MSN Games

File:MSN Games logo.png
URL	zone.msn.com
Commercial?	Yes, ad funded
Type of site	Web Games
Registration	Optional
Owner	Microsoft Corporation
Created by	MSN, Microsoft

MSN Games (also known as Zone.com - formerly known as The Village, Internet Gaming Zone, MSN Gaming Zone, and MSN Games by Zone.com) is an online games site devoted primarily to casual games, both stand-alone and multi-player online games. Games are available in free on-line versions, trial versions, and full feature pay-to-play versions. Stand alone games can be played on the Web, or downloaded to a personal computer or smartphone. Multi-player games require either internet or mobile phone connectivity and access to an MSN Live Messenger account.

The numerous multi-player games that are available encourage a sense of community as players interact in online game rooms or lobbies, while playing games using Windows Live Messenger, and while on their cell phones when playing Windows Mobile versions of the games.

MSN Games is a member site of the MSN portal, and part of the Microsoft corporation, headquartered in Redmond WA.

History[link]

The first version of the site, which was then called "The Village", was founded by Kevin Binkley, Ted Griggs, and Hoon Im. In 1996, Steve Murch, a then-employee of Microsoft, convinced Bill Gates to acquire the small online game site, then owned by Electric Gravity. The site was rebranded to "Internet Gaming Zone" and launched in 1996.

It started with a handful of card and board games like Hearts, Spades, Checkers, Backgammon, and Bridge.

For the following 5 years, the Internet Gaming Zone would be renamed several times and would increase in popularity with the introduction of popular retail- and MMOG-games, such as UltraCorps, Age of Empires, Asheron's Call and Fighter Ace.

Competitors[link]

The Zone's first competitors were AOL's Games.com, as well Mplayer.com and Sega's Heat.net. Today, the site competes with other similar free-game sites, such as Yahoo! Games and Pogo.com.

Volunteers[link]

MSN's competition with AOL Games resulted in the creation of a Volunteer Program for the Zone, which AOL also offered. The idea was to have volunteers moderating chat lobbies, hosting tourneys, offering tech support, and interacting with the gamers to collect general feedback. Volunteer Moderators for the Zone were initially designated as members of the "Zone Team", or zTeam, with assorted tokens assigned to five different teams: the Gaming Team (!), Helproom Team (+), Tournament Hosting Team (%), zStar Team (*), and Tech Support Team (?).

Because of legal complexities when AOL was sued by their volunteers—and the volunteers won the case—MSN Games reformed their policy by contracting a third-party company to manage the program. In 2001, Participate Systems won the contract and would continue to lead the program until its official disbanding. During the volunteer program's conversion to its new management, all previous token designations were replaced with a single "+" token and a new name, the "Member Plus", or MPlus program. Participate Systems was acquired by Outstart.com in November 2004.

The Zone sanctioned a number of independent groups to operate tournaments on the Zone, subject to the groups retaining a tokened tournament director and obeying the Zone Code of Conduct. Groups operated in a number of games, including backgammon, cribbage, chess, hearts, and others. Some of these groups (for example RTW Online's Thunder and MrFixitOnline's Smackdown series of tournaments in the Age of Empires series of games) created an intense following, and the associated intercine rivalries. A few, such as GammonZone and Warpgammon (backgammon) and Pegging Pals (cribbage) even survived the demise of the Zone and migrated to other servers.

Citing MSN's statement regarding the closure of CD-ROM games on the Zone on June 19, 2006, the Member Plus program was also disbanded at that time, due to the removal of chat capabilities from game lobbies and the end of support for the ZoneFriends client.

Setbacks[link]

• In 2000, the site started to be a target of continuous crack attacks. Crackers, script kiddies for the most part, targeted the Zone software. In 2004, the worst crack attack occurred through the use of social engineering, giving the intruders access to the administrator tools. The intruders used their new-found tools to ban players and other site volunteers.
• After the dot-com boom, web sites claimed difficulties managing their finances. MSN Games changed its market strategy and left the retail market to focus solely on free and premium games, a decision that finally culminated in their decision to retire support for CD-ROM games and lobbies on June 19, 2006.
• As a free site, the Zone was the subject of extensive benign neglect by Microsoft. Users identified a myriad of serious problems with the site (for example, one player demonstrated an ability to actually manipulate the dice in backgammon), but MSN would wait years or never address these vulnerabilities.^{[citation needed]}
• Specialized programs, including the Fighter Ace and Allegiance teams disbanded during the Zone's transition to the Member Plus program, due primarily to the planned retirement of their associated games.

Legacy[link]

• Personalities such as Bill Gates and his friend, Warren Buffett, have played bridge on the Zone. Garry Kasparov, chess champion, played in a chess game organized by Microsoft. World champion Alex Moiseyev and grandmaster Tim Laverty also played checkers on Zone. The Sheik of The United Arab Emirates invited a few backgammon players from the Zone to play in his "2nd annual Abu Dhabi Backgammon Championship". Many of the "Giants of Backgammon" (top 32 in the world) participated in Zone tournaments, including Neil Kazaross, Johannes Levermann, Steve Sax, Howard Ring, Paul Weaver, Kit Woolsey, and Bill Robertie.
• MSN Games is credited for assisting with the introduction of new games on Windows Live Messenger (formerly called MSN Messenger) and the development of Xbox Live Arcade.
• Writer Dorothy Rosencrans wrote a book about her experiences at MSN Games and her encounter with Bill Gates.
• MSN Games is credited with renaming DiamondMine to Bejeweled, which is one of the most popular casual games of all time.
• Members Plus originally utilized a Microsoft-authored program called ZoneCommander to access lobbies directly, bypassing web pages. This was later replaced by ZoneOrchestrator, a program written by two Members Plus which improved upon ZoneCommander by adding chat monitoring facilities and an enhanced user interface. Some years later, ZoneCommander was retired in favor of ZoneOrchestrator, which became the official tool of choice and remained so until the lobbies closed on June 19th, 2006.

Controversy[link]

MSN Games announced in early 2006 the retiring of support for all lobby-based CD-ROM games, chat lobbies, the ZoneFriends client and the Member Plus program, scheduled for June 19, 2006:

"...as of June 19, 2006, we will be retiring our CD-ROM matchmaking service, along with the original versions of several classic card and board games: Classic Backgammon, Bridge, Classic Checkers, Chess, Cribbage, Euchre, Go, Classic Hearts, Reversi, and Spades. We’ll be sad to see them go! These games are like old friends: they gave us our start, and helped us grow from an innovative little entertainment site to a truly stellar online gaming experience. But over the years, it’s become more and more difficult to maintain the aging hardware and software that supports them. We held out absolutely as long as we could, but it was finally time to make that decision."

In a series of public chats held with various administrators and developers of the Zone, MSN outlined its plan to shift its gaming environment into Windows Live Messenger, a more frequently updated client than the outdated ZoneFriends messenger used on the Zone. However, due primarily to MSN's inability to provide a timeframe for the expected replacement of chat lobbies, tournaments, and its Member Plus volunteer moderator program, thousands of players appeared at each session to express their discontent, and began an online petition in an attempt to stop MSN's scheduled changes. As with previous changes, however, MSN has continued to stand firm in its commitment to the retirement of its services, citing outdated hardware and lack of economic viability for the old products.

Although alternatives exist to the Zone for CD-ROM gameplay, many Microsoft game studios embedded Zone links and functionality into their games, including Angel Studios' Midtown Madness and Ensemble Studios' Age of Empires game series. Ensemble only began their switch to an in-game matchmaking system with the release of Age of Mythology.

Games as recent as Flight Simulator 98, and Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds utilized the Zone's lobby system for matchmaking. For many such games, no replacement service has been announced. The first game in the Flight Simulator series to use in-game matchmaking is Flight Simulator X, released early 2007, leaving a gap of several months without MSN supported matchmaking services.

References[link]

• Playing Around: My Adventures on the Zone.Com by Dorothy Rosencrans, ISBN 0-595-29481-2
• Acoustical Poetry: A collection of Writings by Lily Sparkletoon,1598002619 which can be found at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1598002619.

See also[link]

• Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
• Microsoft Ants

External links[link]

• MSN Games homepage
• Article about MSN Games
• The book about MSN Zone by Dorothy Rosencrans
• Wiki focused on MSN Game Zone badges

The Microsoft Network

MSN Logo
URL	msn.com
Commercial?	Mixed
Type of site	Portal
Registration	Optional
Owner	Microsoft
Created by	Microsoft
Launched	August 24, 1995
Alexa rank	17 (June 2012[update])[1]
Current status	Active

MSN (originally: The Microsoft Network; stylized as: msn) is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.^[2]

The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its initial release in 1995. MSN was once a simple online service for Windows 95, an early experiment at interactive multimedia content on the Internet, and one of the most popular dial-up Internet service providers.

Microsoft used the MSN brand name to promote numerous popular web-based services in the late 1990s, most notably Hotmail and Messenger, before reorganizing many of them in 2005 under another brand name, Windows Live. MSN's Internet portal, MSN.com, is currently the 17th most visited domain name on the Internet.^[3]

MSN, the Internet service provider[link]

MSN Classic[link]

The concept for MSN was created by the Advanced Technology Group at Microsoft, headed by Nathan Myhrvold. MSN was originally conceived as a dial-up online content provider like America Online, supplying proprietary content through an artificial folder-like interface integrated into Windows 95's Windows Explorer file management program. Categories on MSN appeared like folders in the file system.^[4]

Then officially known as 'The Microsoft Network,' the service launched along with Windows 95 on August 24, 1995. MSN was included with Windows 95 installations and promoted through Windows and other Microsoft software released at the time. Product support and discussion was offered through the MSN service, as well as information such as news and weather, basic e-mail capabilities, chat rooms, and message boards similar to newsgroups.

Open access to the World Wide Web was not originally included in the classic MSN service at the time of its initial launch, but Internet access was quickly offered through Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser, which was available as a download from the MSN service or as part of the Windows 95 Plus! package.^[4]

MSN 2.0[link]

In 1996, in response to the increasing relevancy and rapid growth of the Internet, Microsoft renamed its existing MSN service to 'MSN Classic' and created a new version, called 'MSN 2.0,' which combined access to the Internet with web-based multimedia content in a new program known as the 'MSN Program Viewer.'^[5] The service was promoted to existing MSN subscribers beginning October 10, 1996; the general release followed on December 10, 1996.^[6][7]

Microsoft promoted MSN 2.0 with a series of advertisements and promotional materials describing the service with the phrase, "Every new universe begins with a big bang." The company offered the initial release of the new MSN 2.0 service on a CD-ROM that it sent to MSN subscribers in the fall of 1996. When inserted, the CD-ROM opened to the ambitious and flashy 'MSN Preview,' an interactive video-based experience that introduced current and prospective subscribers to the new version of MSN and described the features of the MSN 2.0 software.^[8]

The MSN Preview was formatted as a guided tour of a mock premiere event for the new MSN. It was hosted by a witty and sarcastic character named 'Michael' who welcomed viewers outside of a theatre and then guided them through the theatre to meet several other characters, each of whom represented one of the channels of MSN 2.0's 'On Stage' area, which was designed as the main platform for interactive multimedia content in MSN 2.0.^[8]

A handful of uncredited actors appeared in the MSN Preview, including then-unknown actress Anna Faris,^[9][10] who represented 'Channel 5,' which was described as "media, zines, attitude"; it was targeted at college-age members. The preview also included its own jazz and pop music loop that played during the installation process.^[11]

Once installed, members accessed MSN content through the MSN Program Viewer, which was essentially an animated, stylized and streamlined interface on top of an Internet Explorer 3.0 web browser. When members signed in, they would be presented with several different 'Channels,' which were essentially categories for the various types of content available on MSN. These channels included new services such as msnbc.com, a news web site that began as a partnership between Microsoft and NBC; and Slate, an online magazine focused on politics and current events; both were available to all Internet users, and both are still active, many years later.^[6]

Interactive multimedia content was presented in a TV-like format, dubbed MSN shows, as part of the 'On Stage' section. The many shows and sites included an interactive online nightly game show called 'Netwits,' a snarky web site addressing women's issues called 'UnderWire,' and a regular celebrity interview and web-surfing session called 'One Click Away.' These new destinations supplemented web-based MSN services such as CarPoint and Expedia, which were branded as 'Essentials.' An additional 'Communicate' section was based around e-mail, chat rooms, and news groups, while a 'Find' section was dedicated to searching MSN content and the rest of the Internet; it also provided a calendar of upcoming events and new shows on MSN.^[6]

The new content made extensive use of multimedia and interactive features, including Visual Basic scripting and early implementations of Macromedia Shockwave Flash (originally called 'FutureSplash') for animations.^[12]

While the MSN shows approach was unique and innovative, the content was not easily accessible by members with low-end computers and slower dial-up connections. High-speed Internet access was not widely available at the time, and some users subscribed to monthly dial-up plans that limited the number of hours during which they were allowed to access the service. The MSN 2.0 software was also unstable and would often quit unexpectedly.^[11]

In addition to MSN 2.0's speed and stability issues, existing MSN subscribers were concerned the transition to MSN 2.0 would break up communities that were established via the MSN Classic message boards and chat rooms.^[13] Their concerns were confirmed when Microsoft announced plans to close the entire MSN Classic service. As a result of all these issues, a web site called The Official msNOT Hate Site^[14] originated as a negative response to the new MSN 2.0 software. The site claimed Microsoft patently ignored feedback from concerned members and censored anyone who spoke out against the upgrade; it further charged the company's handling of the transition to MSN 2.0 was "insensitive and ethically questionable."^[11] Microsoft denied it attempted to silence those who expressed concern about the upgrade.^[15] The site also mocked the music loop that played during the MSN 2.0 installation process because it repeated the phrase "too stupid to stop."^[11]

Ultimately, the ambitious use of web-based and interactive multimedia content on the Internet during 1996 and 1997 proved to be ahead of its time, and the MSN 2.0 service was not as successful as Microsoft initially hoped. The company returned to the drawing board for its next MSN release.^[5][16][17]

Less ambitious attempts[link]

In 1997, after abandoning the interactive multimedia format, the MSN service was again re-focused, this time as a more traditional Internet access service. With the release of MSN 2.5 in late 1997, some exclusive MSN branded content was still offered through the MSN Program Viewer, but the service mainly directed members to normal, text-based web sites that anyone on the Internet could access, instead of interactive shows.^[18]

Accompanying the MSN Program Viewer in MSN 2.5 was 'MSN Quick Launch,' an icon inside the Windows notification area. Like the MSN Program Viewer in MSN 2.0, the menu in MSN Quick Launch could be dynamically updated to guide members to updated MSN content and services.

With the MSN Internet Access 2.6 release in 1998, the MSN Program Viewer was abandoned entirely in favor of the more familiar Internet Explorer. Another new version of the service, MSN Internet Access 5.0, was released along with Internet Explorer 5.0 in 1999. MSN 5.0 was largely identical to MSN 2.6.

Around this time, MSN began to focus on being an Internet portal to users of other Internet service providers. Building on the success of MSN's web-based e-mail service, Hotmail, which was acquired by Microsoft in December 1997, the MSN Messenger Service for instant messaging was launched in 1999.

By the release of Windows XP in 2001 (which also brought with it Internet Explorer 6.0), content for MSN Internet Access subscribers was offered through a program called MSN Explorer (MSN 6.0). This was similar to the MSN Program Viewer in that it provided MSN web sites and content through a customized interface on top of Internet Explorer. The program was rebranded as simply 'MSN' for versions 7, 8, and 9, which were released throughout the next few years. MSN 9 was the last version of MSN's special software for dial-up Internet access.

Dial-up Internet service provider[link]

Parts of this article (those related to section) are outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (April 2011)

In the United States and Canada, MSN is still a dial-up Internet service provider. MSN remains the second largest Internet service provider in the United States, behind dial-up leader AOL, which had retained about 10 million subscribers by the end of 2007.^[19] MSN bundles its dial-up service with an e-mail account at MSN.com and security software such as firewall and anti-virus programs.^[20]

For customers with high-speed, broadband Internet access, MSN partnered with Verizon, Qwest, and Bell Sympatico. Verizon, Qwest, and Bell Canada provide the broadband connection and directly bill their customers. The included MSN software, known as 'MSN Premium,' offered a customized interface similar to the MSN 9 dial-up software and security features similar to the newer (now unsupported) Windows Live OneCare security package. Subscribers received an MSN Firewall and MSN Virus Guard provided by McAfee, and the Webroot Spy Sweeper for MSN. The broadband Internet package from Microsoft has since transitioned to the Windows Live brand name. New customers of Verizon's broadband Internet service may only subscribe to Windows Live, not MSN Premium. Existing customers of MSN Premium who change to Windows Live may not revert back, because Microsoft has phased it out.^[21]

MSN, the Internet portal[link]

Internet Start[link]

From 1995 to 1998, the MSN.com domain was used to promote MSN as an Internet service provider. At the time, MSN.com also offered a custom start page and an Internet tutorial, but Microsoft's major Internet portal was known as 'Microsoft Internet Start,' located at home.microsoft.com. It served as the default home page for Internet Explorer and offered basic information such as news, weather, sports, stocks, entertainment reports, links to web sites on the Internet, articles by Microsoft staff members, and software updates. Microsoft's popular news web site, msnbc.com, which launched in 1996, was also tied closely to Microsoft Internet Start.

MSN.com[link]

In 1998, the largely underutilized 'MSN.com' domain name was reinvented as both an Internet portal and as the brand for a family of sites produced inside Microsoft's Interactive Media Group. The new site put MSN in direct competition with sites such as Yahoo! and Go Network. Because the new format opened up MSN's content to the world for free, the Internet service provider and subscription service was renamed 'MSN Internet Access' at that time.^[5]

The relaunched MSN.com contained a whole family of sites, including original content, channels that were carried over from web shows that were part of the 'MSN 2.0' experiment (although none of the actual shows remained), and new features that were rapidly added. MSN.com also became a successor to the default Internet Explorer start page, as all of the previous 'Microsoft Internet Start' web site was merged with MSN.com.^[5]

In the late 1990s, Microsoft collaborated with many other service providers, as well as other Microsoft departments, to expand the range of MSN's services. Some examples include Microsoft adCenter, MSN Shopping (affiliated with eBay, PriceGrabber and Shopping.com), and the MSN Encarta encyclopedia with various levels of access to information.

Since then, MSN.com has remained a popular destination, launching many new services and content sites. MSN's Hotmail and Messenger services were promoted from the MSN.com portal, which provided a central place for all of MSN's content. MSN Search, a dedicated search engine, launched in 1999. The single sign-in service for Microsoft's online services, Microsoft Passport (now Windows Live ID), also launched across all MSN services in 1999. The MSN.com portal and related group of services under the 'MSN' umbrella remained largely the same throughout much of the next decade.

On November 5, 2009, Microsoft released a preview^[22] of their new homepage and logo. It was expected to be widely available to over 100 million U.S. customers early 2010.^[23][24]

Windows Live[link]

Many of MSN's services were reorganized in 2005 and 2006 under a new brand name, Windows Live. This move was part of Microsoft's strategy to improve its online offerings using the Windows brand name. The company also overhauled its online software and services due to increasing competition from rivals such as Yahoo! and Google. The new name was introduced one service at a time. Windows Live uses 'Web 2.0' technology to offer features and functionality through a web browser that were traditionally only available through dedicated software programs.

Some of the MSN services affected by the rebranding included MSN Hotmail, which became Windows Live Hotmail; MSN Messenger, which became Windows Live Messenger; MSN Search, which became Live Search (now known as Bing); MSN Virtual Earth, which became Live Search Maps; MSN Spaces, which became Windows Live Spaces; MSN Alerts, which became Windows Live Alerts; and MSN Groups, which became Windows Live Groups. Some other related services, such as MSN Direct, have remained a part of the MSN family without transitioning to Windows Live.

Following the launch of Windows Live, the MSN brand took on a different focus. MSN is now primarily an online content provider of news, entertainment, and common interest topics through its Internet portal, msn.com,^[25] while Windows Live now provides most of Microsoft's online software and services.

Microsoft has rolled out a new MSN logo,^[26] coupled with a major redesign of their overall site. The redesigned site was in preview mode until 6:30 ET on December 25, 2009, when it permanently changed.^[27]

Other services known as "MSN"[link]

In addition to the Internet service provider and the Internet portal, the name "MSN" has been used for a number of related services. The two most popular of these are Hotmail and Messenger. For further information, see List of MSN services.

Hotmail[link]

Hotmail is a free web-based e-mail service by Microsoft. Originally started as an independent service in 1996, it became part of the MSN family in 1997. Since 2006, it has been part of Microsoft's Windows Live group of online services. Hotmail has over 380 million users worldwide and is available in 35 languages.^[28]

MSN Messenger[link]

MSN launched an instant messaging service in 1999 to compete with AOL Instant Messenger, which was originally known as 'MSN Messenger Service' and was later shortened to simply 'MSN Messenger.' Currently, the underlying technology is known as '.NET Messenger Service,' while Windows Live Messenger is the name of the main program used to access the service. Regardless, the term 'MSN' has come to be synonymous with the service in Internet slang.

MSN Explorer[link]

MSN Explorer is an internet browser that ties MSN Messenger and Hotmail together into an all-in-one Internet access software program. MSN Explorer 1.1 was originally included with Windows Whistler build 2410. Server versions of Windows Whistler did not include it. MSN Explorer is similar in many ways to AOL's internet software as AOL has an email client built in and both programs provide access to special members-only content. Versions of MSN Explorer later than 7.5 require paid subscription, however, it is possible to use another Internet Service Provider while accessing content provided through the MSN Explorer software. The latest version of MSN Explorer is 9.6.

A 10th version appeared briefly within Windows Longhorn. MSN Explorer version 10 did not appear in the gold release of Windows Vista, the finalized version of Longhorn.

Upon confirming with MSN support MSN version 10 will begin rolling out November 2009, with a full rollout finished to all paying subscribers by the end of 2009. Features include full Internet Explorer 8 compatibility, integrated spell checker, and the ability to not include MSN messenger in the installation.

MSN Premium[link]

MSN Premium is a subscription service provided by MSN which combines a number of different internet services into a premium-service version of MSN 9. In order to use MSN, the user needs to subscribe to the service through join.msn.com or by acquiring your DSL through one of MSN's partners, such as Verizon in the United States or Bell Sympatico in Canada. Since the release of the re-branded Windows Live Hotmail in 2006, users of MSN Premium or MSN Dialup 9 were unable to receive the New Windows Live Hotmail which included an increased amount of email storage, 5 GB, as well as newer features, security and new design, which was given to free users. Microsoft however, had started emailing MSN Premium and Dialup users about the change from MSN Hotmail to Windows Live Hotmail in mid-2007. As of July 2008, Microsoft has ended the use of the "Classic" MSN Hotmail as use. Microsoft has updated the style to the current Windows Live Hotmail Scheme as a free upgrade, which also led to the upgrade of storage from 2 GB to 10 GB, rather than what free users have.

International services[link]

Microsoft extended its MSN services beyond the United States, partnering with local telecommunications companies and broadcast stations to provide service in numerous areas around the world. In Canada, MSN has partnered with Bell Sympatico (the ISP division of Bell Canada) creating "Sympatico / MSN"^[29]

In Australia, Microsoft originally partnered with Telstra in 1995 with MSN branded locally as OnAustralia. When Microsoft withdrew from the joint venture the following year, Telstra assumed 100% ownership and rebranded the service as BigPond. Microsoft subsequently partnered with the Nine Network to create "ninemsn".

In Mexico, MSN has partenered with Telmex' Prodigy creating "Prodigy / MSN".^[30] An affiliation with Xtra, Telecom New Zealand's Internet provider ended in 2006 (see XtraMSN).^[31]

MSN has many offices worldwide for national customer support. It utilizes the service of call centers around the world. Among the countries are the Philippines (technical and customer service), El Salvador (technical and customer support for Spanish-speaking customers), and India (customer service). In 2007, Microsoft set up a research and development center for MSN services in China, based in Shanghai's Zizhu Science Park. The center hosts a technical support team for MSN services.^[32]

List of MSN local websites:

Africa:

• South Africa
• Maghreb

Americas:

Asia:

Oceania:

• Australia
• New Zealand

Europe & Middle East:

Caribbean (Coming soon): Note: Former Netherlands Antilles in Bold text.

See also[link]

• Comparison of instant messaging clients
• Microsoft
• Microsoft Windows
• MSN Chat
• MSN Messenger
• MSN Search
• MSN Soapbox
• MSN Video
• msnbc.com
• Sympatico / MSN Music Store

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about MSN on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• Official website (Mobile)
• Windows Live
• MSN Worldwide

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Game (disambiguation). (Discuss) Proposed since November 2010.

The term games is the plural of game

It may refer to:

• GamesTM magazine
• Games (magazine)
• Games, an electronic music album by Larry Fast
• Games (album), an album by Leo Ku
• Games (band)
• "Games" (House), an episode of the TV series House
• Mind games, a form of covert psychological influence.
• Roman games, the Ludi Romani.
• Games (film), starring James Caan (1967)

GAMES[link]

• Georgia Academy of Mathematics, Engineering and Science

Nicknames[link]

• In the UK, an alternative name for Physical Education

Olympics[link]

• Olympic Games
• Summer Olympic Games
• Winter Olympic Games
• Special Olympics World Games
• Ancient Olympic Games
• Cotswold Olimpick Games
• Paralympic Games

Modern Games[link]

• All-Africa Games
• Arafura Games
• Arctic Winter Games
• Aryan Games
• Asian Games
• Asian Winter Games
• Australian University Games
• Bolivarian Games
• British Empire Games
• Canada Games
• Central American and Caribbean Games
• Commonwealth Games
• Commonwealth Youth Games
• Cotswold Games
• East Asian Games
• FEI World Equestrian Games
• Friendship Games
• Gaelic games
• Games of the Small States of Europe
• Goodwill Games
• Highland games
• Community Games, Ireland
• Jeux de la Francophonie for the French-speaking world community
• Lusophony Games for the Portuguese-speaking world community
• Maccabiah Games
• Mediterranean Games
• Military World Games
• Nordic Games
• Pacific Games
• Pan American Games
• Pan Arab Games
• Pan-Armenian Games
• Paralympic Games
• South American Games
• South Asian Games
• Southeast Asian Games
• National Congress of State Games, United States
• West Asian Games
• World Games
• World Air Games
• World Wheelchair and Amputee Games

Diminutives[link]

Sports statistics[link]

• Games played, a statistic in several sports representing the number of games a player has participated in
• Games pitched, a statistic in baseball which counts the number of appearances by a pitcher

See also[link]

• History of games
• Game (disambiguation)

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