How do you compete in a crowded market? Stand out.

For Dunegon Runners, the secret to success in a gaming niche filled like stretch pants at an all-you-can-eat buffet by World of Warcraft, you start by offering free play and then sweeten the deal with a lot of irreverant humor.

But why stop there? Why not toss in some gnomes with a special talent?

For $20, DR players new and old can grab a boxed copy of the game, get 6 months of premium service and access to the Bling Gnomes.

Anyone who has ever explored any Dungeons & Dragons-styled fantasy world knows, hauling around loot can be a problem. Sooner or later your virtual backpack fills up and you have to tromp back to a merchant in some town to turn your hard-won treasures into more portable gold. Not very convenient and not very fun.

No more.

The Bling Gnome helps solve this adventurer's drudgery by eating items and, um, well, digesting them and then "producing gold" on the spot. So, that +3 sword and suit or iron armor you just don't need quickly turns into a pile of fresh gold. Yes, as the Dungeon Runners site points out, it is scatological humor. And if you don't know what scatological means, then you probably shouldn't buy this version of the game.

For the rest of us, a good cheap laugh once in a while makes DR a real gem in a sea of the same old crap.