You don't have to scour Ebay, hoping to spend real money on a character, to enjoy online Role Play Games. Harkening back to the days of the Oregon Trail, a new generation of game designers is hoping to entertain and educate at the same time.

Check out Booga Holler’s My U.S. Rep. Choose any current U.S. Representative, from Neil Abercrombie to Charles William (Bill) Young, then run around the House of Representatives, interacting with other characters, building popularity, and voting on bills. Based on Reps' actual voting records, My U.S. Rep is not as graphically rich as Worlds of Warcraft, but it is oh, so topical. It’s also fun to say “Booga Holler”.

And be sure to visit the collection at Super Smart Games. Free online games include Ayiti: the Cost of Life, Karma Tycoon and MTV’s Darfur is Dying, which dramatizes the situation in western Sudan.  I only played for a few minutes, but I'm pretty sure the game designers made it very difficult to prove a point; either that, or I'm losing my gaming chops.  Less altruistic, but still fun, spend a little money and play Kudos, a riff on the British version of The Office.