Pogo - More fun than a stick on a spring!

Since I've reviewed several Pogo games already, I figure that a site review is in order. ^_^

Pogo is free-to-play, but it has a pay option. If you join Club Pogo you'll get:

• 40+ more games
• Game Badges
• No more ads
• 2x Jackpots (max of $4,999)
• Exclusive avatar items
• 10% discount on all avatar items
• Private chat
• Members-only rooms

Monthly it's $5.99, or $71.88 a year. The yearly package is $39.99, which is a pretty significant decrease. I also see discounts offered a lot, so you can probably get it even cheaper. You can also buy gems which you can use to play member games or buy special avatar items. There are also trial passes which can be anywhere from 3 to 30 days long. You can only apply one to any account, so be picky if you want to try Club Pogo out!

There are a lot of bonuses to becoming a member. I won't deny that. But since my entire goal is to see what I can win while playing FREE games, I won't be joining Club Pogo and I won't be able to review any of their pay-to-play games.

All that aside, is it worth playing the free games?

I say YES. ^_^ There is a lot of variety on Pogo, and the games are very fun to play! The ads are not overwhelming. (Usually about 30 seconds at a time.) Best of all, there is a strong emphasis on community and it really shows. I've been in game rooms at all hours of the day/night and there is always someone up for a chat. I usually get a few comments on my name as well. *Grins*

The Pogo facebook page stays pretty active as well. If you're having trouble finding friends on Pogo you should definitely check the wall. And yes, you can connect your Pogo account to facebook too. ^_^

Another fun aspect of Pogo is the avatar system. They call them "mini's."

Yeah, I'm an earth-lovin' hippie. What of it?

You can customize just about everything about your mini. A *few* items are free, but most things you buy with the Pogo Tokens you earn playing games.

I was incredibly impressed to see mini options include 6 different wheelchairs, 6 pregnancy outfits, and a few plus-sizeish outfits. It's a rare gift to find a site that recognizes that its players have different bodies.

Moving on! ^_^

The only way to earn tokens is by playing the games. You can use the tokens to buy entries into their daily ($50), weekly ($250), and monthly ($1,000) sweepstakes. Previously you could also use the tokens to enter the sweeps, but as of January 2011, Pogo switched to a daily sweeps that doesn't require any tokens!

Nearly every game on Pogo has a Progressive Jackpot as well. (Max pot of $4,999.) With JP games you usually have to achieve a minimum score to earn a spin for the JP. You will always win something! 99.9999999999999% of the time it will just be tokens, but people also win avatar items, Pogo gems, t-shirts, and mugs. And of course, someone eventually wins the cash prize.

Nitpicky things:

• If you click "All Free Games" it includes the Club Pogo games too. But there is NOTHING on that page to tell you what games are Club Pogo only. I find it frustrating to pick a game, and then discover I can't play it.
• Having to enter my password EVERY time I enter a sweeps is annoying. I don't know any other site that does this and I can't find a way to turn it off.
• Pogo does not post the odds of winning Jackpots. I like seeing odds because it really is a reality check for me.

You can expect to see more Pogo games reviewed in the future. The nitpicky things are not enough to keep me from going back. ^_^

Updated January 17th 2011, to reflect the disappointing cancellation of the weekly and monthly sweeps.