The Gamesville Blog

Woman Picks Up Candy Wrapper, Wins Space Trip

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:26:48 -0500

Ever see a scratch ticket on the ground and think, "Nah, not worth my time"? That's how a French flight attendant felt about the contest advertised on her candybar wrapper so she tossed it into the trash. She changed her mind about it ... and now she's heading into orbit, literally!

From the article:

Mathilde Epron, 32, said she had bought a Kit Kat chocolate bar at her local supermarket but initially threw the wrapper in the bin, telling herself that "it's only others who win."
Two hours later, thinking back to the competition, she decided to try her luck and fished the wrapper out of the bin, only to find a code marked inside.
A spokeswoman for Nestle in France confirmed that Epron had won the prize to take a flight on a four-seater, fighter-sized aircraft built by Rocketplane, a company that builds aircraft intended to provide cheap flights into space.
She will receive four days of astronaut training in Oklahoma City in the United States before boarding the Rocketplane XP aircraft which will reach an altitude of 100 km (60 miles) and allow a five-minute experience of weightlessness.

They say that one person's trash is another person's treasure. But sometimes your own trash can be pretty valuable.

Best Pet: Hannah

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:07:09 -0500

This week's Best Pet is Hannah from Weymouth, MA.

Pet Name: Hannah

Pet Owner: Gamesviller mstwisted1

View mstwisted1's Profile
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Distinguishing Personality Traits:

Mstwisted1 says, "Hannah currently weighs an astounding 18 pounds and is just about three years old now. Special talents? She can fetch (but only when she wants to). She dances a special dance when she wants attention by standing on her back legs and 'waving' her paws over her head. But her favorite pastime is begging for food - she LOVES turkey. She was my late mother-in-law's constant companion and guardian when she was diagnosed with cancer this past year. When mom wasn't feeling well, Hannah stayed by her side. If my mom-in-law was in trouble and couldn't call out to us, Hannah would dash out of her bedroom and alert us with her meowing and frantic looks.

Anybody who has played Three Eyed Bingo or Bingo Zone with me knows all about Hannah!"

Want to share photos of your own favorite pet with the Gamesville community?

Send photos to: members@gamesville.com

In addition to your pet's picture, please include:

your Gamesville member name

your pet's most distinguishing personality trait

If we publish your pet as a "Best Pet," we'll give you 500 GV Rewards.

Please note: All submissions become the sole property of Gamesville, which reserves the right to hold, reject and/or edit submissions without notice and without limitation in perpetuity.

Question of the Day: What's Your Favorite Olympic Event?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:19:46 -0500

The Summer Olympic Games, or as they are officially known, the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, begin on August 8th in Beijing. I love the Olympics and I will admit that watching the Olympic Games on TV has made me cry in the past.

So today's Question of the Day is, what is your favorite Olympics event? Although I adore swimming and diving, my absolute favorite event to watch is gymnastics. The concept of supporting one's entire body with one's arms is so beyond my physical capability that I cannot help but be terribly impressed.

Weird Wire: Koala Survives Car Crash

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:38:29 -0500

Here's one for our Aussie friends...

Most people might be a little worse for the wear after being hit by a car, but one Queensland koala bear apparently has something akin to mutant strength, as he survived a head-on collision unscathed.

From the article:

The 3-year-old male koala was struck by a car and carried for seven miles with his head and arm wedged through the vehicle's front grill, but was not badly hurt. Staff members at the Australian Wildlife Hospital in Queensland state dubbed him Ely "Lucky" Grills, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported on Tuesday.

Still, most koalas would probably be better off staying in trees and away from highways.

Princesslolly1 wins $1,000!

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:15:46 -0500

We spoke with Gamesviller princesslolly1 from Trenton, NJ, who recently won $1,000 in our monthly sweepstakes. Congrats, princesslolly1!

GV: How did you react when you found out you won?

princesslolly1: I was playing Three-Eyed Bingo when I found out. Someone said congratulations to me and I had to ask what they were talking about. I honestly had no clue! They asked if I was the PrincessLolly1 from New Jersey and I answered yes. Then they all told me congratulations again. I didn't believe them, so I had to go to the drawings and look for myself. Lo and behold, there I was! That's whenit actually sunk in that I had won. I was pretty shocked. I called my husband immediately at work to tell him. He then told me I could take a day off from bingo playing. I had earned my fee for the week.

What will you spend your winnings on?

We're going to take the kids to the shore for a week in August, so that will make it a little more fun for them.

What are your favorite games on Gamesville?

I have a couple. I love Three-Eyed Bingo and Frantic Fish. I'm so addicted to Frantic Fish that I rarely leave.

What is the best vacation you have ever taken?

I haven't taken it yet. I hope to visit Scotland and Ireland one day. I have a huge interest in the old castles and they have some of the most beautiful.

Thank you everyone who congratulated me. I really appreciate it. I have really enjoyed meeting everyone that I have met on Gamesville and I hope to meet more nice, caring people. Take care and thank you again to everyone.

Bumper Sticker Photos

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:37:00 -0500

Get your free Gamesville bumper sticker yet?

If you have, take a picture of your car (or wherever your bumper sticker may have landed) and send it to us at members@gamesville.com, and we'll give you 10,000 GV Rewards.

To get a bumper sticker, simply send us a self-addressed, stamped envelope, and we'll send you a bumper sticker. It's that easy!

Gamesville Games For Everyone!

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:54:50 -0500

Last week, enhanced regional locks were placed on Gamesville's free games with cash prizes to prevent ineligible players from playing and winning those particular games.

Thanks to the well-reasoned, passionate comments of many players from around the world--including but not limited to brandy22342, targo3, hbaf4x, lynn61611, and many others--we're updating this policy to still satisfy our lawyers but, also, help reunite the worldwide Gamesville community.

As of today, Gamesville's free games with cash prizes, such as Bingo Zone or Magic 21, can be played by people worldwide, no matter where they are, but only residents of the United States, Canada (excluding Quebec), and the United Kingdom will be eligible to win cash prizes.

This means, you can play and chat with your friends, no matter where they're located in the world. Also, in the not-too-distant future, everyone will be able to use their GV Rewards for things besides badges and sweepstakes entries ... but more on this in a few months.

Please know, the entire Gamesville community is very important to us, and we very much appreciate your passion and your patronage. Every day, you have the opportunity to help shape Gamesville by giving us your feedback and ideas on what you would like to see next. And, certainly on this topic, your voices were heard and, I think, the community and the site are definitely the better for it.

Sincerely,
Chris Cummings
Manager, Gamesville.com

PS: If you are still seeing the message that you cannot access your game, the version of Gamesville that you're looking at may be "cached"--Internet-speak for when your web browser stores a web page in memory so it doesn't have to grab every item every time they're needed.

To clear your browser's cache and download the current page, open your web browser (probably Internet Explorer or Firefox), go to "Tools" then "Internet Options" and choose "Delete Files." After you have done this, restart your browser and go back to Gamesville. You should now be able to play.

Alternatively, you can "force refresh" the lobby page. To do this, go to the lobby page for the game you want to play then hit the following keys on your keyboard:

Windows (Internet Explorer or Firefox): ctrl + f5
Mac (Firefox): command + shift + r
Mac (Safari): command + r

You may also want to sign out and then sign back in again.

If none of those actions clears out the old version of the page, your ISP may have cached the page on your behalf.

To force your ISP to pick up the revised page, add "?z=1" to the end of the page URL.

For example, Bingo Zone would go from:

http://www.gamesville.com/games/bingoZone

to:

http://www.gamesville.com/games/bingoZone?z=1

(That extra "?z=1" can be added to any lobby page URL.)

If you try all this, and it still doesn't work, please contact customer service for assistance.

Question of the Day: What is Your Favorite Fast Food Restaurant?

Wed, 9 Jul 2008 14:04:59 -0500

McDonald's iconic Big Mac turns 40 years old this year (and it doesn't look a day over 35!). In honor of the Big Mac's birthday, today's question of the day is, what is your favorite fast food establishment?

While there is very little that beats the cool taste of a Wendy's chocolate frosty for me, my overall best fast food pick would have to go to In-N-Out Burger for their fresh beef patties and crispy (non-fat-soaked) fries. Californians know what I'm talking about.

Weird Wire: Octopus To Solve Rubik's Cube?

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 14:48:16 -0500

I always had a hunch that there may be sea life that is smarter than me, and if an octopus is able to solve a Rubik's Cube, I'll have to admit that this really is the case.

From the article:

It may be an infuriating puzzle which has baffled and defeated countless children and their parents over more than two decades, but this octopus appears determined to solve the Rubik's Cube.

The three-dimensional puzzle, which became a huge success in the early 1980s, is among toys being given to the intelligent sea creatures to determine whether they favour a particular tentacle, or if they are octidextrous.

Maybe next year, I'll hire an octopus to do my taxes.

txgranny0050 wins $4,1515 in Magic 21!

Mon, 7 Jul 2008 11:59:27 -0500

We spoke with Gamesviller txgranny0050 from Tomball, RX, who recently won $4,151 in Magic 21. Congrats, txgranny0050!

GV: How did you react when you found out you won?

txgranny0050: I almost fainted! I started yelling, "I won, I won, I won!" My husband was home, so he came running in the office. Now he wants me to play ALL the time... which of course I will happily do

What will you spend your winnings on?

Not sure yet. My husband is thinking up ways to spend it... I am going to take my time and pray about it for awhile.

What are your favorite games on Gamesville?

Well, I LOVE Magic 21. I also play Bingo Zone, Spite and Malice and Miami Dice.

What are your favorite movies?

"Dreamgirls" (even have the soundtrack), "Gone With the Wind," "Overboard."