Gamesviller Capt-jack-sparrow of Lincoln City, OR, (pictured, below) sends us this joke:

The pirate ship Bludhaven is in the midst of a long, long voyage, and the men have grown terribly bored. A pirate among them happens to know many magic tricks, and he decides to put on a magic show. His parrot, however, is quite gossipy and can't keep its mouth shut.

The pirate begins his first trick, and the parrot gives it away by saying, "Rawwk! The coin is in the other hand. Rawwk!"

Frustrated, the pirate tries another trick, but again, the parrot gives it away by blurting out, "Rawwk! Look under the table. Rawwk!"

This goes on for some time, to a point that the pirate can't manage to perform anything spectacular to entertain the crew. His anger towards his blabbermouth parrot eventually grows so phenomenal that one night he gets very drunk and accidentally crashes the ship into some rocks.

Sobering up the next morning, he finds himself adrift on some wreckage. The parrot, ever the attentive sidekick, happens to land next to him looking quite puzzled. It says to him:

"Rawwk! Okay; I give up. What'd ya do with the boat?"

Do you have a favorite joke to share with the Gamesville community?

Send it to: members@gamesville.com

Please include:

•    your Gamesville member name
•    the complete joke

If we use your joke as a feature article, you'll receive 500 GV Rewards!

Happy Halloween from your friends at Gamesville.com!

PS: Be on the look out for a new, fall background theme for the site coming this Thursday :-)

A few months ago, we made over the old "Magic 21" game into the all-new Magic 21 game you know and love today.

We're now doing something similar with our Spades game.

In addition to re-skinning Gamesville Spades to make it more graphically appealling, we're also introducing some new features such as integrating Gamesville Avatars into the game, giving you the ability to select different "skins" for the game, and improving playability and GV Rewards integration.

But enough blabbing: Let me show you what it's going to look like. 

For comparison's sake, here is the original (current) Gamesville Spades game...

And here is the new (coming soon) version of Gamesville Spades...

As always, we're interested in your feedback so please feel free to share your thoughts with us. And stay tuned for updates as we get closer to the big unveiling of the all-new Gamesville Spades!

Everyone at Gamesville.com extends a hearty "Congratulations!" to the Boston Red Sox for winning the World Series. Well done!

This week's Best Gamesville Avatar was created by Aliethia of Phoenix, AZ (pictured at left).

Aliethia says: "I work at home, and have been working so many hours lately that I have not had any fun or vacation. My avatar represents the little girl in me and where I wish I could be now!"

Think you have the Best Gamesville Avatar?

Shine up your Gamesville Avatar, then send your Gamesville member name to: members@gamesville.com We'll check out your avatar and see if it has was it takes to be Best Gamesville Avatar.

Be sure to include a little bit about yourself and your Gamesville Avatar with your entry, so we can understand that special connection between you and your Gamesville Avatar.

If we publish you as "Best Gamesville Avatar", we'll give you 500 GV Rewards.

Don't have a Gamesville Avatar yet? Create your FREE Gamesville Avatar now!

This week's Best Pet is from Sulphur Springs, TX.

Bizarre Local Legend: GhostsOfAmerica.com says that the ghost of an old prospector with a wooden leg is often seen snooping in people's mailboxes around midnight in Sulphur Springs!

Pet Name:
Roscoe

Pet Owner:
Gamesviller "Darkhuntresstx"

View Darkhuntresstx's Profile
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Distinguishing Personality Traits:
Darkhuntresstx says: "As you can see, my boxer, Roscoe, loves to eat watermelon. He also likes to eat apples. He likes apples so much, he'll pick them himself off our apple tree!"

Want to share photos of your own favorite pet with the Gamesville community?

Send photos to: members@gamesville.com

In addition to your pet's picture, please include:

• your member name
• your pet's most distinguishing personality trait

Please note: All submissions become the sole property of Gamesville, which reserves the right to hold, reject and/or edit submissions without notice and without limitation in perpetuity.

Around Gamesville HQ, we believe in five very important things: Mom, baseball, apple pie, free games for cash prizes, and Joss Whedon. So when we got the news that all five seasons of Joss Whedon's cult television series, Angel, were being collected into a 30-disc DVD set, we got pretty excited. When the fine folks at Fox Home Entertainment sent us a preview copy, we popped in our fake fangs and sank our teeth into it--and loved every minute of it.

Angel (played by David Boreanaz, now of Bones fame) is a centuries-old vampire cursed with a conscience, who leaves the only woman he ever loved to take up residence in Los Angeles. Between the pervasive evil and countless temptations lurking beneath the city’s glittering façade, Los Angeles proves to be the ideal location for a fallen vampire who has the mission to save lost souls and in turn redeem his own by restoring hope to those locked in a losing battle with their own demons.

The 30-disc DVD Set features all 110 episodes, a signed letter to fans from creator Joss Whedon, and a collectible companion booklet. The box set goes on sale October 30, 2007, for a suggested retail price of $139.98, but can probably be found cheaper if you shop around.

If you're a fan of supernatural dramas and you haven't seen Angel, you should really check this set out. A highlight reel of some of the scenes from season two is below:

This week's Best Gamesville Avatar was created by Test.Anxiety of Collegeville, PA (pictured at left).

Test.Anxiety says: "I'm a writer, artist, metal smith, and part-time English professor with kids in college, and three Betta-Max (Siamese Fighting) fish. During the summer, I grow a small organic vegetable and herb garden, sharing the crops with my neighbors who think I'm crazy for doing all that work when I could just buy the same stuff at the supermarket!

"My avatar represents me, coming in from my garden after discovering that the insects have tried to feast on almost everything but the wildflowers. My expression suggests that I am not pleased that summer is over, and my garden is ghosting away under the autumn leaves, until next year.

"Although my hair is really very long and dark brown, sometimes (kids, classes, presentations, studio!) it feels as if it must have all turned gray-- and it's fun to create a "me" that looks the way I feel. (Aren't avatars great?) I am fairly new to Gamesville, and love being able to play and just not think. :) I really am addicted to Addiction Solitaire, and I really do have test anxiety! If you see me around and need a hand with some English matter, let me know-- I'm always glad to lend a hand. "

Think you have the Best Gamesville Avatar?

Shine up your Gamesville Avatar, then send your Gamesville member name to: members@gamesville.com We'll check out your avatar and see if it has was it takes to be Best Gamesville Avatar.

Be sure to include a little bit about yourself and your Gamesville Avatar with your entry, so we can understand that special connection between you and your Gamesville Avatar.

If we publish you as "Best Gamesville Avatar", we'll give you 500 GV Rewards.

Don't have a Gamesville Avatar yet? Create your FREE Gamesville Avatar now!

This week's Best Pet duo hails from Lander, WY.

Useless Fact: Lander, WY, holds many festivals year-yound, including the International Climbers Festival, Gold Rush Days, and the Chokecherry Festival which sounds vaguely disturbing but is actually a wonderful chance to celebrate the abundance of our earth's harvest.

Pet Names:
Kona & Clancy

Pet Owner:
Gamesviller "Jerrysgirl8"

View Jerrysgirl8's Profile
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Distinguishing Personality Traits:
Jerrysgirl8 says: "Kona is a great big brother who is very protective of his younger brother Clancy. Both are rescue cats that are very well-behaved and sit up for dinner and treats. Their previous owners do not know what they have given up!"

Want to share photos of your own favorite pet with the Gamesville community?

Send photos to: members@gamesville.com

In addition to your pet's picture, please include:

• your member name
• your pet's most distinguishing personality trait

Please note: All submissions become the sole property of Gamesville, which reserves the right to hold, reject and/or edit submissions without notice and without limitation in perpetuity.

Without a doubt, one of the premiere symbols of Halloween in the United States is the Jack O'Lantern. And one of Gamesville's premiere symbols is the alien bunny from Three-Eyed Bingo. So, it is with great pleasure that we present to you...

This year's Gamesville Jack O'Lantern:

For more information on pumpkin carving, including how to lay your creations to rest with some dignity, check out pumpkincarving101.