ISLAND DISCOVERY

Every player needs a Game Board. Pick the Island that fits your game.

If you already read the Game That Pays homepage, you know the basic idea:

An Island is a Game Board.

A Parking Spot is a position on that board.

Your Traffic Routes bring people to it.

What you advertise inside the position determines what you want that move to accomplish.

And the built-in Multi-Tier Affiliate Program can create another economic path when properly tracked qualifying purchases happen.

So where should you play?

That’s what this page is for.

RULE #1: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PLAY EVERY ISLAND.

Start where you already have an advantage.

What do you know?

What do you own?

What do you sell?

What do you do?

What do people already ask you about?

That’s probably where your first Game Board is hiding.

COOL CAR GUY AND FREAK SITES ARE TWO DIFFERENT BRANDS

This is worth making clear before you pick a board.

CoolCarGuy.com is one brand.

Freak Sites is another brand made up of focused niche Islands.

I built them around the same basic architecture so the Game stays simple.

  • same basic Parking Spot concept;
  • same standard $7 entry product;
  • same basic publishing architecture;
  • same affiliate structure;
  • same basic Game mechanics.

The subject changes.

The machine underneath stays familiar.

GAME BOARD #1 — COOLCARGUY.COM

The curated cool-car board.

CoolCarGuy.com is the board for things that genuinely belong in the world of cool cars.

This one is intentionally curated.

You might build a Parking Spot around:

  • a cool car for sale;
  • a vehicle you want to showcase;
  • a restoration;
  • a collector car;
  • a dealership;
  • a detailer;
  • an automotive product or service;
  • a cool-car creator;
  • an event;
  • a road trip;
  • a video;
  • or an automotive story interesting enough that car people would actually stop and look.

Possible Game objectives:

  • sell the car;
  • find a brokerage client;
  • generate dealership traffic;
  • promote an automotive business;
  • sell a related product;
  • build a cool-car Channel;
  • or introduce another player to CoolCarGuy.com.

If your subject is simply an ordinary car that doesn’t really belong in the curated Cool Car Guy world?

There’s another board for that.

👉 EXPLORE COOLCARGUY.COM

GAME BOARD #2 — CARSFREAK.COM

The everything-automotive board.

Cars Freak is broader.

If it legitimately belongs in the automotive world, this is probably the board.

You might build Parking Spots around:

  • cars;
  • trucks;
  • motorcycles;
  • RVs;
  • parts;
  • tires;
  • tools;
  • dealerships;
  • repair shops;
  • detailers;
  • automotive jobs;
  • products;
  • services;
  • events;
  • maintenance experiences;
  • or ordinary car ownership.

Possible Game objectives:

  • sell a vehicle;
  • generate a service customer;
  • sell automotive products;
  • build a business lead funnel;
  • send traffic to a dealership;
  • build an automotive Garage;
  • or introduce other automotive advertisers to the board.

CoolCarGuy.com is the boutique.

CarsFreak.com gets the rest of the automotive parking lot too. 😂

👉 EXPLORE CARSFREAK.COM

GAME BOARD #3 — HOUSINGFREAK.COM

The housing and real-estate board.

Housing Freak is where housing, real estate, properties, businesses, services and the money around housing can become positions.

You might park:

  • a home for sale;
  • a rental property;
  • a vacation property;
  • a Realtor;
  • a mortgage business;
  • a contractor;
  • a property-management company;
  • a renovation;
  • a housing product or service;
  • a real-estate investment idea;
  • an affordability discussion;
  • or an opinion about what is happening in housing.

Possible Game objectives:

  • find a buyer;
  • find a renter;
  • generate a client;
  • promote a housing business;
  • sell a related service;
  • send traffic to another property or offer;
  • or build a housing Channel around a subject you understand.

👉 EXPLORE HOUSINGFREAK.COM

GAME BOARD #4 — TRAVELERSFREAK.COM

The travel board.

Travelers Freak is where trips, properties, destinations, businesses and experiences can become useful advertising positions.

You might park:

  • a trip;
  • a hotel;
  • a resort;
  • a timeshare;
  • a vacation rental;
  • a cruise;
  • a destination;
  • a travel agent;
  • a guide;
  • a tour;
  • a restaurant;
  • a travel product;
  • a great experience;
  • a terrible experience;
  • or something another traveler should know.

Possible Game objectives:

  • generate a booking;
  • send visitors to Airbnb or VRBO;
  • promote a resort;
  • promote a travel business;
  • use an appropriate travel affiliate offer;
  • document travel you were already doing;
  • or build a travel Garage or Channel over time.

A trip can be something you did once.

Or it can become another position on your board.

That’s a different way to travel.

👉 EXPLORE TRAVELERSFREAK.COM

GAME BOARD #5 — RUNNERFREAK.COM

The running board.

Runner Freak is for the world around running.

You might park:

  • a marathon;
  • a half marathon;
  • a 5K;
  • a race company;
  • a race director;
  • a running club;
  • a coach;
  • a running store;
  • shoes;
  • gear;
  • a training experience;
  • a comeback;
  • or a running-related product or service.

Possible Game objectives:

  • sell race registrations;
  • promote coaching;
  • sell running gear;
  • promote a running business;
  • build a race archive;
  • build a runner Channel;
  • or attract other runners and businesses to the board.

A runner can document the race.

A race director can advertise it.

A business can sell something runners use.

Same Game Board. Different objectives.

👉 EXPLORE RUNNERFREAK.COM

GAME BOARD #6 — WEAPONSFREAK.COM

The specialized weapons, gear, history and preparedness board.

Weapons Freak is the more specialized Game Board.

You might build positions around:

  • historical weapons;
  • collectibles;
  • craftsmanship;
  • archery;
  • hunting-related subjects;
  • outdoor gear;
  • preparedness;
  • books;
  • history;
  • products;
  • services;
  • or commentary that legitimately fits the Island.

Possible Game objectives:

  • promote an appropriate product or business;
  • build a collector audience;
  • document history or craftsmanship;
  • send traffic to related content;
  • or build a specialized Garage or Channel.

This board has its own subject matter and editorial rules.

If something doesn’t fit the Island, don’t force it onto the board.

👉 EXPLORE WEAPONSFREAK.COM

DON’T ASK WHICH ISLAND HAS THE MOST USERS.

That’s not how I’d choose my first Game Board.

I’d ask:

WHERE DO I ALREADY HAVE SOMETHING TO PLAY?

  • If you’re a car dealer, start with cars.
  • If you own a vacation rental, start with travel.
  • If you’re a Realtor, start with housing.
  • If you direct races, start with running.
  • If you’re a cool-car person, Cool Car Guy is sitting there waiting for you.

Start where the first move is obvious.

YOU CAN PLAY MORE THAN ONE GAME BOARD

Fine.

Play more than one board.

Your Cars Freak Garage can be different from your Travelers Freak Garage.
Your Housing Freak positions can have completely different objectives from your Runner Freak positions.

And when it legitimately makes sense, Traffic Routes from one part of your world can become Trade Routes into another Island Game Board.

You are not required to stay on one Island forever.

But you also don’t need six half-built Garages just because six boards exist.

I’d rather have one useful Garage than six empty parking lots.

YOUR FIRST POSITION DOES NOT HAVE TO BE COMPLICATED

This is where people can make the Game harder than it needs to be.

You don’t need to launch a business.
You don’t need a giant audience.
You don’t need 100 pages planned.

You need one legitimate reason to create one position.

For example:

  • a car you’re selling;
  • a business you already operate;
  • a property you want people to see;
  • a trip you just took;
  • a race you just ran;
  • a product you already use;
  • a video you’ve already made;
  • a service you already provide;
  • or something interesting enough that it deserves its own page.

Pick one.

That’s your first move.

THEN GIVE THE POSITION A JOB

Before you build it, ask:

“What do I want this Parking Spot to do?”

  • Sell something?
  • Generate a call?
  • Find a customer?
  • Get a booking?
  • Promote a video?
  • Sell through an appropriate affiliate offer?
  • Introduce somebody to the Game Board?
  • Build the first piece of a future Channel?

If you know the job, building the position gets much easier.

QUICK ISLAND DISCOVERY TEST

If I gave you seven dollars right now and told you to create one advertisement, what would you advertise?

  • A car?
  • A house?
  • A vacation property?
  • A race?
  • A business?
  • A product?
  • A service?

Something you already know enough about to explain?

Your answer probably just picked your first Island for you.

THE GAME BOARD IS NOT THE PAYOFF

This distinction matters.

You are not picking an Island because the Island magically makes money.

The Island gives you somewhere to make the move.

  • Your Parking Spot gives you the position.
  • Your offer gives the position a job.
  • Your Traffic Routes bring attention.
  • Your tracking helps tell you what happened.

The Affiliate Program can potentially create another payoff when qualifying activity occurs.

You still have to play the Game.

AND MORE GAME BOARDS ARE COMING

The current Islands are only the boards available today.

The network can expand.

New niches create new Game Boards.

New Game Boards create new kinds of Parking Spots.

New positions create new opportunities to build Garages, Channels, Traffic Routes and Trade Routes.

So don’t worry if your favorite niche doesn’t exist yet.

The Game Board is still being built.

THE GAME BOARD IS GOING TO GET BIGGER

The six Game Boards you see today are not the end of Freak Sites.

Three more Islands are planned to come online next.

And once the current Islands are populated with enough Parking Spots and active players, I already have a total of 17 Freak Sites Islands available for construction.

Add CoolCarGuy.com as its own separate brand and Game Board and the architecture can eventually support:

UP TO 18 DIFFERENT GAME BOARDS.

That does not mean you need to play all 18.

It means the Game doesn’t have to stop because you figured out how to play one niche.

NOW THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT COULD MEAN

Let’s use a completely hypothetical example.

Suppose over time you became good enough at playing one Island that the combination of your advertising, customers, affiliate activity and other legitimate revenue connected to that Game Board averaged:

$750 A MONTH

That’s:

$9,000 A YEAR FROM ONE GAME BOARD.

For a part-time online activity, I’d call that pretty interesting.

But here’s where Island Discovery starts mattering.

What if you figured out how to repeat the same basic Game strategy on four additional Islands?

5 GAME BOARDS × $9,000 = $45,000 A YEAR

Same basic architecture.

Same $7 standard Parking Spot.

Same basic affiliate mechanics.

Different niche.

Different advertisers.

Different Traffic Routes.

Different Parking Garages and Channels.

That’s where the Game starts becoming much more interesting than one seven-dollar advertisement.

THE GOAL ISN’T TO OWN 18 EMPTY GAME BOARDS

This is important.

I would not open accounts everywhere, throw one Parking Spot onto every Island and call that diversification.

I’d learn how to make one board work first.

  • Build positions.
  • Build a Parking Lot.
  • Build a Garage.
  • Develop a Channel.

Learn which Traffic Routes work.
Learn what advertisers actually buy.
Learn what produces economic value.

Then take what you learned to another Game Board.

That is the expansion strategy.
Not eighteen empty Islands.

ONE WORKING GAME → ANOTHER WORKING GAME → ANOTHER.

READY TO PICK YOUR BOARD?

Don’t overthink it.

Pick the Island where you can already see your first move.

Then go learn the Rules of the Game.

PICK A GAME BOARD.

MAKE ONE MOVE.

SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

THEN DECIDE WHERE TO PLAY NEXT.

THE RULES OF THE GAME
EXPLORE THE ISLANDS
BACK TO GAME THAT PAYS

FOR THE LAWYERS

GameThatPays.com uses Island, Game Board, property, Parking Spot, Parking Lot, Parking Garage, Channel, Traffic Route, Trade Route and similar terminology as metaphors for online advertising, publishing, affiliate marketing and business strategy. Parking Spots are online advertising and publishing products, not real property, securities, investments or ownership interests in any website or company.

Choosing an Island, creating a Parking Spot or participating in an Affiliate Program does not guarantee views, traffic, leads, customers, sales, bookings, commissions, profit or income. Results vary and may be zero.

Each Island is subject to its own current categories, editorial standards, prohibited-content rules, product terms and Affiliate Program terms. Participants are responsible for ensuring that the content and offers they publish are appropriate for the selected Island.