Help us find a new and cheerful casual game.
October 3, 2010 1:18 PM Subscribe
Help me find a videogame for my wife to play on 5-10 minute breaks.
My wife plays only one videogame. She plays on breaks between work, for maybe five minutes at a time. She's been playing a bejewelled clone called Zookeeper. After 5 years, she no longer enjoys it, and we both agree that it's time for her to move on.
The game I think she would most want to play, based on talking with her and knowing her, meets the following criteria:
- Doesn't feature violence, fighting, etc. No killing enemies.
- Doesn't require quick reactions, dexterous movements, etc. She's not a gamer.
- Should be based on the idea of exploration -- either exploring a house and trying to solve puzzles, or exploring a town and solving puzzles, etc. This one is not absolutely necessary, though.
- Should have a cheerful aesthetic, smiling (or at least pleasant) characters, nice atmosphere, and lots of animals if possible.
- Browser, PC, or emulator only (console games are out, repeat, NO CONSOLE).
- Self-limiting play sessions would be ideal - I can see her getting addicted to a game that didn't end after 5 minutes, and that would be bad.
Myst is probably way too involved for five-minute play sessions, and way too lonely. Braid would be too complicated/frustrating and require too much dexterity for a breaktime game. She seems uninterested in Peggle. World of Goo would probably be too stressful/gross.
I think Knytt meets enough of my criteria, and I think I'm going to install it on her computer and see how that goes. I also downloaded the Humble Indie Bundle a few months ago, but only had time to play World of Goo so far. Would any of the other games meet my criteria?
Any and all suggestions are welcome, from classic games to the present. Thanks!
My wife plays only one videogame. She plays on breaks between work, for maybe five minutes at a time. She's been playing a bejewelled clone called Zookeeper. After 5 years, she no longer enjoys it, and we both agree that it's time for her to move on.
The game I think she would most want to play, based on talking with her and knowing her, meets the following criteria:
- Doesn't feature violence, fighting, etc. No killing enemies.
- Doesn't require quick reactions, dexterous movements, etc. She's not a gamer.
- Should be based on the idea of exploration -- either exploring a house and trying to solve puzzles, or exploring a town and solving puzzles, etc. This one is not absolutely necessary, though.
- Should have a cheerful aesthetic, smiling (or at least pleasant) characters, nice atmosphere, and lots of animals if possible.
- Browser, PC, or emulator only (console games are out, repeat, NO CONSOLE).
- Self-limiting play sessions would be ideal - I can see her getting addicted to a game that didn't end after 5 minutes, and that would be bad.
Myst is probably way too involved for five-minute play sessions, and way too lonely. Braid would be too complicated/frustrating and require too much dexterity for a breaktime game. She seems uninterested in Peggle. World of Goo would probably be too stressful/gross.
I think Knytt meets enough of my criteria, and I think I'm going to install it on her computer and see how that goes. I also downloaded the Humble Indie Bundle a few months ago, but only had time to play World of Goo so far. Would any of the other games meet my criteria?
Any and all suggestions are welcome, from classic games to the present. Thanks!
There have been periods when I've been horribly addicted to Plants vs Zombies and Bookworm Adventures, both from Popcap. They both save exactly where you're up to when you close them and start up quickly when it's time to play again. They also both involve defeating enemies, so she may not go for them, but they tick a lot of the other boxes. Worth a look, perhaps?
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 1:26 PM on October 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 1:26 PM on October 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
If she's a fan of Bejewelled and it's clones, maybe check out Puzzle Quest? It's Bejewelled, but instead of just matching and matching and matching, the matching and matching and matching you do is fighting monsters, unlocking spells, training mounts, and so on. They've grafted a simple RPG onto the classic Match 3 gameplay.
There are 3 Puzzle Quest games, I'd recommend starting with the first one (Challenge of the Warlords). There's a space spinoff called Galactrix which isn't that great (at least on the Nintendo DS, might be better on the PC if it's free of load times), and they released Puzzle Quest 2 earlier this year as more of a direct sequel to CotW, although I found it a little harder to get into.
posted by yellowbinder at 1:36 PM on October 3, 2010
There are 3 Puzzle Quest games, I'd recommend starting with the first one (Challenge of the Warlords). There's a space spinoff called Galactrix which isn't that great (at least on the Nintendo DS, might be better on the PC if it's free of load times), and they released Puzzle Quest 2 earlier this year as more of a direct sequel to CotW, although I found it a little harder to get into.
posted by yellowbinder at 1:36 PM on October 3, 2010
Does she have a Touch/iPhone? That would open up a lot of options.
posted by maryr at 1:36 PM on October 3, 2010
posted by maryr at 1:36 PM on October 3, 2010
Best answer: How about "De Blob"? This came out as a Wii game not too long ago but is still available in the original free download on PC.
I would also suggest any one of the Katamari Damacy games as any of them would be perfect but I don't know if you'll be able to find an emulated version. My wife and I still love the intro from the original and I know a bunch of other mefites do too.
posted by VTX at 1:39 PM on October 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
I would also suggest any one of the Katamari Damacy games as any of them would be perfect but I don't know if you'll be able to find an emulated version. My wife and I still love the intro from the original and I know a bunch of other mefites do too.
posted by VTX at 1:39 PM on October 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Oh, and I really enjoyed Galactrix - it's a gem-swap game, but with a different 'drop' rule than Bejeweled plus an opponent who shares your board. As a temporary solution, the demo is online..
posted by maryr at 1:43 PM on October 3, 2010
posted by maryr at 1:43 PM on October 3, 2010
Get her started on marble popper games. Zumas Revenge, tumblebugs, luxor. Also give the Fishdom series a go.. and try Ancient Quest of Saqqarah.
posted by tra at 1:58 PM on October 3, 2010
posted by tra at 1:58 PM on October 3, 2010
Best answer: Has she tried the Orisinal games? They certainly meet the aesthetic criteria.
posted by kitkatcathy at 2:48 PM on October 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by kitkatcathy at 2:48 PM on October 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
I'm not a gamer, and this probably only meets half your criteria, but you might see if she like Arachnophilia by Dig Your Own Grave. Lots of insects, a peaceful feeling, and the challenge is mostly architectural and maintenance (keeping your web strong and clean enough). The biggest issue for me is that a typical game lasts about 15 minutes.
posted by salvia at 3:29 PM on October 3, 2010
posted by salvia at 3:29 PM on October 3, 2010
Best answer: Text twist is a go-to for short breaks.
Boomshine is oddly addictive, yet very simple. It is finite, so you can stop, if you can.
posted by chocolate_butch at 4:03 PM on October 3, 2010
Boomshine is oddly addictive, yet very simple. It is finite, so you can stop, if you can.
posted by chocolate_butch at 4:03 PM on October 3, 2010
Best answer: Has she tried any hidden object games? They tend to span a wide variety of themes and quality, but a few of them are quite engaging and lovely. Mishap, Pure Hidden, and the Mystery Case Files games come to mind.
There are also lots of short point-and-click adventures or room escape games that are non-violent, slow-paced, and puzzle based. For a particularly cheerful (and rather nonsensical) example, check out the Minoto games, which are bright, happy, and often feature animals. They don't always make a lot of sense, but they are twelve different kinds of adorable and only take about 10 minutes to finish.
I also think there are tons of great casual flash games out there for non-gamers. The Grow games, Doodle God, and Samorost are just a few examples of puzzles that definitely don't need any special skills, but they're fantastic nonetheless. Samorost is a little more time-consuming, but not on the same level as Myst, and the others are definitely fun-sized, little snacklets of games.
posted by Diagonalize at 4:05 PM on October 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
There are also lots of short point-and-click adventures or room escape games that are non-violent, slow-paced, and puzzle based. For a particularly cheerful (and rather nonsensical) example, check out the Minoto games, which are bright, happy, and often feature animals. They don't always make a lot of sense, but they are twelve different kinds of adorable and only take about 10 minutes to finish.
I also think there are tons of great casual flash games out there for non-gamers. The Grow games, Doodle God, and Samorost are just a few examples of puzzles that definitely don't need any special skills, but they're fantastic nonetheless. Samorost is a little more time-consuming, but not on the same level as Myst, and the others are definitely fun-sized, little snacklets of games.
posted by Diagonalize at 4:05 PM on October 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
Casual games I find wonderfully addictive:
Canabalt
Drop 7 and its flash counterpart, Chain Factor
Angry Birds (not sure if this constitutes "violence" to her)
My love for Tetris will never die.
Anything vaguely bejewelled-like - lately I'm especially digging Critter Crunch
I also have a dashboard widget for my macbook called BubbleTrouble which is wonderful for brain-emptying. I especially like to play it while listening to podcasts or engaging in other activities which only allow for a certain degree of multitasking.
I discover new interesting stuff all the time on Kongregate.
posted by Sara C. at 7:04 PM on October 3, 2010
Canabalt
Drop 7 and its flash counterpart, Chain Factor
Angry Birds (not sure if this constitutes "violence" to her)
My love for Tetris will never die.
Anything vaguely bejewelled-like - lately I'm especially digging Critter Crunch
I also have a dashboard widget for my macbook called BubbleTrouble which is wonderful for brain-emptying. I especially like to play it while listening to podcasts or engaging in other activities which only allow for a certain degree of multitasking.
I discover new interesting stuff all the time on Kongregate.
posted by Sara C. at 7:04 PM on October 3, 2010
Angry Birds FTW! I'm completely hooked. She can play it on an iphone and some other phones - android?
posted by thatone at 7:27 PM on October 3, 2010
posted by thatone at 7:27 PM on October 3, 2010
Seconding Boomshine. However, it's very easy to waste hours on that game. The dots get a little mesmerizing. Good thing I had a boring job when I played it.
Not sure if what anything else others mentioned is also Snood-like, but I've wasted many an hour on this bubble shooter game. It's not timed, so it's pretty easy to start and stop to work, if needed.
posted by Fuego at 8:24 PM on October 3, 2010
Not sure if what anything else others mentioned is also Snood-like, but I've wasted many an hour on this bubble shooter game. It's not timed, so it's pretty easy to start and stop to work, if needed.
posted by Fuego at 8:24 PM on October 3, 2010
Best answer: 2nding Mystery Case Files. Big Fish Games often has coupons (I got the first Ravenhearst and Huntsville for free), and I think there are coupons for Huntsville out right now.
As someone who also likes to play games on breaks, I would really recommend jayisgames for her browsing. Using their tagging system lets you see tons of free games in the genres you like. Puzzle and point and click seem right up her alley (maybe the Grow series?).
posted by joan cusack the second at 11:53 AM on October 4, 2010
As someone who also likes to play games on breaks, I would really recommend jayisgames for her browsing. Using their tagging system lets you see tons of free games in the genres you like. Puzzle and point and click seem right up her alley (maybe the Grow series?).
posted by joan cusack the second at 11:53 AM on October 4, 2010
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posted by ErikaB at 1:26 PM on October 3, 2010