I recently started playing a neat online game called Travian. It is not unlike a RTS resource-gathering game like Warcraft or Age of Empires; however, it is entirely done with web pages. Plus, when I say RTS (real-time strategy), I mean real time. Gathering resources takes hours, so building even simple structures can take days of real time. The neat thing about it is you can interact with other players, and it runs in a browser window. It is the perfect background amusement. You click a button or two every couple hours and go back to whatever you were doing. In the meantime, your peons labor away.
Give it a try, it is quite addicting—plus, it is free. Here’s a helpful hint, click on the big soldier to the right of your village and complete all the quests. You get tons of free stuff that way!
