Love Survival Kit (Yes, Really)

I have to admit I installed this on my iTouch as soon as I got the press release. Because it has the potential to be cutely fun or be The Rules horrific, and either way, I have to check it out.

wikiHow, a collaboration to build and share the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual, just launched its newest iPhone and iPod Touch app, wikiHow’s Love Survival Kit. Available now for free download on the App Store, the Love Survival Kit follows wikiHow’s hugely successful Emergency Survival Kit, which has more than half a million downloads to date. Packed with articles for every love scenario, from casual dating to serious relationships, and everything in between, wikiHow’s Love Survival Kit will have you looking for love (tips) in all the right places.

The Love Survival Kit’s practical articles help people gracefully navigate tricky dating and social situations, or just kill time by learning fun and charming tricks. A modern approach to etiquette – complete with video tutorials – the Love Survival Kit covers a broad range of relationship categories and subjects, such as:

• Love and War including: How to Catch a Cheating Boyfriend, How to Date Multiple Men/Women at a Time, How to Play Hard To Get, and more
• Kissing including: How to Kiss, How to French Kiss, How to Deal with a Bad Kisser, How to Get Rid of Chapped Lips, and more
• Awkward Situations including: How to Deal with Someone’s Bad Breath, How to Escape the Friend Zone, How to Get Rid of a Stalker, and more
• Breaking Up including: How to Break Up Over the Phone, How to Break Up Over IM, How to Get Over a Break Up, and more
• Dating Skills including: How to Flirt, How to Play Footsie, How to Read Body Language, How to Have a Great Conversation, and more
• Charming Tricks including: How to Fold a Dollar Into a Heart, How to Open a Beer Bottle with a Dollar Bill, How to Open a Champagne Bottle with a Sword, and more
• Additional How-To Categories including: Best Foot Forward, Relationship Fixes, Relationship Skills and Tying the Knot

wikiHow Founder Jack Herrick commented: “I started wikiHow to help people by offering practical education. One of the most surprising things I’ve seen is how many people want to use wikiHow to secretly improve their love life. So the Love Survival Kit was created to fulfill this need, delivering the best of our romance and relationship advice in one free app.”

Which gets me thinking… I wonder if there’s a Worse-Case Scenario Handbook app yet.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Peggle Makes You Smarter

Ok, maybe not smarter exactly, but a new study shows it does increase brain function.

SEATTLE, Washington – May 26th, 2010 — PopCap Games, the worldwide leader in casual video games, today announced that preliminary results of a new study being conducted by East Carolina University’s Psychophysiology Lab have identified improvements in cognitive function through the playing of “casual” video games such as Bejeweled and Peggle. (PopCap Games, maker of the aforementioned games used in the study, did not underwrite the study.) The study, which has been underway for nearly six months and will be completed later this year, involves dozens of U.S. consumers age 50 and older, and explores the effects of the games on subjects’ short term cognitive acuity. In each instance, sizable improvements were identified in the performance of the experimental group as compared to the control group.

Dr. Carmen Russoniello, Director of the Psychophysiology Lab and Biofeedback Clinic at ECU, is presenting initial data and analysis from the study today at the 6th annual Games for Health Conference in Boston. Full study results will be submitted this fall for publication in the peer-reviewed journal Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback.

“The initial results of the study are very intriguing, in that they suggest that the ‘active participation’ required while playing a casual video game like Bejeweled provides an opportunity for mental exercise that more passive activities, like watching television, do not,” said Russoniello. “Future applications could include prescriptive applications using casual video games to potentially stave off Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-type disorders.”

More than 40 test subjects have participated in the study so far, with dozens more being included by the study’s completion. Measurements were achieved through tracking of Electroencephalography (EEG) brain waves as well as subjects’ participation in the standardized Trail Making Test™ parts A and B. Both cognitive response time (the speed with which a subject completes a task) and executive function (the frequency of correctly completing parts of the task) were tracked. Those subjects who played Bejeweled or Peggle for short (30 minute) periods showed an 87% improvement in cognitive response time and a 215% increase in executive functioning when compared to a control group. According to ECU, these improvements in overall cognitive acuity are comparable to changes recorded after other types of cognitive interventions such as mindfulness based cognitive therapy and cognitive remediation therapy.

“Video games with more complex rules and controls, and more sophisticated or detailed imagery – so-called ‘hardcore’ video games – might provide similar cognitive benefits for many people,” said Russoniello. “But those games take significantly longer to learn to play and appeal to a considerably narrower subset of the overall population, especially older consumers. In our experience, ‘casual’ video games are ideal both in terms of their accessibility and ease of understanding and because they appeal to nearly everyone.”

Via GamesPress

Popularity: 1% [?]

Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box Released

I mentioned Passionfruit Games‘ new paranormal-romance-novel-turned-adventure-game Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box last month, when I helped with the Tiger Eye beta. The final game is released for PC today (the Mac version will be out in May).

The game is available on Passionfruit’s website, at three different price points. A $6.99 version is just the game download, $9.99 includes the game, strategy guide, Tiger Eye wallpaper and a seven-minute song from the game, and a $12.99 platinum collector’s edition includes all of that, plus more music and the sheet music for the Tiger Eye theme.

Related:

On composing Tiger Eye’s music
Tiger Eye Beta
Tiger Eye: Riddle Box Game Review
Game launch press release

Popularity: 2% [?]

Max and The Magic Marker

Max and the Magic Marker, from Legacy Interactive, is available now:

LOS ANGELES, CA (April 16, 2010) – Casual games developer and publisher Legacy Interactive announced today the release of Max and the Magic Marker, an award-winning physics platformer that challenges players to draw their way through 15 innovative and challenging levels. It is now available for PC/Mac on Legacy Games at www.legacygames.com.

Max and the Magic Marker, developed by Play Press, gives players complete control as they draw out solutions and face innumerable traps, monsters and tricky puzzles. Limited only by the imagination of the player, every obstacle has an endless number of solutions. Since its inception, it has been widely acclaimed, with its development team winning the Independent Games Festival 2010 D2D Vision Award, EIGA 2009 Innovative Game Design Award, Best Overall 2009 Unity Award, and DGA 2010 Talent of the Year.

“Fun gameplay, innovative ideas and loads of options make you replay levels over and over again.” – GamingXP

“Max & the Magic Marker is a charming puzzle platformer with pleasant visuals and a simple soundtrack. Part of the fun is noticing the details, like how the little monsters can pull out bright yellow construction hats to protect them from your pen.” – Gamespot

“The physics and drawing are spot on and it has a great art style. One of the most enjoyable games with a little boy with a giant orange mohawk as the protagonist that I have ever played!” – 411 Mania

Featuring three lovingly designed game worlds based on children’s drawings, adults and children of all ages will be immediately drawn into the 2D world of Max and the Magic Marker!

Max and the Magic Marker is available for PC/Mac on Legacy Games at www.legacygames.com and in leading retail stores, and will be appearing on popular digital distribution portals.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Pinheads Party

I posted this on DIYgamer this morning (I also posted a review of Puzzle Bloom, but I’m not entirely sure what I was thinking, posting a review on a day where I’ve been totally swamped with iPad games press releases) but it’s worth mentioning here as well.

Republic of Fun, my neighbors here in Raleigh, NC*, are releasing Pinheads Party, a new Cranium-meets-iPad multiplayer game at the App Store today. Although the Republic of Fun’s manifesto decries genre-ism and the casual gamers vs. core gamers divide this looks like an all-ages casual game to me. (Sorry, el presidente, but without some genre descriptors, I’m left telling you all that it’s um, blue. And pretty!)

“We are more than excited to have Pinheads Party available for the launch of iPad,” says Mike Rasmussen, el presidente, Republic of Fun. “As a gaming device, we believe iPad is where it’s at, and that with our wildly fun games, Republic of Fun can enjoy great success in the App Store. This revolutionary device has really opened up our minds to the limitless gaming possibilities that it affords.”

Via  Power To The People! Republic of Fun’s New ‘Pinhead Party’ for iPad 

* The neighborhood goes Icarus Studios, Meg’s house, Epic Games.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Obligatory GameCrush Post

I’m not sure if GameCrush is trying to be a gamer dating site (like SoulGeek or World of DateCraft) or a way for awkward gamer guys to pay girls to play games with them, and I’m not going to find out because the site’s down due to an overabundance of sign-ups. No word on whether those would-be beta GameCrushers are lonely guys or broke girls.

Here’s the press release:

SAN FRANCISCO – March 23, 2010 GameCrush, now available in public beta, introduces an entirely new interactive social gaming experience allowing gamers to meet, match and pay to play online games with other users (PlayDates). GameCrush is the only online service that allows gamers to choose a companion to spice up their favorite online games. Both Players and PlayDates define the experience they want- either “flirty” or “dirty”, choosing from some of the most popular console titles and casual web-based games. To register for free, visit www.gamecrush.com.

On GameCrush, players can find their perfect PlayDate through browsing their profiles and chatting live with them. Players can then purchase a live one-on-one private gaming session, complete with two-way video and text chat.

Designed to appeal to female and male gamers alike, GameCrush offers games to suit a variety of tastes, from casual web-based games to the hottest console titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Halo 3, Gears of War 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV. Initially games are available on GameCrush’s own exclusive video-enabled gaming platform and on Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE network. In addition, GameCrush will soon be available for platforms such as Sony’s PlayStation 3, World of Warcraft, and other online gaming environments.

GameCrush delivers comprehensive social tools that allow PlayDates to post profiles complete with picture galleries, video clips, blogs and text chat.  PlayDates can make up to $30 or more per hour while having fun playing online games.  After a game session is completed, Players rate their gaming experience, and top-rated PlayDates are rewarded with enhanced site promotion and additional benefits.

Popularity: 1% [?]

‘Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box’ Game Music

I mentioned Passionfruit Games’ upcoming game Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box the other day. I’m pretty excited about this game (Disclosure: If I haven’t already mentioned it, I was in the Tiger Eye beta), and when I stumbled across this blog post, I realized I’m not the only one.

Well, I am positively giddy about working on this game. All shackles have been removed and I have free reign to make a soundtrack worthy of Marjorie [Liu]’s story. All told, the game will have between 50 and 60 minutes of music. Every cut scene requiring music will have its own unique music, as will each hidden object scene. The puzzle games will also have their own music. Bye bye, minute loops! I am genuinely excited that this game will be able to avoid the aural repetition so prevalent in even the best of today’s casual games. The size of Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box’s soundtrack would consume too much budget for most casual game companies, but this being our own company, we can do what we want! The main menu music alone is over 7 minutes long. Many casual games are lucky to have 7 minutes of music in the entire game.

You can hear the game’s music (which should help with getting Eye Of The Tiger unstuck from your head) on this blog, too.

Via Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box « The Game Composer’s Blog

Edit 5/5:  Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box reviewed.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Passionfruit Games

New development studio Passionfruit Games plans to release a casual adventure game Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box, based on the paramornal romance novel Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu. Romance games are a wildly popular genre in Asia, but in the US, they’re hard to find and usually pretty second-rate games.  (Did I mention how bad My Boyfriend was?) We have high hopes for this one because new Passionfruit is made up of many HER Interactive veterans — the game team who put together Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! and NDD: Resorting To Danger.  The game is currently in beta.

From the Passionfruit press release:

Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box also officially marks the launch of PassionFruit Games and represents a unique moment in the history of gaming.  Although a market for romance themed video games has existed abroad for years, these games are essentially unknown in the U.S.  Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box will be one of the first romance casual games to hit the U.S. market when it goes on-sale in April 2010.

In discussing PassionFruit Games’ decision to launch their company with Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box, Melissa Heidrich, Studio Director, expressed her enthusiasm for reaching out to romance readers: “The majority of casual gamers are women aged 25-65, who report they play casual games mainly to escape.  Interestingly, those same attributes apply to romance novel readers – so it’s surprising that there are currently so few romance casual games on the market.  That’s why we’re excited to bring Tiger Eye to life as interactive entertainment.”

For Marjorie M. Liu’s fans, it will be a great chance for them to experience a game written by, designed by, and created for women. Mari Tokuda, one of the designers translating Marjorie’s novel into game form, says: ““There just aren’t many romance games in today’s market.  And, for many women, romance novels are not interactive enough.  That’s where we come in – we are giving players a chance to experience the romance through fun gameplay and sensual cut scenes that further the relationship.  This game will really appeal to players who want a storyline and those who want to BE the smart, down-to-earth romance novel heroine.  And of course, we’ll have a sexy leading man heavily featured in the game.  A game like Tiger Eye is one of the most engaging ways for readers to experience characters’ relationships.”

Fans will also be able to experience things that weren’t in the book and to search for hidden objects, play minigames, listen to a film quality soundtrack, and solve puzzles, all the while following the storyline as the main characters’ relationship deepens emotionally and grows in intimacy, though there will not be explicit sex scenes.

PassionFruit Games acknowledges the challenges of turning a popular book into digital entertainment and of adhering closely to the book’s storyline.  In their quest to stay true to the novel,  all members of the team—from artist to programmer—read Tiger Eye, as well as other novels in the Dirk & Steele universe, to get a feel for the “essence” of the game.  The producer and lead designer held regular video conferences with Marjorie to go over the latest design ideas and Marjorie herself wrote the script for the game and is involved with the game every step of the way,  giving input on scene art, character design, and voice actor selection.

Says Marjorie, who is well known for her New York Times bestselling Dirk & Steele and Hunter Kiss series and for co-authoring the hugely popular Dark Wolverine Marvel comic book series, about playing the game’s early build: “I was amazed by the beautiful cinematic cut scenes and the way players could actually experience things my characters had done.  It’s an incredible feeling to not only see favorite characters brought to life but to experience life through their eyes as you progress through the game.”

The Tiger Eye novel, which Publishers Weekly praised as a “first-rate debut” and “a striking paranormal romance,” tells the story of Dela, a woman with psychic abilities who buys a riddle box in Beijing’s Dirt Market and opens it to find an ancient warrior, Hari, bound to serve as a slave to the person who has opened the box.  The action moves between China and the U.S. and PassionFruit Games will mirror this international scope through two games, the first to take place in China and the second in the U.S.  PassionFruit games also plans to involve readers in the release of Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box with the chance for a select few fans to be Beta testers and with fan voting on looks for the character, Long Nu.

More on Passionfruit Games and Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box from Simpson’s Paradox.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Heathen Aliens

Attention heathen aliens. The galaxy is not big enough for both of us.
First we tried leaflets, and you would not repent…
Then we tried hymns, and you would not repent…
Now we confront you with holiest persuader of all. Space-borne thermonuclear missiles. Prepare to die.

Cliff Harris of Positech Games (We’ve blogged about his other indie games like Democracy 2, Kudos and Kudos 2, and on Positech’s business model) has just added a new DLC pack for Gratuitous Space Battles. You’ll be fighting The Order, alien zealots who plan to wipe you out with shiny new weapons:

Radiation Guns

Bullet-firing weapons which deliver a radioactive payload which eats away at your ship from the inside, even if you manage to restore your shields after the initial impact. They also come with a free creepy green glow effect!

Nuclear Missiles

All the fun of radiation guns, in missile form!

Limpet Mines [

Tiny robotic drones which seek out fast moving enemy fighters and attach to them, slowing them down and allowing your heroic gunners to take an easy shot at those heathen alien swine.

Firefly Rockets

Think of them as ‘Rockets 2.0′, faster and more deadly.

You can get it here.  And, yes, there’s a strong possibility that I posted this just to share “then we tried hymns, and you would not repent.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

Indie Games Updates

TayKrOn, the folks who did the PC game Slide Colors, as well as bunch of Kongregate games, announce the launch of Slide Colors for the Xbox.  I reviewed Slide Colors fir Indie Game Mag a few months ago, and my IGM review was quoted in the press release announcing the XBox version. The XBox version will cost 80 Microsoft points, which is a dollar in non-stupid currency, so it’s well worth checking out this match-three.

SubSoap, behind Faerie Solitaire (did I mention how much I liked this game?) are planning the launch of an episodic sequel.  I thought the original Faerie Solitaire was adorable and I can’t wait to see the new features.

Finally, don’t forget that Indie Game Mag is running a sale through Valentine’s Day!

Popularity: 1% [?]

JayIsGames’ Best of Casual Gameplay 2009

The awesome JayIsGames site is running a Best of Casual Gameplay 2009 contest.

Adventure is a hard call — since Monkey Island: Screaming Narwhal, Time Gentlemen, Please! and Wonderland Adventures: Mysteries of Fire Island are all in the running. I think Monkey Island wins for me… with TGP in second . I enjoyed Wonderland Adventures, but it just can’t compete with Guybrush Threepwood or foulmouthed Dan and Ben.

Some of my other favorites on this list are A Case Of The Crabs, under Browser Adventure, Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting To Danger under Hidden Objects. (I also helped out with NDD: Resorting to Danger so I’m not entirely unbiased) Faerie Solitaire is running for best Time Management… so is Build-a-Lot 4, which means I am officially the only person who hated Build-a-Lot 3. The frustrating Don’t Look Back under Interactive Art, although this game was made for  people with more patience and skill than me, I did like the myth theme.

Vote for your favorites, or just use this as list of games to check out.

Popularity: 2% [?]

ThumbGods in 2009

In 2009, I reviewed indie games like Funky Farm 2, A Case Of The Crabs, Rotoadventures Momo’sQuest, Slayer of Dragon,  Democracy 2,  Electric Box,  Faerie Solitaire, and CyberWord. I plan to keep focusing on creative, indie games next year. I also played major mainstream titles, like Cartoon Network’s new MMO Fusionfall, and James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club:  Games of Passion for the DS. ThumbGods reviewed the match-3 Atlantis, Totem Tribe, National Geographic’s Mystery of Cleopatra, Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, Sims 2 on the DS, and Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting To Danger! Major misses  this year were  My Boyfriend,  Create-a-Mall,  the disappointing Build-a-lot 3, and Jack in Lost in Blue 2. (Not all of LiB2. Just Jack.)

I tried to branch out a bit from reviews, and started writing some hints, including a guide to solving MyTribe mysteries and hints for Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting To Danger! I’ll probably keep doing this whenever I’m really proud of solving a puzzle and want to help out.

Thumb Gods had a great guest post when when Lexton Collins reviewed Runes Of Magic. I guest posted reviews of Cake Mania 3 and Ciao Bella, over on Casual Gamer Chick, Crayon Physics Deluxe review on Angry Gamers, Travians: Asterix Meets The Sims on SeeJaneGame, and contributed to several issues of Indie Game Mag.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Game Review: Cake Mania 3

I have a new review of Cake Mania 3 up over at Casual Gamer Chick.

Cake Mania 3 is an adorable time-management game for the Nintendo DS. Jill, our heroine from Sandlot Games’ PC versions of the Cake Mania imprint, is cheerfully preparing for her wedding day when she accidentally breaks a time-bender (I suppose it was wedding decor), and sends herself and her loved ones off through space and time, only to be saved through extensive cake baking! Jill must rescue her displaced friends and family, repair the time-bender and make it back for her wedding – all by making and decorating cakes.

Once Jill lands in a new location and sets up her bakery (“Oh look,“ Jill notices, “My oven works in ancient China! That’s not weird at all!”), the top screen is used for progress stats, like time spent and money earned, and icons of waiting customers. The bottom screen is Jill’s bakery. Players send Jill rushing from oven to customer with a tap of the stylus. A checkmark appears over the future actions in Jill’s queue so you can easily keep track of what she’s doing. Tap the checkmark to remove a planned action from Jill’s to-do list.

Read the rest of my Cake Mania 3 review over on Casual Gamer Chick.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Mystery of Cleopatra

Mystery of Cleopatra follows Herod’s Lost Tomb and other educational, casual games from National Geographic. In this one, you play as a trusted advisor to the queen, charged with solving a mysterious break-in at the palace.

Cleo is a gateway game,  a hidden objects game with elements of an adventure game. While there’s still a certain amount of searching, you aren’t just looking for objects for the sake of squinting at the screen, your character actually uses those items.

I’ve written before about losing interest in hidden objects play, but Cleo held my interest a bit longer with ancient scenes. Did I mention that there are Romans? I’m unable to separate my game reviews from my classicist side, and I have to admit that the later civil wars and the question of Caesarion and Octavian’s inheritance have always interested me. The story leads you through different famous places in Alexandria, like the library and the lighthouse, and touches on some of the Roman-Egyptian tensions at the time. As you click around the hidden objects screens, bits of information appear about the items you’re seeing. You’ll also come across scrolls with a paragraph or two of historical background information. (I soon found myself skimming these, but that’s mostly because I wanted to play more.)

Finding items was quite easy, since you can see silhouettes of the items you’re seeking. I found my location hints recharging much faster than I could possibly need, but of course I was playing in casual mode because I am a huge slacker I don’t like my games to scold me for pausing. At times, silhouettes of items that are used together will appear inside a jeweled circlet, and once all the parts are collected, you can make and use a new item.

The puzzles ranged from the usual reassembly of a torn-up note to really creative, clever puzzles. I particularly liked the logic puzzle to open the armaria (That’s classicist for storage box. You’re welcome.) and the code-breaking puzzle. The only disappointing puzzle was one that required players to arrange numbered scrolls. The directions were seriously confusing, it took me a long time using the red and green hints to figure out what the game was asking me to do. (If you’re stuck, it might be because “across” doesn’t mean what you think it does. )

Later in the game, your character remembers places you’ve previously visited, and you use your inventory and evidence to answer questions about them, a bit like the basic mechanic in Phoenix Wright and occasionally used in Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion as well.

Spoiler Alert! Caesarian gets killed so Octavian can be Caesar’s undisputed heir! Wait, wrong spoiler. The real spoiler is at the end of the game when your NPC sidekick, Kathya, who’s been mostly plot exposition and historical detail so far, turns on you and tries to frame you as the murderer!  The brutal backstabs of palace life!

Overall, Cleo is an engaging Big Fish-type game with great scenery and good puzzles. And Romans.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Game Review: Women’s Murder Club

James Patterson’s Women’s Murder club has been a successful series of novels, a TV show and a series of casual mystery PC games before coming to the DS. The new Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion seems designed for a casual DS gamer to tuck her into her purse, instead of a Patterson mystery novel. Most of WMC is played with the DS turned sideways, using the read-only screen to display a list of objects to find, instructions, or images to accompany the action in the interactive screen, which creates a book-like format for more of an interactive novel feel.

WMC follows the usual pattern of story cutscenes, hidden objects and minigames. The hidden objects casual adventure game is a pretty crowded genre, so it’s hard for a new game to really stand out. Probably the most unique characteristic was the James Patterson characters.  Players solve crimes and meet with the WMC ladies as Patterson’s detective Lindsay Boxer, and supporting characters with solid personalities made this more that just a reskinned HO game.

The story progresses via cutscenes and dialogue options. Players have some choices for what to say, but it was more of a quiz on recent plot events. Believable banter makes the cutscenes worth reading, and the linear storyline makes it feel like reading a novel, not being hemmed

Random side note: The mysterious Chinese markings found on the victim actually do say bu zhong, Not Loyal. My Chinese  literacy is just good enough to be completely thrilled with the developers for using real words when dramatic red scribbles would have acceptable. (It always cracks me up when I see upside-down characters or random other words.) Good work, THQ.

A lot of the game was hidden objects, whether it was tidying a crime scene or looking for clues, but this was a particularly bad HO. The small DS screen doesn’t really lend itself to searching, and players search a picture that’s larger than the screen, for maximum squinting-at-the-screen annoyance. It was also the Highlights magazine type of hidden objects, instead of the cluttered-room HO. It felt oddly childish to look for giant peace signs and lightning bolts, especially on crime scenes with mysterious dead bodies. The game does mix up the hidden objects a bit by giving players a clue instead of a list of items, but still gives the feel of an activity book more than an adventure game.

The story leads to several minigames, which were much more engaging than the picture find. When I got the Women’s Murder Club press release, I was pretty excited to see the game included a science lab minigame, and the puzzle’s gameplay didn’t disappoint.

One of the minigames was a mah-jong game, which is also accessible under an icon that says China (This character is a different zhong, an object lesson on why I am not so good at Chinese!). I usually consider mah-jong games to be computer solitaire 2.0, but I found something charming in the tiny tiles and stylus interface, and ended up playing this minigame more than I’d expected.

Women’s Murder Club: Crimes of Passion offers a solid storyline and characters from the popular novels to fans of the hidden objects mystery.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Get “The Shivah” Free!

Writing about about games makes checking my email so exciting! This landed in my inbox today. I don’t usually associate casual games with Yom Kippur, but when you’re done fasting and thinking over your mistakes this past year, why not check out this mystery game?

“The Shivah” is a gritty noir mystery game starring an embittered rabbi. He’s accused of a murder he did not commit and now he has to find the real killer before the police catch up with him. And now, for the first time, you can nab this rabbinical mystery absolutely free!

The game features full voice acting, an original soundtrack, three different endings, a DVD-style optional commentary and blooper track!

Simply enter the coupon code “FreeShivah” when purchasing and poof – the game is yours. This offer ends on Tuesday 29th September 2009 , so head on over to http://www.wadjeteyegames.com and get your free game while you can.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Women’s Murder Club Coming To The DS

After  Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade Of Grey, and Women’s Murder Club: Death In Scarlet comes a new WMC, Women’s Murder Club: Crimes of Passion, this time for the Nintendo DS and DSi.  I think the portable DS system, with the stylus-driven games, is perfect for casual gaming, and I’m seeing more and more story-based casual games coming out. I’ve been carrying the  Sims (or Sims Castaway!) in my purse, and I also saw a Nancy Drew game for the DS the other day.

From the Women’s Murder Club: Crimes of Passion press release:

“When I dreamed up the ladies of the Women’s Murder Club, I knew they were women of action; women on the go,” said James Patterson. “I never dreamed they could come to life like they have in the Nintendo DS version. This new game gives fans a chance to become a member of the Women’s Murder Club anytime, anywhere.”

And by “anytime, anywhere” I think he means “while waiting at the airport”.

I was lucky enough to get a look at some screenshots from the upcoming game. I had to include this one, because there just aren’t enough science-themed puzzles in games targeted to women!

Obligatory hidden objects minigame. It works well in a mystery-solving game, but I just don’t see what’s fun about squinting at the screen.

Nintendo DSi users will get a special feature that uses the camera, (can’t wait to see how they integrate that) but the game will also be available for the regular DS.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Helping You Waste Time

I’ve been a bit quiet on the blogging front recently. I’ve got a review coming out in the next Indie Games Mag, and I have some DS reviews in the works, but in the meantime, here are some other game sites I like to help you you smiling at work.

Angry Gamers (I love these guys but foul language warning!)
Big Red Potion
Casual Gamer Chick
Eat – Sleep – Game
Gamasutra
Gamers With Jobs
GamerTell
Killer Betties
See Jane Game
Simpson’s Paradox
Talking Orange
Tiny Subversions
Two Bit News
WomenGamers.com

Popularity: 13% [?]

Game Review: Faerie Solitaire

I’m a bit late posting this because every time I went to get another screenshot or check a fact, I got sucked into playing a few hands of Faerie Solitaire.

Faerie Solitaire from SubSoap is a new casual game, mixing a cute fantasy story with basic solitaire. I’ve said before that the best games have simple rules, with many variations and strategies. In Faerie Solitaire, you are given a foundation card, and you can either play one card higher or one card lower than the foundation card. A played card becomes the new foundation card, and you do it again. You could easily teach a child to look for a number one higher or one lower than the selected card.

As you play more hands, different hands have a different card layout, including special layouts with unavailable  cards in thorn patches or ice. Special cards and events pop us randomly as well, offering bonuses and minigames. The random element made the solid solitaire game that much more addictive for me.

Because the hidden object games have a finite pool of backgrounds and items, it soon became more of a memory game than a hidden objects game. Which is great because I think hidden objects are overdone, they start to feel like filler because they’re the default of the casual games genre.

I sometimes find it annoying when there’s a lot of game to be unlocked. In some cases, it seems like a tacit aknowledgement from the developers that some parts of the game are good and some parts are lame, and to make the game longer, you’ve got to grind through the lame to get to the good bits. When I reviewed GardenParty World, I talked about how  not needing a game for the system of working at a dull minigame to earn spending points. GardenParty World is hardly the only offender here, I was also frustrated by unlocking the chance to play indentical levels in Fashion Solitaire. But Faerie Solitaire had a system of power-ups and unlockable features that kept me excited about the next add-on without leaving me feeling like the developers had greyed out most of the game.

In their Faerie Solitaire press release, Subsoap promised strong production values. They delivered, there are no awkward cutscenes or grammatically painful instructions, the usual hallmarks of an indie studio. But what really ties it together is the movie-score music.

This is not an all-encompassing story game but I don’t think it’s meant to be. You won’t be daydreaming at work, thinking about getting home to play Faerie Solitaire.  This is a quality solitaire game that had my boyfriend looking over my shoulder. Drawing  in other people to kibbutz  is a mark of a great solitaire game!

Popularity: 16% [?]

Upcoming Faerie Solitaire

From the press release:

Subsoap(TM) (www.subsoap.com), an up and coming developer of
casual games, today announced the launch of Faerie Solitaire.

The game is a fantasy-theme casual card game that’s full of adventure,
mystery, and wonder. Featuring 360 exciting levels, including Hidden
Object mini games, 8 worlds to play through, and hundreds of hours
of gameplay entertainment. Faerie Solitaire is the next triple-A
casual title, and is available exclusively at Subsoap.com.

Rescuing Lost Faeries

In Faerie Solitaire players will travel across the land of Avalon
in search of magical faeries who have been trapped by some
mysterious force. A move away from what is currently popular in
the casual space, Faerie Solitaire’s strong production values
and compelling gameplay will surely please solitaire fans.

Is it just me, or does that sentence make it sound like other casual games have no production value and boring gameplay? I’m not saying there aren’t a bunch of dull match-3s floating around the internet, but I’ve played some amazing casual games, like Funky Farm 2, Crayon Physics, and Nancy Drew: Lights, Camera, Curses!, just to name a few recent ones that had me addicted.  I hope Faerie Solitaire will be one of them!

Subsoap also plans to launch a new casual gaming portal sometime this year.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Thoughts on Game Distribution

CasualInsider has a piece on exclusive distribution. I hate to quote such a huge portion of the article but I really can’t condense. Basically, the makers of Totem Tribe decided not to offer their game exclusively through one games portal, instead it was offered for sale through multiple channels. Big Fish Games was one of the portals.

I reviewed Totem Tribe about a month ago, after getting it on BFG, but I had no idea of the politicking behind the scenes. Totem Tribe is still available on Big Fish Games even if it’s not on the top 100 list.

The game was released silently on BFG, with no front page coverage, and still manged to get to number 13 on BFG’s top 100 games within a few days of being released, but on the next day, the game vanished from the top 100 completely. On the day BFG removed Totem Tribe from its top 100, the game was the top game on Reflexive, two on Shockwave, and three on Real Arcade. Since, the game has reached the top ten on Amazon, Arcade Town, iWin, Logler Global, Real Arcade, Reflexive, and Shockwave, and, on many of these, reaching the top place.

The game’s best rank on Big Fish Games was 13 of 100, but now the game is no longer to be seen. Moral of the story? Never rely on portals. Build up your own site, and work on developing strong brands that consumers will remember and want more of.

I agree, but I think CasualInsider’s moral isn’t as pat as it sounds. How is a casual game-player going to find the indie websites of small developers, or even hear about those developers and games at all? Portals like Big Fish Games have a massive advertising budget to spread the word about new games. It’s also easy to bookmark and check back. If I don’t use a portal — and I’ve blogged about my concerns with portals before — how will I even hear about games I might like to try and buy?

Once I discover the site and play a good game, I try to remember the developer’s name but that’s because I blog on gaming. I didn’t care about that before, and besides the big names, I didn’t really follow any development news.

So, how do you hear about new games? Portals? Word-of-mouth? Word of, um, keyboard? And, when you do play a good game, do you remember the developer and check back for new things?

Via Portal Wars: Exclusive, or no deal | CasualInsider.com.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Free Casual Game: Jane’s Hotel

Giveaway of the day is offering a free full-version download of the casual time-management sim Jane’s Hotel.  It’s only available until midnight tonight (march 14th) so hurry over to Game Giveaway of the Day – Jane’s Hotel to get yours!

Popularity: 12% [?]

January and February on ThumbGods

I’ve heard about that post-Christmas slump for games, but on ThumbGods, this was a great time for reviews. I reviewed Funky Farm 2, the match-3 Atlantis, A Case Of The Crabs, Totem Tribe, Rotoadventures Momo’sQuest, Slayer of Dragon, the underwhelming Build-a-lot 3,  Democracy 2,  Electric Box, and Cartoon Network’s Fusionfall here on ThumbGods, and Ciao Bella, over on Casual Gamer Chick. Sheihk Chandio reviewed GTA: Liberty City, Pokemon Diamond,  Gran Turismo 4,  Dragonball Z:Infinite World and FF7. Lexton Collins reviewed the upcoming Runes Of Magic.

We recently discovered AngryGamers, a new site for gaming rants and reviews (with some NSFW language). We also posted about a cool boardgames craft project, and I wrote my first walkthrough, a guide to solving MyTribe mysteries.

Don’t forget, we’re also on Twitter! You can follow ThumbGods on Twitter for instant updates whenever we post!

Popularity: 13% [?]

Press Release: Women’s Murder Club Game Available Today

Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade Of Grey, a new casual game based on James Patterson’s best-selling novels, is available starting today from MSN Games. Here is the press release, and some exclusive screenshots!

NEW YORK, NY – February 24, 2009 - I-play, the world’s leading multi-platform casual games publishing division of Oberon Media, announces the exclusive launch of the second casual PC game based on the best-selling Women’s Murder Club book series by James Patterson.  Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey makes its debut on MSN Games today, where it will be available exclusively for two weeks.  Created by best-selling author James Patterson, in collaboration with I-play’s award-winning team of designer Jane Jensen and producer Robert Adams, this new title delivers another original story and thrilling adventure to follow the massive success of its predecessor, Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet.

“We are pleased to again collaborate with MSN Games on the exclusive launch of Women’s Murder Club:  A Darker Shade of Grey”, said Don Ryan, Chief Operating Officer, Oberon Media, I-play’s parent company.  “Millions of casual gamers, and James Patterson fans alike, made Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet an interactive gaming hit!  Now, James Patterson and the I-play team have created an addictive sequel that will have users riveted with the new Women’s Murder Club storyline through hours of spine-tingling game play.”

A casual adventure game based on Patterson’s massively popular Women’s Murder Club novels, Women’s Murder Club:  A Darker Shade of Grey is available exclusively for download at MSN Games until March 10.  MSN Games will be offering Women’s Murder Club fans exclusive content including a sneak peek of the first ten chapters of James Patterson’s not-yet-released novel “The 8^th Confession,” desktop wallpapers, Windows Live Messenger icons and jigsaw puzzles created from in-game scenes and characters.    Additionally, players purchasing the game via MSN Games will have access to Women’s Murder Club trivia questions and quizzes.  The game is available for PC download for $19.95.

Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey is the sequel to the tremendously successful Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet seek-and-find mystery game.  The adventure begins when a brisk morning jog ends in tragedy for a young military cadet.  The famed heroines of Women’s Murder Club are called to the scene and eventually led to a prestigious but secretive military academy in South Carolina.  Users will follow Lindsay and Cindy from California to South Carolina as they interrogate suspects and investigate esteemed military personnel.  Along the way, players will attempt to reveal the truth and track down the killer by solving challenging puzzles using instinct, fact and forensic evidence to expose years of corruption, cover-up and conspiracy.

Women’s Murder Club:  A Darker Shade of Grey is filled to the brim with new features including an all new Women’s Murder Club storyline; character dialogue; ten thrilling investigations unveiling a story of mystery, adventure and sordid secrets; twenty-five challenging puzzles; a point system to track progress within the game; and breathtaking art of locations that lead gamers to delve deeper into this interactive adventure.  The game is being developed and published online by I-play and will be published at retail by Elephant Entertainment, a division of THQ Inc.

One more screenshot of what looks like a forensics minigame. Awesome!

Popularity: 25% [?]

Thoughts On Casual Games Dev

Game development isn’t exactly my strong suit. Personally I prefer to let other people work long hours, pouring their heart and soul into a game, and then I play it and complain about what’s wrong with it. Hey, that’s where my talents lie!

But I do have huge admiration for indie developers, and I hope to focus on lesser-known titles here on ThumbGods.

Cliff Harris of Positech Games talks about making independent development profitable. Cliff is behind the Positech Games titles Democracy 2, Kudos (and Kudos 2!) and others. The entire interview is worth reading, if you’re all interested in what makes a game succeed, but one statement really stuck with me.

Who will survive in the casual game business in 2010?

Big Fish Games, Popcap.
I think I’ve got the full list there.

Big Fish Games is an awesome casual games portal. The “new game every day!” works perfectly for repeat business.  They’re a total giant, even my mother-in-law has a Big Fish Games account. But I worry that massive portals like BFG (much as I love them!) and now Amazon are making it harder for the guy-with-website development model to succeed.

Not to be all doom and gloom, because as Cliff’s interview shows, an indie game developer and creative marketer can still do very well.

Via Interview with Cliff Harris (cliffski) from Positech Games | Sell More Games.

Popularity: 17% [?]