>So here I am wanting to explore a new language beyond VFP but not knowing which language would make the best use of my time and offer the greatest fulfillment. My objectives are partially business and partially personal (I'd like to invest in something fun that would allow me to create a simple game or two.) (I know, I can do that with VFP also.)
>
>Options include
>Visual Basic
>Java
>Python
>C++
>C#
>
>Key would be a great user forum like UT where I can get help. Any thoughts, suggestions, admonishments, or other words of wisdom will be carefully considered.
>
>(No flames please. I have a tender personality.)
>
>Thanks

You may want to consider multi-platform and multi-lingual capabilities.

Java, PHP and Python (I think) are great for multi-platform. I am not so sure about .NET; it seems more oriented towards Windows, although a Linux version exists ("Mono").

Java is also great for multi-lingual, since it uses Unicode natively. I am not sure what other languages work that way.

Specifically for creating games, I think Flash is a great option.

Note that I don't have a great familiarity with any of the languages named (although I give an introductory course for Java), so you may want to get more information about any potential option.