In one episode of the nerdtastic TV sitcom Big Bang Theory, the socially-challenged Caltech physicist antihero, Dr Sheldon Cooper, has his World of Warcraft account hacked.
A giant shopping-list of Sheldon's virtual property gets plundered: his wand of untainted power, all his gold, and even Glenn, his beloved battle ostrich.
As Sheldon laments, "Three thousand hours. Three thousand hours clicking on that mouse, collecting weapons and gold. It's almost as if it was a huge waste of time."
And that's the problem with games that you play across the internet: how do you trust the other people in the contest?
Even when there's no money involved, it spoils the fun if the other guys aren't on the level.
That's where on-line communities like ESEA, or E-Sports Entertainment, come into play.