http://www.kingdomofloathing.com/

Don’t let the name of this game fool you, this game has nothing to do with loathing, and very little with a kingdom to begin with.  With graphics done almost entirely in stick figures, Kingdom of Loathing (KOL) is sure to be one of the stranger games you will play.  The first time you play through it is actually quite difficult – more than a few times I was forced to rely on help from others in the chat.  The game itself can be considered a set of puzzles, some interlocking with combat, others completely separate.  Thankfully though, there is a large and vibrant community who are all (for the most part) willing to help out “noobs.”  In fact, on my first day someone even sent me 50,000 of the in-game currency. The absolute best part though is the development team.  This team is consistently listening to the forums, and is dedicated to providing updates fairly regularly, which means the game is always evolving.  Not everything may appeal to everyone, but I think if almost anyone plays the game for a little while they will come to love it.

So what are some other reasons to play this game?

1)      Quirkiness.  Classes include the Disco Bandit, Turtle Tamer, and Pastamancer.  The currency in the game is meat.  Your character has the option of eating food and drinking alcohol every day.  And as I mentioned, the stick figure graphics.  It’s unlike any game you’ve ever played.

2)      Time Limits.  You can’t waste too much time playing the game (unless you create an extra account) – every night at rollover you are given 40 adventures, each one of which can be used to visit one of the numerous locations.  This number can be increased by eating and drinking, but only to certain limits.  Once you’ve used your adventures, you’re done.  It’s very hard to waste large amounts of time like you might in games like World of Warcraft, where you can play indefinitely.

3)      Replayability.  Once you’ve completed the main storyline, you have the option of starting back at level one with one of the skills you obtained (a process called “ascension”).  By doing this numerous times you can move through the game more quickly, and you might even find places you didn’t last time.  For me, ascension has become a game unto itself – I try to collect skills, every one of which changes the game play experience slightly.  If starting over isn’t your thing, there’s many high-level areas to explore (and right now, the areas being released are high-end)

4)      Third Party Tools.  There’s a ton of tools out there to improve your experience and to lower the amount of time you play every day.  If you spend enough time on the forums you will find all the tools you need to customize your personal gameplay experience.  I personally use several tools, especially a few that manage your inventory (there are thousands of items in the game)

5)      Something for everyone.  No matter what kind of gamer you are (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartle_Test#The_Four_Categories_of_Players ) , there is something for you in KOL.  There’s constant competition, great opportunities for trading and arbitrage, PVP (soon to be redone as I have heard), and my personal favorite, consistent new content.

6)      Jokes.  Almost every piece of equipment, every monster, every area is a joke or cultural reference.  Bad puns, veiled social commentary, stupid jokes, intellectual jokes, it’s all there.  Even now, I find references that I missed.  Coming to understand everything could almost be thought of like a scavenger hunt!  Take out orcish frat guys, or knock out some hippies at the hippy camp.  Or fight some zombies at the misspelled cemetary (sic)!

So what’s the holdup?  KOL is a great game to blow in which to blow off some steam, and this is just a small slice of the game.  So why wait – take a break and explore it for yourself!  Go to http://www.kingdomofloathing.com/ now!

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