Get Really "Big"

Just when you thought you'd seen the last online gaming network ...

Along comes the Big Network. Put together by the principals of Archetype Interactive, who created Internet multiplayer game Meridian, and 59 Lauren Elliott, co-creator of the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? series, you might say this network is trying to be all things to all People. It is creating content it hopes will appeal to families, sports fans, and hardcore computer gamers.

Big has divided its offerings up into a number of channels, including: Main Street - The Family Channel, which features games like What in the World?, a game that utilizes live camera views from across the Internet and arcade games such as ShufflePuck; Play4Prizes - The Gameshow Channel, where players will compete for cash prizes; Classics - The Classic Games Channel, with multiplayer games of chess, checkers, poker, hearts, reversi, and others; and Buzz - The Coffee Break Channel, with what the Big Network calls "quick, fun games perfect for office slacking."

Games on the Big Network are free, but you have to register with the site before you can play.