Review: Club Pogo

Nov. 7, 2007 — -- If you think video games are all about death and destruction, you may not know about the online phenomenon called casual gaming. Casual gaming refers to those low-key puzzle, card, board and word games we've all played for fun, that are now available online.

Pogo.com is the most popular place to play. With more than 13 million registered users worldwide, the site hosts more than 115 games and was recently rated the stickiest Web site on the Internet, where people spend the most time (according to ComScore), with players spending 4.4 billion minutes a month on the site.

More than 58 percent of the audience is female, and over the age of 35, and a tightknit community has sprouted around the games. The site hosts chat rooms, and Pogo has partnered with Kathleen Hall, founder of the Stress Institute, to offer users tools to de-stress and take "me time."

One-fifth of the games are multiplayer games, like checkers or backgammon, and players can win thousands of dollars a month in jackpots or cash drawings, by redeeming tokens they've collected playing games.

There is no fee to play most games, but a subscription-based Club Pogo — at $39.99 — offers premium services, such as exclusive games, no ads, enhanced prizes and a customizable avatar.