Gamertell

Good morning, and welcome to the first installment of Casual Fridays! I’m sure it’s been a tough work or school week, but that’s all over now. It’s Friday! I’m sure you’re eager to relax, maybe with one of your favorite games. Casual Friday is here to help, as a weekly update to go over some of the more notable casual game releases on all platforms.

So go put on your pajamas or most comfortable clothes, as we look through some recently released casual games together.

Jenni thinks this week’s best bet is: Yosumin.

Yosumin
Genre: Puzzle (Match 3)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Steam
Platform: Windows (XP or Vista)
Retail Price: $9.99
Premise: You repair the Yosumin’s stained glass shrine by playing match 3 puzzles. It’s from video game giant Square Enix and looks absolutely adorable.
Demo Available: Yes

Righteous Kill 2: Revenge of the Poet Killer
Genre: Hidden Object/Adventure
Availability: Big Fish Games
Platform: Windows (XP or Vista)
Retail Price: $6.99
Premise: A sequel to the original Righteous Kill game that was based on the movie of the same name. It’s a combination detective adventure and hidden object game where you have to find items to determine who the Poet Killer is.
Demo Available: Yes

Pahelika: Secret Legends
Genre: Hidden Object/Adventure
Availability: Big Fish Games
Platform: Windows (XP or Vista)
Retail Price: $6.99
Premise: It’s a hidden object game with some mysteries to solve as well. Pahelika is a legendary book, and players have to find hidden objects in various scenes to eventually find clues to find the book again.
Demo Available: Yes

Fashion Finder: Secrets of Fashion NYC Edition
Genre: Hidden Object
Availability: Big Fish Games
Platform: Windows (XP or Vista)
Retail Price: $6.99
Premise: Players step into Abbie Andrew’s shows as a fashion journalist who has to find objects in images to identify fashion trends. All of the puzzles feature real people and items, and the object list is presented on a mini-BlackBerry screen.
Demo Available: Yes

The Omega Stone: Riddle of the Sphinx II
Genre: Adventure
Availability: Big Fish Games
Platform: Windows (2000, XP or Vista)
Retail Price: $6.99
Premise: An archeological adventure where players explore ancient ruins to discover how they all are tied to a scroll that prophesies the end of the world. It’s a 3D exploration game, and if you don’t have high speed internet, you may want to avoid it. It’s a 1.52 gb download.
Demo Available: No

Ranch Rush
Genre: Time Management
Availability: Big Fish Games, PlayFirst
Platform: Mac (10.4 or 10.5)
Retail Price: $19.95
Premise: You manage a farm, growing crops and raising animals. If you do well, you earn trophies.
Demo Available: Yes

Wedding Dash: Ready, Aim, Love!
Genre: Time Management
Availability: PlayFirst
Platform: Windows
Retail Price: $19.95
Premise: You assist Quinn as she plans a wedding. You have to plan weddings and arrange guest seating for the reception to make sure everyone is happy. There are also mini-games to play and wedding crashers to remove.
Demo Available: Yes

Real Crimes: The Unicorn Killer
Genre: Hidden Object
Availability: PlayFirst
Platform: Windows
Retail Price: $19.95
Premise: You track the Unicorn killer by finding clues in hidden object puzzles. Timed and relax play modes are available, and the game is based on a true story.
Demo Available: Yes

Huru Beach Party
Genre: Time Management/Business Management
Availability: PlayFirst, Alawar Games
Platform: Windows
Retail Price: $19.95
Premise: You help Lindsey guide friends around different buildings and locations on the beach, catering to their every need, to earn money to enter a volleyball tournament.
Demo Available: Yes

Clue Accusations and Alibis
Genre: Hidden Object/Adventure
Availability: RealArcade, GameHouse
Platform: Windows (XP or Vista)
Retail Price: $19.99
Premise: Like the Clue board game, you have to find out who’s the murderer. Here, you go through hidden object puzzles to find clues to solve 400 cases.
Demo Available: Yes

Bumps
Genre: Puzzle
Availability: GameHouse
Platform: Windows (XP or Vista)
Retail Price: $5.99
Premise: You have to drop circular Bumps characters in levels in a way that collects the keys to free trapped bumps.
Demo Available: Yes

Avernum V
Genre: RPG
Availability: Reflexive Arcade
Platform: Windows (2000 or XP)
Retail Price: $24.95
Premise: You must train your group of warriors to find the man who tried to assassinate the empress. Once you find him, you are presented with a choice: take him to the empress or join his cause.
Demo Available: Yes

Slide Colors
Genre: Puzzle (Match 3)
Availability: TayKrOn Games
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux
Retail Price: $4.95
Premise: You match blocks of the same color to clear the various levels and rack up high scores.
Demo Available: Yes

Supermarket Management
Genre: Time Management / Business Management
Availability: Playful Age
Platform: Windows (98, ME, 2000, 2003, XP or Vista)
Retail Price: $19.95
Premise: You run a supermarket, starting out as a normal employee and eventually working our way up to manager.
Demo Available: Yes

Editor’s Note: Due to so many casual games sites offering game plans or preferred member prices, which can cause a game to have multiple price-points, the games’ average retail prices is mentioned in Casual Friday.

Site [Big Fish Games] Site [PlayFirst] Site [GameHouse] Site [eGames] Site [Alawar Games] Site [Amazon] Site [Reflexive Arcade]