Games' Talk - Comments on computer games Ever since the popular game Minecraft  was published, people all over the world - 27,284,812 to be exact - have spent hours on end playing the game. I should know, because I'm one of them. But what about the rumor that it is based on the Vikings? I have found many signs that Minecraft is based on the Vikings. Here are just a few: The Vikings were keen blacksmiths. Minecraft also has a lot to do with shaping metal: you can create Armour from all kinds of material, and other things from burning metal in a furnace, then putting them in a crafting table to actually make a specific item. In "survival" the person playing kills animals to survive. You cook there meat in a furnace and eat it. Vikings did the same. The most striking likeness to the Vikings though, has to do with clothing. In the game you wear Viking-like helmets and armour. And you get into fights a lot (again-I should  know). The Vikings were sometimes very violent. By Lou Lou  

For centuries people have speculated about the possibility of life on Mars. According to recent research, the age-old riddle may soon be answered. An exciting discovery, made by a team at the University of Michigan, shows that water - crucial for life to form - can exist on the surface of the red planet, despite its very cold climate. But why all this fuss about the red planet? Our curiosity is probably due to the planet's proximity and similarity to Earth. Although there has been much speculation, to date there isno proof of life ever existing on Mars. On January 24 this year the American space organization NASA reported that current studies on the planet Mars by the discovery vehicles Curiosity and Opportunity will now be searching for evidence of ancient life, including a biosphere based on microorganisms, as well as ancient water. Even with the largest telescopes it is very hard to see much detail on Mars. In the late 1800s, some scientists thought they could see straight lines crossing the planet's surface.  Maybe not really what we will find on Mars The Michigan researchers, lead by Dr Renno, have only yet proven in a laboratory here on Earth that water could exist on Mars. This summer, however, Curiosity could confirm their experiments for real when it detected certain salts that are necessary for water to be liquid in freezing temperatures. Dr Renno said in an interview with the Independent: -Even just a tiny droplet of water is enough for bacteria to grab hold of and survive. For hundreds of years, mankind was only able to gaze up into space and fantasizing, but now we are truly getting close to know if we are alone, or if we have at least a few teeny-tiny neighbours. By Anton

You can see it everywhere. People bent over their phones, madly tapping on the screen. They are playing a popular computer game. Until recently, "Flappy bird" was the game everyone wanted, but now it is not available any more. What happened, and will it come back? Since the game "Flappy bird" started, the man who invented it has become very rich. Yet, on the 8th of Febuary 2014 the company who owned it, Dotgames, decided it was too much of a struggle for them to continue. They didn't want the fame, they didn't want the fortune. Many copies of the game had started competing with the original one, like "Tappy bird". But maybe Dotgames will bring it back, since it was hugely popular - if it is not too late. New games come out all the time. So we decided to ask pupils at Barnes Primary School what they thought: A girl who wished to be anonymous said she had played Flappy Bird and liked it but found it a bit annoying. She said that she didn't like the copies as much as the original. In conclusion, she wants Flappy Bird back! A  boy called Anton said that it was very annoying (because he always loses...) and made him quite angry. If you want to have your say and take part in our quiz, just click Yes or No below. In a short time, we will be able to see the percentage of readers who want Flappy Bird back and how many don't. By Loulou and Rosie