt into perspective, you?re able to keep up with your payments which helps your credit scoring while establishing a new positive payment track record for your credit report.

What Consolidation Won?t Do For You

It?s not uncommon to get into situations of extreme debt through unforeseen circumstances and emergencies, however there are instances where we do get into unnecessary debt through poor management on our own behalf, so if you consider consolidation as a option then you still need to devise a budget if you do not already have one, and stick to it faithfully.

Use any extra disposable income left over to pay off your debt faster. Remember, debt consolidation will relieve the pressure of your current debt but it won?t change how you got into the debt in the first place, especially if it was due to poor financial planning and lack of budgeting. Keep a close watch on your future finances.

Once you get into the habit of living by a budget and eventually become debt free, your new budgeting skills should keep you out of debt, permanently.

Isobel Miller enjoys writing on a number of topical subjects, one of them addressing debt and financial issues and strives to uncover the answers to your most burning questions. www.debteliminationinfo.blogspot.com