Dear Games.com Players:
Welcome to the new Games.com, designed to help you discover and play the games you want, wherever you are. Best of all, this is just the first part of what we have planned for the coming months. We're not giving out details on that just yet, but you can rest assured that the end product will mean more free online games for you to play, in addition to a great place to play them.
In the meantime, here are 15+ terrific features that you can find Games.com (currently located at new.games.com until the end of November).
The Games.com Homepage
As you can see in the two images above, Games.com has had a complete visual overhaul, now showcasing more games than before. Browse the wall of games, and -- if you want to see more -- scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the "load more" button, for an endless list of new games.
Another fun new feature: Every game on the wall has a pop-up Play Now button to get you into the action with a single click.
You can also see the number of people playing it, and a five-star rating, making it easy to find the most popular games, or discover hidden gems.
Another way to find new games is with the Game of the Day and Random Game buttons at the top of the page.
Search from Anywhere
Search is still the most common way that Games.com players look for games. So, we made the search box accessible at all times. In the first image above, you see the search box as it appears at the top of the page. Then, as you scroll down the page, a green ribbon with an magnifying glass appears on the upper left hand corner on the screen.
Let's say that you're scrolling down the homepage, checking out a bunch of games and then suddenly want to stop and search, all you need to do is click on the magnifying glass and the search box will magically appear once again.
Your Games.com Profile Bar
Click the green 'Sign In' button to see your new Games.com Profile bar, with follows you through the site, keeping track of the games you play, so you can find them again easily. Here you can get a quick look at your points and badges, recently played games, favorite games and more suggestions.
To go to your Profile Page, click on your image or player name at the top of the Profile Bar. Once there, you can upload a new image, write a little something about yourself and get a closer look at your points/badges as well as Favorites, etc.
We have more fun stuff in the works for this page, so stay tuned for an update in early 2013.
Rating, Favoriting and Commenting on Games
On each game info page, you can rate, favorite and comment on games (Of course, the big green 'Play' button will take you directly into the action). To rate a game, click on the number of stars that you want to give a game. To Favorite a game, click the 'Favorite This Game' button and it will automatically appear in your Favorites on your Profile Bar. (To "Unfavorite" a game, click this same button again).
Scroll down to the bottom of the Game Info page to Comment on a game. You can also 'like' and replay to other people's comments.
Categories and Genres
We ported the same, familiar categories from the former site, and have also added 'Genres,' to help you find games. If you're looking for, say, a hidden object game, click on the Puzzle category in the nav and then scroll through the genres until you see 'Hidden Object.' Click on that genre and you'll see our updated list of hidden object games. (Hint: My current favorite is Grim Tales: The Bride, though I have to warn you -- it's a little on the spooky side).
Games.com Goes Mobile
For the first time, you can play on Games.com on any device -- web, mobile phone or tablet. Open your mobile browser and point it to www.games.com wherever you are and you'll find a fresh batch of games that you can play on that device. You'll also be able to access your Profile Bar on the mobile sites. As a side note, due to the fact that a lot of mobile devices do not play Flash, you will not be able to access ALL of our games at this time.
This is just a quick look at some of the new features on our site. Right now, about half of you have made the jump to the new site, and everyone will be moving over by the end of November.
Thanks for taking the time to get to know the new Games.com a little better. If you have any questions or run into any hiccups, drop us a line at support@games.com.
Cheers,
Libe Goad
Games.com Editor in Chief