Casual Game Friday: Text Twist

I love word games, so today's game, Text Twist, is right up my alley. I'm sure you've seen games like this before where you make words from some given letters. This game gives you seven letters to work with, and you have to try to guess as many words as you can. You don't need to figure out all of the possible words to progress through the game, but you do need to get a certain number of points to get to the next level.

You can use the keyboard to type the words out, or click the letters with your mouse. Press your enter key, or the Enter button on the screen to submit your word.

Play Text Twist!

This game requires Shockwave to play, by the way.

Casual Game Friday: Grow Island

Today's game is Grow Island. The premise of the game is to click the objects at the bottom of the screen in the right order to "grow" your island to its fullest potential. Each object can grow a certain number of times or levels, and you need to figure out which objects have lots of levels, and which ones have fewer, which are the ones you need to save for last.

I liked the animations in this game; they're pretty cute. And the sound effects when you figure something out are quite gratifying. Over at eyemaze.com there's a whole series of "Grow" games. So if you like this one, there's more to play. But start with this one first, because I like it the best.

Play Grow Island!

Need a hint?

Casual Game Friday: Magic Pen

A few weeks ago Peter wanted me to do a game called Crayon Physics. It looked really cool, but unfortunately it was only downloadable, so I didn't want to use it on Casual Game Friday because that's not very accessible. But then I found a similar game but playable in a browser. And that's our game today: Magic Pen.

Magic Pen is a physics based game where you draw shapes with your mouse. Those shapes manipulate the ball in order to move it to the goal, a flag. You can draw circles by holding down the left mouse button, or other shapes by just drawing them. There's also a couple special things you can use: hinges and pins. They make whatever shape you draw stick to where you originally drew it. It's a little more involved than some of the other games I've posted, so I'd recommend doing the little tutorial they have.

The look of the game is so fun, though. It looks like a team of third graders helped design the game. It makes for a lighthearted mood while playing. So get out your kid mentality that likes crayons, and keep your adult smarts on hand to...

Play Magic Pen!

Casual Game Friday: Filler

Some of you have asked how I've found all these games. Well, I've always liked little internet games, especially when I had a desk job for a while answering phones in Utah. I've kept up with a few internet games sites, like AddictingGames, JayIsGames, the MSN Games site. I'll often find little games on Digg, too. So the games I'm familiar with have accumulated, and I'm not even close to running out of ideas for Casual Game Friday.

I first found this game called Filler at AddictingGames. Your goal is to fill up a certain percentage of the screen with bubbles that you create by clicking and holding the left mouse button. The catch is that there's other bouncing balls that will pop your bubble if it gets hit while it's expanding. After you make your bubble with out getting hit by the bouncing balls, gravity takes effect and it falls to the bottom of the screen. The bubbles you've made will also bounce off of each other and settle, sometimes ruining the place where you want to put the next bubble, because there's a bouncing ball there. The game has a simple concept, easy to learn, and pretty fun for a little Friday afternoon distraction.

Play Filler!

Casual Game Friday: Gridlock

One Christmas long ago when I was a wee teenager, we got a board game called Rush Hour. It wasn't the most popular game in the house, but it was pretty fun to come back to and play around with every once in a while. So I was pleased to find a version online. (Indeed, there were many, many, many versions online, but I thought this one looked the best.)

Gridlock has the exact same concept as Rush Hour. You're trying to move the bluish block 'car' out of the parking lot by sliding the surrounding blocks out of the way. There's forty levels to play, so you should be entertained for quite a while.

Play Gridlock!

Casual Game Friday: Patchworkz!

Feeling a little homemaker-ish and crafty today? Then you're in luck! Today's game is called Patchworkz! and it's a surprisingly fun quilting puzzle game. And it's a puzzle game as in fit the pieces where they need to go puzzle game. Who knew quilting could be so technologically advanced? Something boring becomes a fun video game.

A row of pieces are displayed at the bottom and you use the mouse to put them where they belong. It actually can be quite tricky. But the colors give you clues, and the shapes hint where they belong in the patterns. You'll be addicted before long.

Play Patchworkz!

Casual Game Friday: Pingu Throw

This one's a throwback from my college days, but still fun. Pingu Throw is mindlessly addicting. You feel a little bad for the addiction because the point of the game is to see how far you can whack a penguin with your yeti's club. Click on screen with your mouse for the penguin to drop, and wait for just the right moment to click again for your club to take a swing at the poor bird. If you click to early the penguin will fly high and then thunk face first into the ground. Too late and it'll only go a few feet. If you hit the sweet spot it'll bounce and get some good distance. Good memories.

My personal best (today) is 319.9.

Play Pingu Throw!

Casual Game Friday: Set

Set is a popular card game that was introduced to us by our friends Age and Jodie, but I found a version of it that you can play online. And after the great response I got from the post about game suggestions, I hope a lot of people will like this Casual Game Friday post.

The rules of Set are pretty simple. There's always 12 cards laid out. You get a "set" by finding three cards out of those twelve that have three traits in common, or no traits in common. The traits on the card include color, shape, shading, and number. Check out the instructions for more details. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty simple.

In the daily puzzle that I'm linking to, the rules are the same. The only difference is there's only 12 cards to choose from and you don't take the sets you found out to be replaced by cards from the deck. There are 6 possible sets to find. Good luck!

Play Set!

Need to play more Set? NYTimes Daily Set Puzzle!

Casual Game Friday: Hapland

Hapland is a bit different from the other games I've posted so far. The object of the game is to get your little stick man into the doorway by manipulating the surroundings of said little stick man in the correct order. Even timing mouse clicks comes into play. I love the simple premise of this game, and how it's still quite challenging. So challenging, in fact, that I couldn't figure it out with out help. So no one has to feel any guilt about consulting walkthroughs.

If you're stuck and want to start over there's a reset level button at the bottom right. And if you're really stuck click the walkthrough at the bottom of this post.

Play Hapland!

Need a hint?

Casual Game Friday: Atome

The instructions are in German, but you don't need to speak it to figure out this game. Atome is a puzzle game where you figure out how to fit the atom pieces given to one molecule. The game play is simple: just put together the molecule puzzle so there aren't any leftover holes or bonds sticking out with your mouse. Just know that you can't put an atom next to another atom that's the same color. Some levels have more than one solution. I have no idea how many levels there are, or where there's hints on the web, so you're on your own!

Play Atome!

Casual Game Friday: 3D Logic

3D Logic is a... um... er... 3D logic game. Your goal is to connect like colors together. You use just your mouse to click on the squares making sure the color isn't interrupted on its trip to its mate of the same color. The first few levels are simple, but they get pretty tough towards the end. I'm a sucker for a good logic puzzle, and this is a good one.

Play 3D Logic!

Need a hint?

Casual Game Friday: 5 Differences

You know those Find the Difference games in the comics section of the paper? Well, this game is the same idea, but a lot cooler than that. It's a simple flash game where you click on the areas where the pictures differ. But the feel of the game is very nice with its smooth design and subtle animations. There's 15 levels to get through, so it's not too long of a time commitment.

Play 5 Differences!

Need some hints?

Casual Game Friday: Phit

Any Tetris fans out there? Phit is a game that plays on that theme. The object is to fit the pieces given into the amount of space given. There's no time limit, and the pieces aren't falling. You have as much time as you want to put those pieces in the right place. This is what I kind of always wanted to do when playing Tetris: slow time down and see if I could fit things exactly.

Play Phit!

Casual Game Friday: Sprout

I guess this game would go in the puzzle category. It's a fun and simple little game that takes about 10 to 20 minutes (depending on how clever you are). You're trying to get your little seed to become a majestic oak tree, overcoming obstacles along the way by learning to become different types of plants. You'll see.

The artwork is a lot of fun, the gameplay is very good and simple. The puzzles are tricky but not infuriating. And you can't die! I think this game is endearing and very accessible.

Play Sprout!

Casual Game Friday: Thule Trail

Did anyone play Oregon Trail when they were younger? We got to play it in school, because they thought it was educational. Little did they know this game was actually fun. You could afflict your siblings with dysentery, buy 100 packs of bullets and go hunting, and leave funny headstones for the next trip.

Well, now you can play it again, updated quirky style.

Thule trail is a parody of Oregon Trail. You and your group are trying to get to Santa Barbara for a music festival. You can drive an SUV or a hybrid car, you can pick up hitchhikers, and you can go hunting for fast food. And all the scenic outlooks are life-changing experiences. Some of you will definitely get a kick out of this remake. I laughed quite a few times.

Play Thule Trail!

Casual Game Friday

I'm always finding fun little games online and I'd like to share them. The one I picked for today is called Boomshine. You click the screen to start a chain reaction, trying to get all the dots to boom. It's addictive yet very chill. I love the music. Also, you don't have to dedicate a lot of time to the game, thus Casual Game Friday.

Play it here!

I hope you enjoy. Fridays should be fun.