I only play those online games when Im so sick I cant physically do anything. RuneQuest was fun for a while... blacksmithing, mining, farming, killing goblins... but it can never be as fun as feeling the heat of the furnace and actually beating and shaping the metal, digging for your own clay, plant a garden and enjoy the fruits thereof... and actually dueling with a little kid with wooden swords rather than battle virtual goblins. Heck! While Im at it, participating in a real life reenactment of Roman wars would be 100X more fun than just playing Rome Total War! Thats what they do in Sweden, only with Vikings.
When I spent a little time playing online multi-player games I was actually disturbed by how many people were playing and how old they were (50)!
By years end, I can go on FarmVille and brag about all the nice plants and flowers I planted, and having the fun of actually planting, watering, weeding, pest-controlling, and eating and tasting the produce and composting the leftovers!