• These games give kids a glimpse of what it's like to work in an office.child and laptop image by Witold Krasowski from Fotolia.com
  
  Plenty of online games aim to give kids a taste of what it's like to be an adult, from dress-up games to police simulations. A different take on this idea involves games based around office activities, perhaps designed, as the DressUpGirl website suggests, to teach kids that adults have fun in the office too.
  
  

Kill Time in Your Office

• Kill Time in Your Office drops kids into the life of a "typical" office worker, stuck in a cubicle with a computer and too much free time. The player has a range of activities she can perform during her day, including plucking her character's eyebrows and putting on makeup. The player's task is to do as many of these activities as possible without drawing the ire of her boss, who will appear after a certain amount of time has passed. Should the player not be working when her boss appears, she's in for a scolding, and it's game over as well.
  
  

Cubicle Warfare

• In Cubicle Carfare, the player arms himself with simple office supplies--rubber bands, paper clips or staples---and shoots various targets. The player receives points for hitting sticky notes (each note has a point value written on it) and co-workers who appear behind the cubicle screen. The player has 60 seconds to accumulate as many points as he can. Some sticky notes have negative values.
  
  

Box Office

• Box Office puts the player in charge of an office---a cinema box office, that is. The player acts as the office manager and must supply popcorn and soft drinks to keep the customers happy. During the game, which has colorful 3D cartoon graphics, customers line up to ask for food and tickets at the counter. Next to each customer, a thought bubble appears, indicating exactly what that customer wants. As the manager, the player has to click on the appropriate machine using her mouse to serve up the items needed. The more customers the player serves, the more money she'll make.