I had been eagerly anticipating the release of the Epic Win app to the Apple app store for about a month. Last week it finally arrived. I immediately bought it and tried it out.

The basic premise of the app is that it takes your to-do list and turns it into a role-playing game complete with experience points, quests, treasure and levels.

First step: Create and name your character. You can choose from a few different character types. I chose a particularly pathetic-looking skeleton.

Second step: Enter your to-do items into the app as “quests” for your character to complete.

Third step: Complete your to-do list. As you check items off your list, your character moves forward in its quest map hitting checkpoints along the way.

Fourth step: Collect your rewards. Just like in any RPG, as your character collects points in these areas it gains levels and abilities. As you complete your everyday tasks (or quests), you compile points in several areas (strength, stamina, intellect, social and spirit).

This has already made me more productive. It’s strange that a simple app like this one offers rewards that motivate me to do things I would rather avoid. In fact, it seems like game gold and levels are better motivators for me than real-world pay and job promotions. That probably says a lot about me.

As of 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning, I was winning in my Foursquare battle against my work friend Jen P. (Photo by foleymo)

I started playing Foursquare on my iPhone almost two weeks ago and I’m totally addicted.

If you’re not familiar with Foursquare, it’s a Web and mobile app that turns real life into poin-accumulating game. Players are rewarded for being adventurous and outgoing in real life.

Here’s how it works:

When you go out to a favorite restaurant, attraction or venue, check in online or with a mobile app.

Foursquare will award points based on your check-ins — five points for adding a new venue, five points for checking in at a new place, one point for checking in where you have been before.

There are also other goals. You can become “mayor” of a venue by being the person who has checked in there the most over the last two months. You also can collect badges by accomplishing certain tasks. It’s also a good way to keep tabs on what your friends are up to. For example, when a friend of mine checks into a bar down the block from me I can easily drop in on them or text them to set up plans for later.

After explaining Foursquare to my friends and asking them to join, I usually get one of two responses — “Sounds like fun. How do I join?” or “What do the points get me? Nothing? Why would I want to do that?”

Their answer tells me a lot about them. If they are for it, I assume they are the kind of people who grew up accumulating points in Pac-Man, for no other reason than to have fun. If they are looking for the real-world personal payoff for this online game, I can gather that they are solidly grounded in the real world and don’t like to feel like they’re wasting their time.

Anyway, I think it’s fun. And I’m determined to beat Jen P. in this week’s game (it ends at midnight).