ChoreWars.com is an online role-playing game in which competitors complete real-life household tasks to win. Tackling the dishwasher becomes “loading or unloading the enchanted cabinet of crockery washing”, for which you can get ten gold pieces. You might find treasure, or meet a “water goblin” or “tentacle beast”. You register your household, everyone starts recording their efforts, and the place gets tidier.

It was started last year by London-based web developer Kevan Davis, when he was living with a group of geeks moaning about housework. So far, more than 70,000 people have signed up.

One mum writes: “I sat down with the kids, showed them their characters and the adventures and they ran off to complete their tasks. I’ve never seen my eight-year-old son make his bed!”

Being family-friendly doesn’t come naturally to online gamers. One news entry reports: “After feedback from family users, the wandering monster images have been toned down to have fewer spikes and teeth.”

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