Ten fantastic new casual games to start the year
Follow Casual Girl Gamer's lead and make 2010 the year of gaming. Start with these ten new games hand-picked and tested by yours truly.
My New Year's Resolution is to play more casual games, which is causing a bit of a problem, because my resolutions for the past five years have also been to play more casual games and, as a result, I am spending so much time gaming that I have been falling behind on life's little responsibilities. The house is such a tip that gypsies have set up camp in the garden. My cats are starving. My husband has set me an ultimatum: it is either him or the games. And the kids... well, to be honest, I can't even remember whether I have any.
What am I to do? Squeeze any more games into my schedule and I won't have time to breathe. I was thinking about training as a Time Lord and adding a couple of hours to the day but the Open University time lording course requires eight hours of study a week and I simply...er, do not have the time.
Published by Tasha on 7th January 2010
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Top ten crummy jobs that are great fun as games
You would not want to do any of these jobs in real-life but as games they can be strangely captivating.
Most of us play video games to escape the dullness of our daily existence. That's why many developers set their games in fantasy worlds as different from real-life as you could possibly imagine. Playing the central character in an epic battle between good and evil (such as in role-playing games like Oblivion and Dragons Age: Origins) is the perfect antedote to hours of interminable drudgery in the office.
But as legendary novelist James Joyce proved in his seminal work Ulysses, it is also possible to take the mundanities of life and transform them into something interesting and entertaining. Even so, who could imagine that games based on dull, repetitive jobs such as waitressing, taxi driving or farming could be any fun at all.
Published by Tasha on 23rd November 2009
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New game round-up 1
We have uncovered some casual gaming gems for you in this, our first round-up of new casual games to hit the world wide web.
One thing that never fails to amaze me is the sheer quantity of new games pumped out by casual game developers each month. Sometimes I fret that I won't be able to keep up, and a great casual game will pass me by.
But, of course, this is a blessing rather than a curse, and it certainly made writing Casual Girl Gamer's first New Game Round-up a lot more enjoyable. My biggest challenge, I am thrilled to say, was not finding games to include but choosing which ones to reluctantly discard.
Published by Tasha on 16th November 2009
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Five games that make you think about life
Not all games involve mindless shooting the shit out of stuff. Some can even make you think a bit.
Do you ever get that feeling, when playing games, that you really should be doing something more edifying with your life. I do, usually at about three in the morning after a marathon session of slaughtering undead in Sacred 2.
It is a sad fact that most the computer games I play are about as intellectually stimulating as a fart. But, thankfully, not all. Here, I present five games I've found that force you to think a little - in some cases even get a bit philosophical.
Published by Tasha on 11th November 2009
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We've launched
We are delighted to announce the launch of Casual Girl Gamer.
Casual Girl Gamer is Tasha, a London-based American who is so addicted to casual games (Qbeez, World of Goo, Loops of Zen, Braid, the list is endless) that her husband threatened to book her into The Priory. But the prospect of being separated from her Xbox and laptop traumatized her so much that hubbie took pity, and instead built her a blog in the hope that a worldwide audience would shame her into doing something other than playing games. Well, it has worked. Sort of. As well as playing games, Tasha now writes about them.
Tasha plans to turn Casual Girl Gamer into a popular forum for fans of casual games, and over coming months intends to share with readers her favourite games, review the latest casual games to come on the market, interview casual game developers and bring to reader's attentions the odd gaming jewel that might have passed them by.
Published by Tasha on 8th November 2009
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Game reviews
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Lume
State of Play's new puzzle adventure title Lume might be made out of cardboard cutouts but it is in no way a one-dimensional game.
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The Tiny Bang Story
Beautiful hand-drawn graphics, nicely balanced and creative puzzles and a great sound track, The Tiny Bang Story delivers on all fronts.
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Castaway 2
Robinson Crusoe had it lucky. He was only stranded on a desert island once. Things are not so easy for the hero of RPG adventure game series Castaway.
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ClubWorld
If the idea of running your own nightclub gets you excited, then Tapulous's latest iOS game might have you dancing around with joy.
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Insectonator
If the only good bug is a dead one, then you will be doing one helluva lot of good work in this cheery insect massacring game.
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Ten more games that will make you think about life
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Top ten hardest games
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Top ten crummy jobs that are great fun as games
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Developer spotlights
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Jake Elliott
You won't find any resource-management or mindless slash and dash games in Jake Elliott's portfolio. What you will find are thought-provoking games that encourage you to ponder on the human experience.
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Con Artist Games
Chris Condon of Con Artist Games has a reputation for developing some of the most polished games on the web. Casual Girl Gamer speaks to him about his gaming philosophy.
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Gregory Weir
By combining great story-telling with imaginative game worlds, Gregory Weir has created some of the most thought-provoking games on the internet.
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John Cooney
Armor Games' head of game development John Cooney - or jmtb02, as he is better known - is one of the most prolific and imaginative game developers around.
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Evan Miller
In ImmorTall, indie developer Evan Miller created one of the most emotionally moving games to grace the internet. We speak to him about his gaming philosophy and plans for the future.
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Mateusz Skutnik
Mateusz Skutnik is a rarity: a gifted artist who is also a skilled coder. He is responsible for some of the most beautiful casual games on the web.
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