On, the author of all our favorite Eyezmaze games has just released a brand new little puzzle game to give us something to play while we wait for the next Grow game, currently in development.

Seek Ver. 0 tasks you with protecting your column of hearts from a stampede of letters sliding in from the right. As letters appear on the conveyor belt, you must quickly find and click the matching letter in the grid below. But if you are too slow, or if you click the wrong letter, one of your hearts will be wiped out.

As you progress through the stages, the game gradually becomes more complicated. For example, stage two adds numbers to the mix, and with each passing stage, the grid gets larger.

This game is just what you would expect from an Eyezmaze game. It has low-profile, high-style graphics paired with simple, intuitive gameplay.

Play SEEK Ver. 0

Cheers to Tonypa for word about the new release!

To be announced? Text-based adventure? Television Bureau of Advertisement?

TBA, from game developer John Cooney (jmtb02.com), is none of these things. But what it is... is a whole lot of fun.

At first glance, TBA appears to be of a game of extreme simplicity. As you blast through the first level of this arcade action game, doing nothing but striking the space bar until the ball flies into the goal, you may wonder "What's the point?" But don't let any first impression fool you. Once you get going, the game really shows it's true colors.

The goal of TBA is simple. Get the ball from the start of the level to the goal by blasting it from launcher to launcher with a simple tap of the [space bar]. Simple, right? Just keep tapping until the ball hits the goal, right? The trick comes when these launchers start moving, spinning, and flipping. When you discover the precise timing required to actually get the ball from launcher to launcher, you will begin to see the true depth of the gameplay.

From the first launch to the last, you'll have a blast. The game sets an additional layer of depth with the inclusion of "par" times. These times serve as passive goals — if you want to go for par, go for it, but if you don't, you don't have to. For those of you who like having good scores, this will add a good amount of replay. The graphics in-game are both pleasant and informative — every type of launcher having a different color. For example, the goal is red, blue launchers don't move, the ones that do move side-to-side are turquoise, etc.

The visual effect that strikes me most is the natural progression of time. A sky background is visible throughout each level, and, as the level goes on, the color of the sky rapidly changes from pleasant blue to red to purple, simulating the passing of the day. This effect is far from subtle — the entire spectrum of colors can be seen in only a few seconds.

The sound and music, while not outstanding, are on par with what you would expect from a jmtb02 game. An upbeat techno loop populates the levels while the level select has a much calmer, quieter loop. The sound effects, however, are virtually nonexistent. The only one I heard during gameplay was the sound of the ball re-spawning back at the start.

One nice design feature is the fact that you can play any of the game's 25 levels in any order you wish. If you get stuck in this game, it's okay, because you can just move onto the next level and worry about the one you were stuck on later.

Analysis: TBA is pure, simple fun. While it's not going to last you more than a few hours, those few hours will be well-spent. The game itself is easy to pick-up and is well-designed, starting with a basic mechanic and sprinkling in variety every few levels. And it is built on a solid "beat your score" replay base. Thanks to its short levels and auto-saves, this game is great for a lunch break, between classes, or any time you can spend a few minutes on the computer.

And, on top of all this praise, what may be most impressive is the fact the entire game was written in just four days.

Play TBA

The holiday season is a time of joy. It is brought into our lives through the gifts we give and receive. And it should be fun. Over the years, we've seen a lot of great holiday and winter-themed games come and go, and here we are to suggest a few to give you all some festive cheer.

• Grow Ornament - Decorate a Christmas tree in the classic, eyezmaze style. Depending on what order you add ornaments and decorations, the tree will grow differently. Use a combination of trial-and-error along with logic to find the right order and make the perfect tree.
• Winterbells - An Orisinal game that is guaranteed to make your heart all warm and fuzzy. Hop on the falling bells and see how high in the sky you can go.
• Gift Wrapped - Around this time last year, Nitrome popped out their first mini-game. This game requires you to quickly match the gift-wrapped packages to the presents within.
• Bellman Stars - A delightful holiday Flash game to get into the Christmas spirit. Decorate the trees by dropping stars from above and landing them on the tree tops. Simply click on a star at just the right moment for it to fall onto a tree or a present. Simple holiday fun.
• Snowman Salvage - Don't let those snowmen melt! The premise of this game is simple—click your snowmen to make them grow—but as a wide variety of enemies begin to make your snowman melt, the action heats up to turbo speed.
• Snowrider - It is beginning to look and feel a lot like Chrismahanukwanzakah up here in the northeast, with snow accumulations that guarantee many of us a beautiful white Christmas this year. And with all the snow we've been getting, it would be an excellent time to build a snowman, or simply stay indoors and play this charming Flash game instead.
• Snow Plow Game - Take to the streets in this Snow Plow game and help the city of Boston clean up after a Nor-easter snow storm. It's your job to plow the streets clean by taking control of a city plow. Collect snowflakes and presents for bonuses. A cute and fun little seasonal Flash game.
• Make-A-Flake - Who hasn't enjoyed the simple pleasures of cutting paper into snowflakes on a cold winter day? With Make-a-Flake there is no mess to clean-up and you can even undo cuts gone wrong. This Flash toy is a fun way to express your creativity and get into the spirit of the holiday season.
• SnowDays - Another simple snowflake maker that is very easy to use. Cut designs into a paper snowflake with a flick of the mouse—making your snowflake as simple or ornate as you like. Plus, the snowflakes people have made can be seen falling within the game itself—and you can even leave comments on other people's snowflakes.

We see clones of classic casual games everywhere—games with blocks that fall and lines that clear. But the ones that really shine through are those that build on a classic formula and make something new out of it. Chain Factor is one of the those games.

While the game may seem intimidating at first, with its grid of all sorts of numbers and the occasional boulder, it is actually deceptively simple. The game is played by dropping numbered discs into a grid, one by one, attempting to clear other discs off. A disc is considered "cleared" when it is in a row or column the size of the number on the disc. For example, if you placed a disc labeled 3 into a row of three discs, the disc of 3 would be cleared.

The downside to this creative approach is that it's virtually impossible to understand unless you know how it works. Luckily, there is a helpful FAQ available to explain how the game works, but the lack of an in-game help menu does create a slight barrier to new players.

The graphics in this game are not very impressive, but they are stylish and they maintain a sleek, chic look. Every disc is color-coded depending on it's number, but the colors are so similar that the effect is lost to some extent. Even the optional special powers have creative black-and-white logos.

Mentioning the powers brings up another point. This game, while simple at first, has an underlying layer of vast complexity. Special powers, available for use in Power Mode and Survival Mode, have to be unlocked, but not necessarily by you.

Now available for iPhone/iPod Touch!

There is a password for each stage hidden... somewhere. In the media, on the highway, anywhere they can stick it and get away with it. These passwords then have to be entered three times to unlock a new power. Interestingly enough, you don't have to supply any passwords yourself; once three people in the world find and enter the password for any one power, that power will be unlocked for everyone to use. Every new power unlocked adds another twist to the Power and Survival Modes, and, until all of the powers have been unlocked, the new powers should give you a reason to go back and play again.

Analysis: Chain Factor is a beautiful game. Aesthetically, the environment is clean and modern. The game play is novel and manages to offer something that I've never seen before. The way the powers are unlocked is also an innovation to appreciate. This game is what you get when you manage to pack a fresh idea, a great developer, and a whole lot of fun together into one game.

Play Chain Factor

Cheers to Spectre, Kevin, Gregory, Ian and Dave for suggesting this one. =)

Battle for Wesnoth is a free, open-source turn-based strategy game originally designed by David White. It's similar to games like Fire Emblem, Advance Wars and Shining Force in that each player commands an army of units, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Battles take place on a hexagonal grid and layers take turns moving armies and issuing commands.

The first major feature that sets Battle for Wesnoth apart from the competition is the presence of simple online play. None of this joining 187.13.122.23 and opening ports 2000-2500 only to find the servers are down. Instead of forcing players to host or join games, Battle for Wesnoth has its own dedicated server where anyone can play. The online experience is very easy to use and works seamlessly. Online games can even be saved and loaded at a later time, so even if someone loses their connection the battle will continue.

If you aren't into multiplayer there's a vast amount of single player gaming to be had. Whereas a typical tactics game might offer you a few campaigns, Battle for Wesnoth starts you out with no less than six. Ranging in size from a few hours to several days worth of play time, each campaign could stand alone as a game on its own. Not only that, but literally dozens more user-made campaigns can be downloaded for free right from the game's title screen. This adds near-limitless gameplay to an already robust title.

Also available for iPhone/iPod Touch:

• Battle for Wesnoth
• Battle for Wesnoth: Heir to the Throne
• Battle for Wesnoth: The South Guard

Battle for Wesnoth is also very friendly to users who wish to create their own maps. The rich editor (included in the game) allows you to use any element you've seen in a campaign in your creation. Artistic types can grab a separate program called CampGen to make an entire campaign, including customized units!

Analysis: Coded by many different programmers and featuring community-made graphics, campaigns and music, Battle for Wesnoth shows what a collaborative effort can accomplish. It also manages to streamline a complex game genre into something casual players can enjoy. Battle for Wesnoth is free and is available for Windows, MacOS X and Linux.

Windows:
Download the free full version

Mac OS X:
Download the free full version

Linux:
Download the free full version

The genre of casual resource management games is a true hit or miss genre that either appeals to you or it doesn't. If it does, then you are one of the people who has contributed to the wild success of Diner Dash, Cake Mania, and the like. And if it doesn't... this may be the game to change your mind.

Papa's Pizzeria, by Flipline Studios in Ohio, is more than your average resource management game. While a typical entry in the vein of Diner Dash would require little more than clicking on various hot spots to make and deliver the food to customers, Papa's Pizzeria gives it a more personal touch. Rather than clicking on an order and then on a station for topping the pizza, only to watch the pizza top itself, you must actually top the pizza yourself.

The basics of the gameplay are simple: Just swap through four stations, each an important part of the pizza-making process.

• The Order Station: This is where you will take orders from when a customer approaches the counter.
• The Topping Station: Once you have an order (or two, or three) queued up, this is where you will go to prepare the pizza. Topping is easy--simply drag and drop various toppings onto the pizza, according to the customer's specifications. Here's where some tricky bits come in--the customer not only decides what toppings he wants, but also where they should be put. For the best pizza, the toppings will need to be roughly evenly distributed around the area of the pizza he wants the toppings on.
• The Baking station: Once you finish working on the toppings, you can send your pizza directly to the ovens, where it will cook. It's up to you to take the pizza out when it's been baking for the right amount of time.
• The Cutting Station: After taking the pizza out of the oven, it's sent straight here. By drawing lines from end to end of the pizza, you cut it into pieces, according to how the customer ordered it to be cut. Then, when you are satisfied, you can finish the pizza, sending it out to the customer.

Your performance at each of these stations directly determines what score--or rather, how much tip money--the customer awards you when you pass the pizza along to him.

There is also a major element of time management present in this game. From the moment you take the pizza off the oven, you will be virtually locked into cutting it and serving it--which takes time. Perhaps too much time, if any of the other pizzas in the oven are ready to come out.

To help balance the amount of time it takes to serve the pizza and the amount of time it takes to stick the pizzas in the ovens, after topping a pizza, you get the option of saving it for later--very useful for when you finish a pizza but can't put it on the oven yet due to bad timing.

Analysis: What makes this game stand out from Diner Dash, Cake Mania, Miss Management, and the other notables of the genre is the presence of skill-based challenges. Not only does your skill at handling the various stations affect your tip--it also determines how quickly you can get done with the pizza itself.

The presence of these skill-based challenges really fleshes out the game beyond a simple challenge of what to click and when. That, combined with the excellent graphics and pleasant (if repetitive) music makes this an excellent game, both for the resource-management buffs and those of us casual gamers just out for a good time.

Play Papa's Pizzeria