(Street Life is a regular feature that profiles what's playing in the stock market.)

Act I: Game on

* The Player: CryptoLogic Ltd. (TSX:CRY)

* Action: Down 16 per cent in a month (from $15.34 June 13)

* Recent Price: $12.96

* 52-Week High/Low: $24.95/$12.55 Comic readers unite: There's a new online casino game pack featuring Marvel superhero Sub-Mariner (one of the first Marvel Comics legends).

CryptoLogic, the Irish developer and supplier of internet gaming software, has launched a new 25-payline online slot game featuring Sub-Mariner, Spiderman, The Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man and The X-Men, along with a multi-hand video blackjack game in which players can play up to five hands at once, against up to 50 dealer hands.

CryptoLogic stock, however, could use a superhero boost of its own, as it is down 48 per cent in a year (from $24.80 July 16, 2007) and scraping new 52-week bottoms. Cryptologic Exchange (TSX:CXY) is also down 17 per cent in a month (to $13.90 from $16.75 June 13) and down 44 per cent in a year (from $24.72 July 16, 2007).

Act II: Warrant Whiplash

* The Player: Novagold Resources (TSX:NG.WT)

* Action: Down seven per cent in a month (from $1.45 June 13)

* Recent Price: $1.35

* 52-Week High/Low: $13.27/$0.80 Let's hope metal and gold investors were wearing their seatbelts over the last few months.

It's been a particularly wild ride for warrants of Novagold Resources, the Vancouver-based gold company:From $2.85 on Jan. 1, the warrants climbed 93 per cent to $5.50 on Jan. 28, making them that month's best TSX gainer (and earning them a spot in Street Life).

But facing a rough metals market, it's been a downhill slide since, dropping to $0.85 on July 11.

Novagold stock (TSX:NG) rode a similar rollercoaster. From $8.89 Jan. 2, NG climbed to a high of $12.38 during the month before closing at $11.66 Jan. 28, then headed downward for the next months, closing at $7.62 July 11.

Q2 results released July 11 ($8-million loss compared to a $3.2-million loss in Q2 2007, on revenue of $0.3 million compared to $2 million in Q2 2007), pushed the warrants up on the day to $1.35 and NG stock to $8.30.

Act III: Gold Bonanza

* The Player: Rubicon Minerals (TSX:RMX)

* Action: Up 13 per cent in a month (from $1.29 June 13)

* Recent Price: $1.46

* 52-Week High/Low: $2.48/$0.95 Reading a recent news release for Rubicon Minerals, it's hard not to hear the theme song for a famous TV show and imagine the Cartwright family on the Ponderosa ranch.

Rubicon, based in Vancouver, announced a bonanza-grade gold find in the Red Lake district of Ontario. (The TV show Bonanza, incidentally, got its name from the Comstock Lode in Nevada, which was an extremely large and rich mineral deposit of silver). Rubicon's most recent hole results confirm a second bonanza-grade intercept of 10.55 oz./ton gold over 5.9 feet (811 g/t gold over 0.8 metres), expanding the gold system (the F2 zone) the company first discovered in February.

Act IV: The Contrarian

* The Player: Claude Resources (TSX:CRJ)

* Action: Up 20 per cent in a month (from $0.87 June 13)

* Recent Price: $1.04

* 52-Week High/Low: $1.65/$0.84 As many companies scramble to get a piece of the Alberta oil and gas extravaganza, one Saskatoon-based company wants out.

Claude Resources recently put a "For Sale" sign on its oil and gas assets in Saskatchewan and Alberta, choosing instead to focus solely on gold.

Claude owns 10,000 acres in the prolific Red Lake district of Ontario, and has produced around 820,000 ounces of gold from its mining operation in northeast Saskatchewan.

Changes in Claude's board and staff have led to the change in strategic plan and a desire to shed the "distraction" of oil and gas, said president and CEO Neil McMillan.

Claude shares, which have been languishing under a dollar since mid-April, have finally broken up through the $1 barrier.

NOTE: The above is not intended as investment advice to buy or sell any mentioned securities. Investors should do due diligence before investing. Quotes are based on results through July 14, 2008.

(Nicole Strandlund can be reached at nicole@businessedge.ca)