Friday, December 08, 2006

Casual Games - Part 1

"30 seconds have passed since you first started and your score is at an all time high. In an instant you realize that your superior is passing your cubicle any second now with your LCD monitor in full view for him to see. Immediately you reach for the Windows key + D combination to quickly hide your game of Solitaire in the sanctuary of the Windows Taskbar.

The supervisor stops to ask you about your work; the conversation takes too long and there goes any hope of topping your previous high score."

The appeal of casual games to both gamers and non-gamers alike lie in the fact the games are often easy to pick up and play. Casual games require very little overhead from the person of playing the game in terms of time and money; these games are often available free of charge and can be completed in a short span of time.

Throughout the years, casual games have out grown their typical mainstays such as handheld consoles and desktop computers to join the Internet and mobile communications bandwagon. Log on into Yahoo Games! and watch as thousands of people who don't associate themselves with video games mingle and engage in single player games such as Bejeweled and multiplayer games such as the Scrabble-clone Literati and card games.

Take the time to observe the people around you during your daily commute and you might find that even though the person standing next to you in the bus seems like she is busy texting someone on the mobile phone, she is actually having a ball of a time playing a handheld game, distracting herself from the boring commute!

To be continued...