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“Contests work because people want to feel masterful,” Godin says. “They want to feel like they are doing something right, and they like to daydream about winning. Those two things put together get people to fill out the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes; they get people to play sweepstakes online. Most games crash computers or require too much bandwidth, but e-mail contests take only about a minute a day to play.”

Yoyodyne has designed over 100 different games or contests for clients such as MCI, American Express, Fox TV, and Rolling Stone. In addition to specific e-mail based games, Yoyodyne has also developed multi-sponsor sweepstakes such as Get Rich Click. Unlike the money-up-front set-up with banner ads, Get Rich Click sponsors only pay for the visitors who actually come to their sites, at a rate of 50 cents each. Yoyodyne typically charges about $20,000 for sweepstakes sponsorships to $200,000 a year

It turns out that the physically draining whitewater game we played, Namco’s Rapid River, isn’t a one-of-a-kind machine. It’s just the latest in a wave of revolutionary video games that simulate various sports. Downhill mountain biking? It’s here. Virtual skateboarding? Yup. Hang gliding? That, too. Name a sport and a video game “simulator” exists or is being developed by some demented computer genius. And no matter how big a stud you were at Asteroids, you’ve got to be fit, skilled and athletic and have splendid hand-eye coordination before you can even think about becoming a great player at these games. A thick wallet helps, too: Each game costs anywhere from $1 to $4 per play, depending on the game’s complexity and the arcade owner’s level of greed.

If you’ve got some disposable income, though, and are jonesing for sports action on a lousy winter day, play any of the following