THAC0 - A few comments....

First of all, I fail to see why it becomes such a hardship for people to simply skip past articles about a game they have no interest in. Ok, you don't want to play FR. So don't read the articles about it. Problem solved. While this game may very well be targeted for kids that does not, by any means, mean that no adults are going to play it. Believe it or not, some adults enjoy simple games that are click based, collectible card games, and social interaction online.

Here's another thing - Some of us? We're parents! We might be looking for a game that satisfies our MMO itch AND appeals to our kids.

I know...that's just crazy talk, right?

Here's something else - I'm a thirty six year old PnP gamer from back in the day who spent many a late night with my friends doing exactly what you described above (although, in all reality, hindsight makes those games considerably more rewarding than they really were. Most of the adventures we ran back then were about how many things we can kill and how our characters could hook up with wenches in the tavern). Amazingly enough, I also found time to play a lot of video games back then! Things that challenged my mind like...Pac-Man...hrm...maybe that's not a good example. Ok, how about that Porky's game I had?...noooo....Q-Bert?

Free Realms is fluff. I won't say that it isn't. But it's good fun if you are of the right mindset to play it and no more responsible for the rotting of young minds than any other entertainment that is not taken in moderation.

And for the record (since your hindsight seems to have left out this little detail of our similar past), they said the exact same thing about PnP games when we were growing up.

Bah...reply fail. Oh well.