Evony, a free web based browser strategy game allows you to take control of your own city and pit your army against the rest of the world. Think Civilization v.s. old style Warcraft. I'm making it this weeks best way to blow off work for three reasons:

1. When the boss is wandering the halls peeking into everyone's cubicles, it's only one click away from productivity. There's no sound, so there won't be any sudden death cries coming from your laptop speakers, nor any irritating: "I'm on the job," dialogues. As long as your work doesn't block the URL, (unlikely since it isn't as well known as some of the other work-busters like Facebook and MySpace,) you're free to enjoy Evony.com all day! When you see your boss, simply click over to another tab or open up that spread-sheet on top of Evony and you're home-free.

2. It is possible, nay, probable that you'll get a lot more work done while playing Evony.com than many of the other work-busters because building a city, (or two, or three,) and a large enough army to protect said cities takes time! Unless you're into watching progress bars crawl across the screen the most amount of time you'll want to waste on Evony.com during the work-a-day would be about 45 minutes. Unlike Facebook or MySpace, you'll not be tempted to continuously check for updates, you'll know when you need to upgrade something in Evony ahead of time, taking the guessing work out of gaming.

3.  Did I mention it's free?  Sure, you could buy some game coins, or earn them through referrals, but it isn't a necessary part of the game.  You're perfectly capable of enjoying the game without spending a red cent!  It's a bargain compared to $15 a month to play War Craft, (try getting away with playing that at work!,) and it's so much more involved than most of the free games available online.  Old-school gamers may remember MUD's, from back in the day, Evony.com is much like those old-school games, only it has graphics.  I definitely get a sense of nostalgia while I play, an enjoyment of those simpler times come alive.