Each year, millions of gamers, young and old, new and seasoned, the noobs and the L33t, choose to spend their summers hiding from the sun. These lucky few, with the occasional hopeless shut-in tossed in the mix, are more than able to practice their form of entertainment in rain, snow, or sunny weather. I would recommend being careful during the occasional electrical storm, however.

You got it, this gamer is going to count down the most enjoyable gaming categories along with some of the best games in them… and by enjoyable, I mean addictive.

10. Puzzle games – Hands down, EVERYONE has played a puzzle game, even you non-gamers out there. Ever seen those small monitor games in your local bar? Yeah. That’s them. A positive point for most of these games is that they are proven to stimulate the mind. I recommend sticking to the old school basics. Anything from the large Tetris family, in my opinion, will always be one of the best of this class… but I have played Bejeweled at the bar and been pleasantly amused… I was probably drunk though.

9. Racing games – The name is self explanatory here, and the game market is usually constantly flooded with them. What does that mean for the gamer that wishes to waste their time on an excellent racer? Choose carefully. My favorite games in this category are any of the burnout (the new Burnout: Paradise is getting rave reviews across the board) Series. I mean, this game awards gold medals in special events for crashing properly and causing the most damage. Virtually breaking stuff without consequences is fun. Oh, there is racing in it too. Other good racing games include “Twisted Metal,” “Need for Speed” and “Gran Turismo.”

8. Sports Games – Even geeks can be good at sports, which come in number eight of my most addictive game type. You name the sport . . . there is a video game for it. This year’s crop of games sport such popular titles as Skate, Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’09, Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground and Virtua Tennis 3 for your Individual sports. If your thing is team sports, you can’t go wrong with the powerhouse that is the Madden franchise (namely Madden NFL ’09 as the newest version). But NBA 2K9, NHL 09, and Winning Eleven: Pro-Evolution Soccer 2008 are also very popular this year.

7. Fighting games – These games pit two individual fighters against each other under varying circumstances. Hmmm . . . I stand corrected, virtually breaking things and beating people up without consequences is fun. My favorites here include Dead or Alive 4, Street fighter IV, Soul Caliber 4, and Mortal Combat v.s. DC Universe.

6. Platformer – These games are known for simple storylines (think save the princess) and lovable cartoonish main characters. And they have come a long way from the originals. Some that I like are Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, Ratchet and Clank, Lego Star wars, and The Simpsons game (I’m sorry; your princess is in another castle).