Do you allow the pointless forum posting games like "rate the name above you" and "the last poster wins" to be played on your forums, or do you remove them instantly?
Those "pointless" games have actually a point. Check out EduPhil.org's Count to One Million Game. Some of those members check out the forum now and then to check out some threads, but they only reply to the counting game for a variety of reasons.
I allow them on my sites; I don't see why I shouldn't. I usually do not let them count towards users' post count though.
Theyre needed on most forums in the beginning, theyre fun to begin with when there's no new posts etc but members do get really bored of them when only a few are replying to them.
In my opinion Forum Games add a bit of a fun to a site. Usually you find they don't contribute to the users post count (as they usually are nonsense) Especially fun games like finding a picture, the last word etc.
I'm not aware of an extended list but this might get 'ya started: [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_game]Forum game - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
While I don't believe that forum games are crucial, they are indeed fun - and an excellent activity booster. There are some that can get to be a bit "spam-ish", but the majority of them are fine.
It drives me absolutely, 100% crazy when members post topics pertaining to forum games in the wrong section. For example, I once had a member post a "The Last Person to Post Wins!" thread in the Music forum - the logic behind this? No idea...
Yeah, I know... Now maybe if he/she posted "The Last Person to Post a Song Wins" then I would not be so mad...
I not only allow them, I encourage them They can be great fun, and keep members on the site for longer periods of time. Hey the longer they are logged in, chances are they'll both read, and participate, in other areas. I like posting some of the more "intelligent" games. Like Word Association. The OP posts a word, the next member posts the first word that comes to their mind. Such as- first word is water. Next member posts 'drink'. Next one posts 'glass'. Next one is 'mirror'. Next one is 'reflection'. and so on. It can be great fun.
There are a lot of posting game threads on WaltDisneyBoards.com and I encourage them as long as they are in the right forum.
I allow them, I love 'em. However, I would allow the post counts to change up until say 5K posts then turn them off. Might as well use some filler when you start out.