Howrse

Howrse

Obsession Level: Not Just Howrsing Around

So a few years ago I was bored, and I mean really bored.  It was one of those days where you feel like you have absolutely nothing to do, or absolutely nothing that you want to do.  I was goofing around online looking for some new game to play that could offer me a few hours of entertainment.  I wasn't really looking for too much, though, since I'm one of those people that can play a game for a little while one day and never play it again.  I've probably signed up for literally thousands of games and out of those there are a lot that I played for less time than it took  me to register for them.

Back when the internet was first becoming a household thing there was this game that I stumbled upon in some kind of chat room.  (Are there even chat rooms anymore?)  It was a strange alien breeding game or something.  Basically all  you did was sign up for it and it would send you detailed emails from your little alien pet thing that would tell you all about what your little alien was up to and how life was going for it in the grand galaxy of cyberspace.  It was totally not interactive and you literally did nothing, but for whatever reason it fascinated me.  I really liked the little emails from my alien.  The problem, however, was that at some point I changed my email address and I lost the little guy.  I didn't know where the site was that I signed up on and I couldn't get my alien back or order another to replace him.  I know it sounds dumb, but I never really got over the loss of my little emailing alien.

I told you that story to tell you how I found Howrse.  This particularly evening of extreme boredom got me thinking about my cool little lost alien.  I wondered if a google search could find that site for me, if it even still existed.  I didn't know what to google, though, so I started looking for virtual aliens and came across a lot of really dumb games.  Then from there the search moved to virtual pets.  Still more dumb and cutesy little games that didn't really interest me.  I thumbed through the links, signing up for dozens of games just to lose interest in a matter of minutes.  Then I found Howrse.

This game was amazing.  I LOVE horses, and now I had one!  Granted, this one was not very big, but she was all mine.  Here's what she looked like.  Wasn't she beautiful?

So there I was,  hooked instantly.  I'll admit that the game was a little hard for me to navigate at first and it seemed like you had to wait forever to be able to do anything interesting, but that was part of the intrigue.  My first horse had a foal.  Then after 10 days I could buy horses at the auctions.  Slowly I started learning about training and competing with the horses.  I was a Howrse Addict.  Everyday I had to take care of my horses (and still do, I admit).  

For the longest time on the game I didn't really have a niche.  I am not a competitive player so I wasn't really anyone important on the game.  I was just sitting over there in my imaginary farm surrounded by my horses which I thought were wonderful, but they really weren't all that great.  It didn't matter to me, though, because the only selection method I used in the auctions was "PRETTY!"  I didn't really have any friends on the game aside from the one or two players that I occasionally interacted with through private messaging while they needed some help.  

Then things got interesting because I found my place.  I figured out what I liked to do.  I liked to collect horses with Golden Apple coats.  They were very pretty.  I also found my place.  I discovered a delightful group of players who were witty and fun and were also willing to take me in.  We're the Snarks.  I'm not sure that you can say we're a well known group on the game, or that we're even well liked by the less snarky players (and certainly not by the young whiny players) but we're pretty awesome to us!  

I have to admit that my Howrse addiction has been one that I've hidden for a long time.  I'd only reveal this addiction to the people who were already used to my obsessive nature and could no longer be surprised by the nerdy things that fascinated me.   They were probably the same people that I had told before about my little emailing alien.  I did manage to get a few of my friends hooked on the game and they still play from time to time when they can sneak a break from their little ones.  Still, this wasn't an addiction I wanted to parade around.  It's hard to be cool when you're an adult and you're thinking to yourself "No, I don't want to go to that party with you because then I'll miss uni breeding time and I'm really anxious to get some more foals."  Yep.  It's THAT kind of obsession.

I'm opening up about my addiction to the game because it really is a great game, and this may bring it to the attention of some of you out there who love nerdy games.  The game has changed a lot since the beginning.  We've been through several graphic changes, a lot of things have been added and a lot have been taken away, and things are much less confusing for the starting out player who has no idea what they're doing on their virtual horse farm.  That being said, not all of the changes that are made are good, and we Snarks like to sit in our little forum and bellyache about them from time to time (as do many dedicated players on the game), but it is a fun game and I'd recommend it to anyone.

The game never fails to entertain me and it doesn't require a lot of thought so I don't have to be stressed.  I can just mindlessly play with my horses or shop for coats for my collection.  It's also brought me to the Snarks, who have become really good friends over the years.  There's nothing like a game that connects you to people that you wish you lived closer to so that you could all gather together like the characters of the Big Bang Theory and play with your virtual horses TOGETHER!  LOL

Plus, who wouldn't want to play a game that lets you have unicorns?!?  That's right, UNICORNS!!!

So there you have it.  If you think it might be your thing and you like online games, this could very possibly be the one for you.  You have been warned, however, that it is absolutely addicting.

P.S.  I never did find the alien game.  I really miss that little guy.  If you have any information on the alien game and how I could reconnect with my little alien friend, please let me know.

P.P.S If you know of any other fun and addicting games like this, I'd love to know about them!