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[Sappho]

I live in a different country than my mother, 6 hours apart. We're not emotionally close but we've always bonded over video games - in our case, mostly things like Tetris. Now that we're so far apart, if we want to play games together it has to be some kind of MMO, since we can't often play at the same time. I got her into Glitch and we had a great time. She enjoyed the graphics and humor and of course the easy controls and learning curve (she never did play RPGs or anything complex like that). Sadly, Glitch is shutting down next weekend, and we don't know where to go next.

I can't seem to find any other MMO geared towards "non-gamer" types except for a few that are geared towards little kids. I also can't seem to find any that are humorous except for some text-based ones which my mother would never be interested in. She said she likes building and crafting things like food and houses, so my first thought was Wurm. Right this second she's on Wurm going through the tutorial. She promised to give it a proper chance (I know it must look daunting at first), but so far she's saying she doesn't like it. Too serious, too complicated. Eventually we could have a little house or farm or something, but for now she's trying to learn not only the game-specific controls, but also how an online RPG works overall, something she's never dealt with before. The idea of dying when your stamina or health runs out (and being punished instead of spending fun times in cartoony hell like Glitch) is new to her.

So my appeal to all of you is, can you think of any other game that might work for us? Some sort of "casual" non-complicated MMO that isn't focused on combat or conflict? The only video game fighting she likes is Nintendo-style - jumping on things or punching them by pressing a button, not selecting actions from menus and worrying about strategy.

Any and all suggestions will be considered and explored. Meanwhile a tiny light of hope will probably always remain on in the back of my mind that someday Glitch will come back... It was the perfect game for both of us and I'm sure nothing else will come close.

EDIT: MapleStory has just occurred to me, but I think we can't play together because she's in North America and I'm in Europe. Can anyone confirm that, or know a way around it?

[hemmingjay]

Terraria or minecraft could work for you if you set up a server.

[miauw62]

It has to be an MMO due to 6h time zone differences. (he said in the OP. I don't think a minecraft server would really work.)

[hemmingjay]

I listed those because they are persistent worlds and they could both allow them to clearly see what the other had accomplished while apart.

[miauw62]

Good point. And an unmodded server is ran easily, and servers with enough bang to mod are kinda cheap.
(i saw one with a 8 player cap for 5 euros a month or something like that. Could probably run tekkit.)

[Seraphim342]

I'd second Minecraft.  If you set up a private dedicated server on a computer you leave running the time difference shouldn't be a problem at all.  Or you could even play on a 24/7 multiplayer server. 

[olemars]

I don't know what state it is in or even if it still exists since I haven't touched it for ages, but how about Haven & Hearth?

[Sappho]

I'm afraid a dedicated server is pretty much not possible. My internet connection is shaky at best, and I have to be careful about my electric bill. My mother would never be willing to try to set that up on her end, either, and she probably would never figure out how. Also she wants a game with lots of people on it for her to interact with, so an MMO is really preferred. I think she'd get bored really fast if she was just running around by herself on our world.

I think we'd better avoid things like Haven and Hearth. I can see her ragequitting instantly if someone came by and broke our stuff. She doesn't like PVP at all.

Right now I'm trying to download Maple Story (gonna take 3 hours, ugh) and see if I can get into the "international" (really North American) server using a proxy. I told her about this plan and she likes the look of the game but is disappointed that we couldn't build a house and such. I told her we'll pretty much have to choose: either fast-paced and easy-to-learn gameplay but no houses or crafting, or else houses and crafting but slow and complicated gameplay. I'd love to find a third option but Glitch seems to have been the only one.

At the moment she's complaining that Wurm is mostly clicking and waiting. Glitch included some of this as well, but it was all animated and fun-looking. She's really spoiled, heh.

[ansontan2000]

I don't know what state it is in or even if it still exists since I haven't touched it for ages, but how about Haven & Hearth?

Too much combat, based on my first impressions. I would suggest not.

[Seraphim342]

Hmmm... there are plenty of Minecraft servers out there with over 100 people on at most times, usually within a small area.  Most also have anti-griefing methods to keep people from breaking your stuff.  Not trying to push the minecraft too hard or anything, but it sounds almost perfect for what you describe.  Lots of people, fairly simple, house/castle/megaproject building. 

[Ivefan]

I told her about this plan and she likes the look of the game but is disappointed that we couldn't build a house and such.

If she/you don't mind the aged graphics and if you can find a well populated Ultima online server(shard) you can get crafting & houses and still avoid pvp by staying out of the pvp areas.

[Imofexios]

As stated on above posts, Minecraft.
There is alot servers to choose from. Allmost all build servers are grief protected somehow.
Ultima Online is great game still even it is been around for 15 years or so.
Just choosing the right "shard" might take some time.
But You'd should try Minecraft first. It is worth the $.

[Neonivek]

Isn't Puzzle Pirates just a series of minigames?

That could work.

But Honestly I feel your plight... if I can think of any game ANY that helps you I will fill you in.

[miauw62]

Yeah, puzzle pirates would probably work. Nice, fun MMO with minigames and house-building.
The more fancy house stuff requires dubloons (currency you have to pay for or trade quite some coins for) tough.

[Sappho]

Okay I've suggested Minecraft to her and explained as well as I could how servers work. She's considering it. I'm also having a look at these ones. Any thoughts?

http://euotopia.com/ - includes both crafting and housing (and pets!) as well as dungeon exploring and fighting, but I have no idea of the quality of the game or the playerbase. Seems to include real-life-money for certain things, but it's not clear what needs to be paid for and what is free. Also the graphics will not impress my mother, although I don't mind what the game looks like.

http://worldofthelivingdead.com/game/about/ - I remember playing WOTLD when it was new and thinking it was an excellent idea but not worth playing in the long run because the game basically just slowly destroys you, and if you don't join right at the beginning, there's no resources left to scavenge. Has anyone played this recently? Has it gotten any better? I know me and my mom could team up and start our own faction. I don't know if she'd enjoy it or not, but it's certainly something different than all the standard MMOs out there.

http://www.graalonline.com/kingdoms/about/kingdoms-feat - I dumped countless hours into Graal when it was new, and I haven't touched it for years. I can see my mother really enjoying the newer versions of this game. There's housing, crafting, cute graphics, some combat, minigames, lots of interaction... The only downside is the whole pay to play thing. I can't find any info about the actual cost of subscription - does anyone know?

http://www.furcadia.com/ - I remember trying Furcadia many years ago and not finding it very interesting. It's not really a "game" so much and building things is generally done offline. I don't know the current state of the game. It's possible that my mother would enjoy it. Any thoughts?

http://www.puzzlepirates.com/ - We both love puzzle games. We tried this once before, though, and quit pretty quickly, only I can't remember why. Anyone play, or have any recommendations for or against?

That's all I've got for now. Thanks a lot for the feedback so far, guys. It's already been helpful.