Bored? Play A Game And Be Productive.

I spend a lot of time on the internet. Sometimes, I am actively searching for a way to kill time. At these times, I like to go to sites that turn a useful activity into something of a game. There are three sites I would recommend checking out if you are ever in this situation:

1. Free Rice. This site turns a vocabulary test into charity. You are presented with a word, and four possible definitions. For every word you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice to a hungry person through international aid agencies. I played for about 3 minutes, and donated 300 grains of rice. The game also has a built in level system to keep the words at the fringe of your vocabulary. For every word you get wrong, you decrease a level, and you advance after 3 correct words. I have been hovering around at level 42, out of 50 possible levels (the FAQ says it is rare to get above 48 - take that as a challenge).
2. The ESP Game - Labeling the Web. This game matches you up with another random player, and presents you both with the same image. You both are supposed to start typing in words to describe the image, and some images have taboo words (usually really obvious descriptors). You and your partner advance to the next image after you both enter the same word. The goal of this game is to label all the images on the internet. By doing it through this game, they manage to assign the most probable and useful labels to all the images. This game is fun, but the rounds are timed, and it is more challenging than you might think.
3. The Galaxy Zoo. This is the least like a game, but I still think it is fun. This site takes lots of deep space images of galaxies that need to be categorized. You have to start by going through a short training exercise that teaches you the classification scheme. Once you pass the training test, then you set to work. There are some amazing images of huge spiral galaxies and other objects. This site does keep track of your work, so I guess that is sort of like a point system.

So, like I said, if you are going to kill some time, you may as well do some good.