"Everybody likes playing games... no matter what age, no matter what gender, or nationality."
Different age groups reveal different gaming preferences and behavior. One-third of adults spend 10 hours or more playing games each week, compared with 11 percent of teens. Adult gamers favor games on PCs rather than consoles and spend more time playing each week than do teenage gamers, according to the 2006 Gaming Technology Study released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). Teens tend to be more social when gaming. Teenage girls comprise a large portion of multiplayer gamers. While teens do play opponents in person they're likely to play games online. Seventy-eight percent of male teens play online, compared to 58 percent of female teens. Above facts surely prove that emerging online games are proving to be the most popular source of entertainment these days
Enjoying an Internet game does not have to cost a lot of money. Free online games come in an assortment of forms. Some can be played right through a browser window, while others require a client that can be downloaded free of charge. Plenty of online multiplayer games have no access fees, and can provide months or even years of entertainment just for the price of the game itself. Online shooters like Counter-Strike, Battlefield, and Call of Duty are good examples of this; another nice thing about single-player games is that these can be revisited years later without having to worry about whether game servers are still available, or whether anyone is still playing.
Online players can be categorized into following six different categories:
• Power Gamers who represent 11 percent of the games market and 30 cents on the dollar on retain and online games.
• Social Gamers play games as a way to interact with friends.
• Leisure Gamers spend 58 hours per month playing mainly casual titles.
• Dormant Gamers have fewer opportunities to game because of scheduling issues with family, work or school.
• Incidental Gamers lack motivation and play out of boredom but spend 20 hours or more a month playing online games.
• Occasional Gamers play puzzle, word and board games almost exclusively.
Similarly studies show interests of different players in various available games options:
• 52% Puzzles, Board games, Game Shows, Trivia, Cards
• 22% Action, Sports games, Strategy/Role-playing games
• 9% Shockwave/Flash Browser-based mini games
• 7% Persistent Multiplayer universe
• 11% Other

So what are you waiting for? Start playing online games by choosing your favorite game genre. Feeling frustrated? Choose an action game. Feeling lucky? Try the card games or try the favorite ones, puzzle games.