
Despite its simplicity, Choc-mint is an escape game done right. There is no text to confound the non-native speaker, the puzzles flow neatly from one to the other, and there is the blessed relief of a changing cursor to indicate hot-spots that can be clicked. A little logic, a little intuition, and an experienced gamer could be out in 10 minutes or less, refreshed and ready to face the day. All you escape game designers out there take notes, will you? Slow down, take a few minutes and enjoy the escape from the every day.

Well it finally happened. After years of cheating, fighting and swirlying, you've been expelled, and your parents aren't happy. The only thing standing between you and juvenile detention is St. Frost's School for Slackers, Troublemakers and Idiots. The students are a mixed bag of violent sadists and amiable dunces, the teachers aren't much better, and the last new student had a nervous breakdown after two months. But hey, you ruled one school before didn't you? How different can this one be? It's all about doing the right things for the right people... So is the premise of Wasted Youth, the new open world adventure-RPG from GPStudios.

We hold a truth to be self-evident that all squishy bouncy blob thingies are born with certain inalienable rights, including those of life, liberty and the pursuit of hat-iness. The hero of Pursuit of Hat, a puzzle platformer from Anton Rogov, is willing to risk all manner of life and limb for his head-covering... mainly limb though, since his are detachable. Literally tearing ones self apart over a head-covering may seem a little extreme. In all fairness... it's a pretty sweet hat.

Our favorite green-skinned favor trader is back and he's learning a very potent lesson from the last time he performed A Small Favor. Performing political assassinations can be bad for one's health. Still, once a favor trader, always a favor trader. Use your point-and-click skills to scrub your ID badge and keep the government goons at bay.

Have you got picture logic puzzling needs? Well, Beardshaker Games has come along to help you satisfy them with their title, NoNoSparks Genesis. Solve picross (also called nonograms) puzzles to help create new elements in a world, giving a Doodle God-esque feel to it. Sprinkled with a bit of innuendo and amusement, this game will have you puzzle solving with a smile.

This platform puzzle game from Edmund McMillen brings to the platformer table multi-dimensional planes. Press the [A] key to switch planes and alter what is visible on the screen. Sometimes you can see the other planes while you are occupying the current one, but you can't see what overlaps between planes. This creates an interesting dynamic that involves a lot of guessing with your jumps, especially when movable blocks make their appearance.

Fiends is best described as an innovative puzzle game masquerading as a roguelike RPG, and worst described as an unentertaining game, though you'll find that "unentertaining" doesn't enter into the equation. As the growing circle of friends makes their way from outer space to a castle to an abandoned marketplace, they'll encounter new fiends with different counterattack ranges, set up in all sorts of arrangements to create all sorts of puzzles, leaving you thinking constantly.

The Dark Cut series consists of two surgery games where you use the mouse to make incisions, stitch, scrub, saw, whatever is required to save the patient in each case scenario. These are not games for the faint of heart, both in terms of graphics and gameplay, and are therefore recommended for mature audiences only.

A short and sweet old-fashioned adventure game from Videlectrix, the faux video game company of the animated Homestar Runner universe. For the Homestar un-hip, "Dangeresque" is the hard-boiled detective alter-ego of Strong Bad, who is the lead narrator and practical jokester at homestarrunner.com. Strong Bad/Dangeresque must solve a murder case from the confines of his office, because the chief thinks the case was solved months ago.

The Great War of Prefectures plays like a cross between Risk and an RTS, with Japan's prefectures (analogous to other countries' states or provinces) serving as the territories you fight over. Despites some interface flaws, this game has that elusive quality that will bring you back for more even after you thought you'd had enough.

The Lost Vikings? Old news. This is Hans Hans the Biking Viking, who, along with his friends Freya and Thor, must escape from the nefarious but incompetent Loki's lair. Use Thor's strength, Freya's magic, and Hans's... well... jumping bicycle to outwit an 11-level dungeon full of tricks and traps.

Adult Swim's Death Vegas, a superb technical fighting game from Spiritonin Media, serves up a rare mixture of thrills and substance. From the take-no-prisoners opening metal theme song, to the impressive character animation, to the pop-in close-ups of every brutal impact, Death Vegas will continually show you it means business. It won't rival Guilty Gear or Soul Caliber for complexity, but there's enough depth here to satisfy anyone looking for a good juicy brawl.

Tesshi-e gives us a sequel to The Happy Escape with Happy Escape 2, yet another challenge to find as many happy coins (and, thus, happiness) within a classic locked room escape. There is only one escape scenario in this little charmer that features the standard gorgeous Tesshi-e visuals and a jazzy little tune to help pass the time while solving a nice selection of logical puzzles.

Just a quick update to say that we have been moving a lot of our bandwidth-heavy content (images, hosted games) during the past few days to a content delivery network to help the site load faster. We were hoping this would be completely transparent to you, the visitor, and that we wouldn't have to bother you with a note like this.

Avalanche is a fast-paced climbing game in which your goal is to scale the mountain of falling blocks, without being flattened or falling into the river rising from below. The flood of cascading blocks starts slowly, with only a few blocks to start. Before you know it, you'll be madly scrambling to avoid being turned into a marshmallow pancake.

Grow Tribute is, exactly as the name implies, a tribute to the Grow series of games. For those familiar with Grow games, this one will feel like putting on an old favorite shoe or shirt again. The gameplay is exactly the same and the animations are rewarding, though without some of the charm that On of Eyezmaze is famous for.

Japanese Mahjong is a completely different game from the tile-matching Mahjong Solitaire. A cross between Gin Rummy and the fictional Dragon Poker, this is one game that will definitely take a while to learn, and even longer to master.

You are a fish dropped into a fish tank. Your job is to eat any fish that are smaller than you, which makes you grow. As you grow, you can therefore eat larger fish. Become king of this tiny sea world food chain.

The sequel to 2010's text adventure RPG Choice of Romance has arrived, and picks up right where the original left off. Will you be able to hold onto your new power in the court, or have you just painted a very large target on your back... and who can you trust to watch out for a dagger pointed at you when everyone has their own agenda?

M.I.L.O. stands for Mildly Intelligent Living Organism, the robotic main character of this puzzling game. You play as M.I.L.O., who wanders through the sixteen levels of this game pushing buttons, carrying items, and avoiding the deathtraps set for him. Keep a sharp eye on what the notes you find say, because there's more to this game than fits in a single browser window.

Goldburger To Go is a short flash game where you must position various components in a Rube Goldberg-type device in order to assemble a tasty (but unhealthy) snack on a skateboard at the end.

Lacking any sort of plot, Four Second Fury launches the player into a series of 20 randomly selected, four-second mini-games ranging from simple dodging games to "Simon says" type games. It doesn't try to be anything more than that: just a simple, quick Flash game when you have a few minutes to kill. And don't expect it to last longer than that.

Each time Ferry Halim of Orisinal.com releases a new game, I think I've seen the most beautiful and elegant combination of music and artwork in casual gaming history. With the latest release of The Crossing, Ferry has outdone himself once again. Control a platform to help leaping deer cross a stream. Go for the highest score possible while eyeing the gorgeous scenery and listening to a soothing piano tune.

This week's room escape is... well, not an escape,
per se, but an adventure disguised as an escape. How quick are you? How are you at decision making? Escaping the Prison by Puffballs United will help you find out. It will also help you find out how to fail. A lot.

Papa's Pizzeria is more than your average resource-management game. While a typical entry 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.

A sequel to Mateusz Skutnik's excellent point-and-click adventure series, Submachine 2 will have you mapping out tunnels as you explore the dark recesses of this classic-style Flash game. The Submachine series is among the best on the Web, so if you love first-person adventures, ala Myst, don't miss this one.

Shadow is a quiet yet solid escape game by Kotorinosu, which stands apart from the crowd of point-and-click puzzle games with its simplicity, appealing graphics, and honest escape game fare. If you have an appetite for honest-to-goodness escape games, then loosen your belt a knotch and enjoy a hearty helping.

What's better than a game about a shuriken-chuckin', rope-swingin' cyber-ninja with green glowing eyes and powers of invisibility? Two games about that ninja. Final Ninja Zero is Nitrome's prequel to Final Ninja, with a secret weapon that puts it ahead of any other platform game in a browser: cyborg ninja monkeys.

It might be a game to promote Comedy Central's new show, but the point-and-click adventure from ClickShake is a barrel of paranormal, devil-infused fun. Welcome to New York City, the traditional landing port for foreigners eager to build their own American dream. It is Mark's job, as an employee at the Department of Integration, to help these newcomers out with jobs and make sure they do not get deported because of some technicality. Such as losing their immigration papers or eating gray matter at the Brain Depository.

Armed with nothing but a bow and some arrows, Bowja the Ninja is on a covert mission to Factory Island to take out the menace to humanity that is the Gi8000 (otherwise known as Randy the Robot). Help Bowja defeat the factory workers and save humanity once and for all, before it's too late.

Recovered from an illness that delayed the game's creation (but produced Grow Nano vol. 3), On has finally released Meet In ver. 0. You control four individual family members, each in his or her own screen, and are trying to guide them through the maze of puzzles to be together once again. Simply click on the square you want to control and use the [arrow] keys to move.

What rotten luck to have your ship crash land on a zombie-ridden planet that you now need to fight across to escape. With a more vocal protagonist than you had before, shoot and calculate your way through this Metroidvania style physics shooter where zombies are just as plentiful as your headshot count. With sixteen levels to survive through and plenty of side missions to keep you occupied, your time with the undead hordes will be engrossing and quite challenging. Polish off the old boomstick and get ready to bust some heads if you hope to survive.

Earn To Die 2012 is an update to Toffee Games arcade-style hit, and has all the post-apocalyptic racing action you could hope for, without the danger of infected bites! Customize your car and plow through waves of the undead. A zombie-smushing good time, though undoubtedly constructed as a teaser for the enhanced mobile version.

Go deeper into the rabbit hole and uncover darker secrets in this sequel to the original Alice is Dead. You wake up to find yourself the newest resident of Wonderland Jail, and while your newest cellmate isn't very talkative, the strange little man in the cell next door has entirely too much to say. Point-and-click your way to escape, if not all the answers you seek, in this high-quality game of fairy-tale gone wrong. Just make sure you play the original first!

Factory Balls may be the most immediately appealing entry of JIG's Casual Gameplay Design Competition #4. Maybe it's the elegance of the core concept and the out-of-the-box thinking it provokes; maybe it's the simple awesomeness of making ball-people with rabbit ears. Either way, Factory Balls is a great, albeit short, game that displays the clean design and quirky sensibility that I've come to love in Bart's work.

No one sent Edible Castle the memo that sequels are supposed to be derivative and rushed. Instead, not only does new point-and-click adventure Back to the Cubeture: Era 2 feature the same excellent voice-acting, cheeky humor, and quirky art as its predecessor, but it's five times as long and offers a much more non-linear experience. This is pure silly fun, so box yourself into your seat and enjoy it.

Track down your stolen hens with Dale and Peakot; one armed with a shotgun, the other possessing amazing magical powers... but a mediocre little bird brain. An old-school platformer that would be at home on any console, Dale and Peakot is simple in premise but big on style and charm.

Androgynous teenagers with gravity-defying hair wandering a mysterious world armed only with cranky comebacks and improbably large weapons? Yes, everything you either love or hate about Japanese RPGs is waiting for you in a convenient Flash package in Ge.ne.sis, a turn-based tactical RPG by An Lieu.

Like an early holiday present from Robamimi, Snow Dance is the perfect escape game to start the holiday season here on JIG—it has all the sumptuous conveniences we escapers prefer: changing cursors, logical puzzles, sparkly music, perfect graphics and, to top it off, a hint system better than any in the genre. While the puzzles are farm from difficult, they do require the right amount of thought and investigation to complete, so you can find the key to the gorgeous, snow-blanketed world just outside the door.

Bowja 3 - Ninja Kami is the latest point-and-click adventure from
Pencilkids Games, and the third entry in the Bowja series. As the titular ninja, you use your cunning, skill, and handy bow-and-arrow to find an ancient artifact and save the Ninja Spirit, all along the way finding clever ways to defeat the evil purple ninjas who constantly impede you. Although short on game, the charm of the graphics, animation, and overall feeling of the game more than make up for it. Bowja's latest adventure won't take long to complete, but you'll enjoy the ride while you're there.

Warfare 1917 is a rather excellent World War I strategy title from Armor Games that concentrates on the use of trenches as strategic choke points. The gung-ho cries of your troops make it hard to lose them, and if you waste too many lives, you run the risk of losing the battle to low morale. It's a real gem of a wargame that works on more levels than just pew pew pew KABOOM. Though certainly it provides that as well.

Developed by Jonathan Whiting for Ludum Dare 22, Craequ throws players into a puzzling pixelated world of corridors, pushable blocks and crystal balls. It's up to the player to discover the logic behind it, but if you do, you'll feel really smart.

Your plane goes down on a mysterious and seemingly deserted island somewhere off the radar charts, and it is up to you to find a way to 'Escape from Island' using only the resources available to you. Thought-provoking puzzles and a well-illustrated environment together create an atmosphere ripe for adventure and captivating gameplay.

The Hapland-meister strikes again with a wacky new puzzle game. Use your point-and-clicking skills to figure out what needs to be done (and when!) to reach a solution to this odd and very ...purple puzzle. I'm particularly loving the soundtrack.

A dear old friend, Mr. Y, has invited you to his newly remodeled study just to trap you inside. Now you must put together clues and figure out how to manipulate these wacky devices before you can sit down to lunch and do a bit of catching up. All the trademark qualities that make Tesshi-e escape-the-room games so enjoyable are here, there's nothing to displease but you will have to work hard for your final reward: a visit with Mr. Y. Aw yes, there's nothing like a chance to reconnect with old friends who know your love of puzzles.

Tesshi-e's latest stars a protagonist taking a much-needed vacation to the titular open-air hot spring, only getting into it isn't so easy; a number of puzzles to solve and inventory items to pick up and use lie in wait before the customer can warm their body properly. This game doesn't break Tesshi-e's streak of good escape games; the puzzles are fairly logical and make sense without being too easy, the controls are just fine, pixel-hunting is nonexistent (as is a changing cursor, but who needs it?) and there's a save feature for when you want to take a break from your break.

This crazy mash-up of RPG and color-matching puzzle is gorgeous, fun, and addictive. Destroy groups of blocks and rotate the puzzle grid to fight monsters by falling on them from above with your drill lance spinning. Bigger and better than the first Knightfall in every way, with a fleshed-out story, creative boss battles, and more ways to build your character, Knightfall 2 is what a sequel should be.

A lovely Flash point-and-click game from (fictitious) development company White Kiwi, this one will keep you busy for just a short while. It was created as a class project by a group of students, and it is quite enjoyable and very pretty. The world would be a better place with more games like this.

The third installment of the popular Humbug series is out and ready for you to take control of that loot obsessed criminal Ziggy. This time he's trying to snag a shiny crown and he'll cheat death itself in order to obtain it. Guide Ziggy through treacherous levels with foes, cannonballs, and confusing puzzles to get that most glorious of prizes. Pixelcontinuous doesn't disappoint in the third puzzle platform game of the series.

It's another great day for the end of the world! Oh, wait, I forgot... that was yesterday! Dead Frontier: Outbreak 2 is a text adventure about trying to survive in an undead world. Having survived the events of the first game, you set out in search of much needed medical supplies. Making the right choices is important if you want to see the end of the day.

Beethro Budkin has had to face all sorts of challenges crawling through the first eight floors of Dugan's dungeon. Now though, he stands on the precipice of levels nine through twelve, and they're filled with Deadly Rooms of Death of all kinds! Caravel Games' series of turn-based puzzle-strategy games gets just a bit more hair-pulling in DROD: King Dugan's Dungeon Lite - Episode 3.

Hot on the heels of a mention in a G4TV feature, Mateusz Skutnik unleashes more gnome-mania onto the world. This latest installment, 10 Gnomes (#6), is a
hidden object game like the others to come before it. Your task, as per the usual, is to find 10 gnomes within 10 minutes.

On has just today posted a new mini-game to his Eyezblog, and it is a simple little puzzle game called Neighbors. The game is played by dragging each of the colored-top creatures to one of the 9 container pots such that everyone gets along happy and content. If you put one in the wrong spot, its neighbor(s) won't like it and will have a tizzy fit.

This gorgeous, interactive narrative and detective drama is set in the late 1920's and produced by the award-winning creative team at Preloaded in the UK. Death in Sakkara is an Egyptian adventure game that offers a rich immersing narrative experience peppered with historical content, puzzles, mystery and intrigue. All four (4) episodes available to play.

Return to the same environment that started The Podge's addictive puzzle series, but this time with 33 all new problem-solving scenarios. As before, set action stones to command the dibbles and they'll lay down their lives in all manner of ways to ensure the king can safely complete his journey. Packed with puzzle fun, it's perfect for when you just can't get enough dibbles.

Nitrome sends you on a tiny, puzzling adventure in this 50x50 turnbased game. Plot a course through a dangerous dungeon filled with tricks, traps, and baddies, nabbing coins along the way. It's a small (literally!) and thoughtful little game that will deliver a clever, bite-sized dose of puzzle action.

Created by Robert Kabwe of Montreal, Nimian Hunter makes use of an engine that creates the illusion of 3D in Flash, and it's very, very good. Play as a hunter on a mission to feed the beast that commands you. There is a narrative that unfolds as you play, with at least two different endings. Altogether a unique and unusual game.

Magic Pen is a physics-based puzzle playground created by Alejandro Guillen (Spin the Black Circle). It's easy to see the design, from visual style to overall concept, was taken from Crayon Physics, but because Magic Pen was done in Flash, it's much more accessible. Using the mouse, simply draw shapes to create bridges and guide the red ball to the flag. Making shapes and dropping them from the sky will set the ball in motion, and you can also craft structures with hinges (both fixed and movable) for more complex maneuvers.

Monkey sad. Make monkey happy! That's your simple goal in Monkey GO Happy, a puzzle/arcade-style hybrid from Robin Vencel at Pencil Kids. Pick mushrooms, find treasure, shoot toy ducks, set off fireworks, fire cannons and loads more, all in the name of big monkey smiles. It's a bit like the Four Second series of games, only without the intense speed and with more mammals.

Purgatorium is a short and creepy point-and-click escape-the-room game with some rather horrific graphic visuals nestled inside. If you have played either of Ben's other horror-genre interactive narratives, Exmortis and Exmortis 2, then you may already know what to expect. Created especially for Casual Gameplay.

Think construction work is boring? Maybe you aren't using enough guided missiles. Unleash the awesome power of the yellow hard hat as you use everything from explosions to wrecking balls to airplanes to destroy buildings and make your cash quota in Nitrome's explosive (literally) take on the physics demolition game.

Challenging, fun, mysterious, the puzzles flow from one to another in a beautiful logical procession in this latest escape title from Place of Light that sees you trying to shine a little light on a darkened room. Most of the enjoyment is in that wonderful feeling and happy sigh as you unveil one more tiny point of light, pointing to yet another puzzle and another point of light. Well worth the trip.

Another haunting opening to another superb point-and-click game. New from Pastel Games and Mateusz Skutnik, creator of Covert Front, the Submachine series, and The Great Escape series, comes a sequel to last year's desolate adventure, The Fog Fall. The Fog Fall 2 is set in the same post-apocalyptic warzone as the original and is filled with gorgeous artwork, moody sound effects and frighteningly stark locations.

Got a hankering for tactical warfare? How about commanding an army of diverse, magical creatures and using an array of powerful spells to wreak havoc on the battlefield? That's what Epic War 4 is all about; an exciting mishmash of strategic defense and action-packed combat on--as the name implies--an epic scale.

Fresh from the bronze halls of Nitrome comes Steamlands, a game that mixes strategy, defense, and building genres with a steampunk exterior to make a final product that begs you to become addicted. A great war has left Europe in ruins. Even though the last of the machines have been disassembled, pirates still roam the land with their patchwork tanks built from scrap. As a lone mercenary commander, you must pick up a spanner and build your own war machine by scavenging parts from defeated pirates. Embark upon dozens of missions in this expertly-crafted game of combat, strategy, and on-the-fly steam tank construction!

Escape from the Tatami Room is not the toughest escape out there, but one that hangs together nicely with a mix of use of found objects, construction, and pure logic. Amusing casual gameplay that doesn't take a lot of time but leaves you feeling very satisfied, even if you don't really get to eat that excellent spread that is the final reward. Feeling peckish? Then get moving!

Immediately upon opening Ferry Halim's latest, Sunny Day Sky, you feel as if the sun has just come out, the birds are singing and all is right with the world. Grab your trusty umbrella and embark on a journey cross-country. Take a leap (by clicking the mouse) and sail as far as the winds (and your umbrella) will take you. But be sure not to land in traffic, land ON it! If you land between vehicles your journey is over, and so is the game.

Arachnophilia is an arcade-style simulation of a night in the life of a spider. Your goal is to survive as long as possible, your venue is the empty midnight space between tree branches, and your method is to trap and devour the hapless insects who blunder into your web. It's a simple but sophisticated game, made with a deep love for both arachnids and early 80s arcade games like Tempest.

Squishy, squelchy, and over-the-top, Trap Master is a fast and furious hybrid of defense and side-scrolling chew-em-up action, as you play a monstrous beast defending its lair from all invaders. Upgrade your abilities, install traps to waylay or crush the unwary, and unleash every cringe-worthy attack in your arsenal to be the one, the only... Trap Master! Not for the squeamish, or head-banging resistant.

Shift embraces the same negative-space-centric platforming concept as Yin Yang, but in a style more elegant, more minimalist, and more pulsating with sexy-sweet spy music. With a press of the Shift key, you are flipped beneath the floor on which you are standing, and reverses both your body color and gravity. It's a unique platformer with a twist, and it's a good deal of fun.

Jonas Kyratzes has brought us many enjoyable, thoughtful games in bizarre, surreal settings. Well, now he's developed a top-down space shooter, Traitor. Don't get scared, he's still able to cast his powers of storytelling, it's just in a different yummy, gooey, science fiction package. Take on missions to earn credits for upgrades as well as the trust of the rebels. Your ultimate goal: to take down the Augustan Hegemony. Viva la People's Council!

In the mid-1800s, the country trembles on the verge of change, a great war that will shape the outcome of the future... but for you, the world of mortals is the least of your concern, when you find yourself having caught the eye of someone less (or more) than entirely human. In this remarkably deep and ambitious text RPG adventure with multiple paths and endings, set out on your journey as a fledgling vampire. Just remember that as powerful as you might think you are, there is always danger around you... especially in those close to you...

John Cooney and Jimp are here to give you all the puzzle platforming you love, all the surprises you'd never expect, and 400 achievements to earn in Achievement Unlocked 3. Exponentially vaster in scope than its predecessors, Achievement Unlocked 3 is a game that's packed, even crowded, with content. Its busyness may be unexpected compared to previous entries in the series, but it's still a heck of a lot of fun.

New from the snowy peaks of Mt. Nitrome comes Frost Bite 2, a direct follow-up to last year's Frost Bite platforming game. Work your way up the snowy mountain peaks using a grappling hook that can latch onto almost anything. Stomp or harpoon enemies to clear them out of your way, move boxes to reach high spots, and collect bonus letters to unlock secret stages. A few new tricks can be found up Frost Bite 2's fuzzy parka, such as new enemies and new objects to grapple.

9:05, by Adam Cadre, is another snack-sized
text adventure that is just right for a casual audience. Even if you're new to the genre and are looking for something short and simple as a primer, do give this one a try. You've screwed up on the job before, but never like this. You've overslept in a major way, and you're in for a world of trouble if you don't act fast.

Sometimes games are just there for us when we want to have some fun, blow up the princess, and save the zombies, or something like that. Other times, we want to explore more difficult and painful stories. Grace's Diary manages to seamlessly integrate the theme of a relationship abuse into a sensitive and moving visual novel.

A simple room escape by Tesshi-e that returns to the basic form of escaping from a room, Escape From Bed Room is an entertaining, challenging way to spend 10 or 20 minutes. Although it perhaps lacks the complexity present in some games, there is still a lot of escaping fun to be had. Time to get off the couch, stop watching the tube, and expand your mind a little.

Mateusz Skutnik has created an extended version of his recent point-and-click game, Submachine. Boasting twice as many rooms, a new puzzle and an alternate ending, the new version is something of a remix to tide you over until he creates a sequel, which he promises is on the way.

The Escape Hotel is back in The Escape Hotel 3, from Tesshi-e, and this time the fun begins before you ever make it to your room. How hard can it be to escape a hotel lobby, you might ask? Harder than you'd think, especially since you're not escaping to get out, but to get into your room. All you have to do is navigate around the spacious area, figure out your hotel room number, discover how to make the elevator work, and break into a few "employee only" areas.

A tiny world is at your fingertips, ready for you to shape it. Create a cavern teeming with life... provided you can discover all the creatures hiding inside. Using sandbox tools, manipulate the environment to coax each creature into the open, or how to create them. A charming little simulation tool that encourages experimentation.

A Flash version of the classic Denki Blocks originally made for the Game Boy Advance. The goal of each level is to maneuver blocks of the same color so that they touch. Use the arrow keys to move the entire set of blocks around the screen. Immovable black squares can be used to prevent certain blocks from moving, allowing you to separate adjacent blocks from each other. The twist here is that when blocks of the same color meet, they fuse into a single block. Although this is the ultimate goal of the game, you'll have to be careful, as you can easily render a level unsolvable through premature fusions. With 100 levels, Jelly Blocks contains more than enough puzzler goodness to satisfy the hunger of anyone.

Rob Allen is back with another banner game for you to enjoy. This one we're titling "Jigland" and it's similar to the others we have featured. It includes a variety of puzzles and mini-games to complete all the letters of the Casual Gameplay logo. The game is located right within the banner at the top of every page of the site, just click on it to load the game and play.

Show me the fun! Sure this jigsaw puzzle from the brilliant team at Plexus starts with the most romantic phrase ever quoted, but does it deliver? You bet. Gorgeous, brightly-colored individual images which fit together perfectly to form one unified picture. Use arrows to rotate then click to drag each piece into place. It's both complex yet simple, exceedingly charming and definitely fun to play.

When a work has an excellent premise, it's always interesting to find variations on the theme. Haydn knew it. Beethoven knew it. Now Conceptis gets on board with another in their popular series of browser versions of pen-and-paper puzzles, and this time the focus is on perhaps the most popular remix of that ongoing phenom, Sudoku. Chain Sudoku Light Volume 1, designed with the same care as its fellow works, is a twisty variant that's very, very good.

The aptly named Absolute Awesome Ball Game is truly awesome because it manages to capture the thrill of discovery that we look for from pinball games and delivers that in an addictive, unique and appealing package. The game requires a bit of patience and perseverance before seeing any visible progress, but those that stick with it are in for a very pleasant and enjoyable ride.

Broom attack! Also, you might be trapped in a dream. Or some other sort of subconscious realm. It's tough to tell, but judging from the strange sights and the cryptic "as legend has foretold" messages from sages and statues, there's definitely something odd going on here. Anodyne from Sean Hogan and Jonathan Kittaka is an adventure through a melancholy world that plays out like a classic 16-bit RPG. It borrows some of the best micro-concepts from games like The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Yume Nikki, and even Earthbound, creating a world that's as innocent as it is moving and as dangerous as it is surreal.

"Hero" is such a broad term. Don't you think, cowboy? You were just
liberating that silver after all. Before you can ride off into the sunset, you'll need to get out of this jail cell. Hoosegow is a tongue-in-cheek bit of interactive fiction set in the wild west, and the proud winner of CGDC7.

The game is an interesting twist on your standard point-and-click. While you still use found items to solve puzzles and escape the house in which you are trapped, Trapped trades in the standard first person view for a pseudo-3D isometric third person perspective. Use your clicking finger and your puzzling skills to collect items and combine items, and to get out.

Charger Escape, from Pastel Games, is not simply an excellent escape game, it is also one that features ponies! And farm animals! And kittens!! It is a rare game that manages to soothe and relax you even as it challenges your mind. Although not particularly difficult, nor is it very long, Charger Escape contains puzzles that are well-executed and creative.

The Several Journeys of Reemus is a point-and-click game with a medieval fantasy setting from talented flash artist Zeebarf. Wanna-be hero Reemus must put a stop to a local infestation of giant ants, armed with only his dubious wits, a kickin' handlebar mustache, and his faithful purple bear sidekick Liam. By applying your skill at pointing, clicking, and problem solving, you must guide Reemus unscathed to the final confrontation with the towering ant queen.

Wonderland's looking a bit different these days, and nobody knows it better than you... or at least, than you used to, before you lost your memory and found yourself in a series of unpleasant predicaments. As the White Rabbit, you'll track down the evidence to find out what really happened and who set you up in this long-awaited finale to the popular point-and-click series.

Think fast! No, faster than that!... no,
even faster! NinjaDoodle serves up another gorgeous set of clever little puzzles where you'll have to be ready for anything and willing to work under pressure. Short, sweet, and a great exercise for your lazy brain if you can handle robots, zombies, cows, aliens, and... toilets?

Originally released as a download version in 2008, this lovely musical game by Alexander Porechnov of Kranx Productions mingles elements of tetris, sudoku and hidden object scenes into a point-and-click puzzle that's both unique and very entertaining. First seek and find the pieces of a musical outline, then use audio, geometric and symbolic clues to place the puzzle pieces in their correct order to reconstruct a classic song. With its melodious instrumentals, gorgeous graphics and challenging puzzles, Musaic Box is as pleasing to the eyes and ears as it is fun to play.

Zeebarf returns and you'll be pleased to know that his work just keeps getting better. Your job is to guide opportunistic exterminator Reemus and his ursine companion Liam through a series of eight oddball misadventures on a quest to... well... do something or other. Go to a castle and save the world, I guess. They get sidetracked a lot.

Back to the basics again with Kagi Nochi Tobira 2, the simple and original puzzle game sequel to the very well-received Kagi Nochi Tobira from September of last year. There's not much else to say other than the raw creativity and sense of discovery in these simple puzzle games create an exceptionally engaging and appealing experience. Another example of why simple ideas are often among the most fun!

The bouncy blue elephant is back for another installment in the wildly popular puzzle platform series! There's just one level in this whole game... but once you get to the end have you really beaten it? Packed with riddles, pastries, challenges, and even a little bullet action, it's the perfect way to spend your free time.

Tyler Glaiel, the programming and musical composition half of the team behind Aether, has released this amazing platform-puzzle game with a unique look and gripping, oppressive atmosphere. Whether you're looking for fresh new gameplay, or you're interested in games with subtle emotional values, Closure is where it's at.

Not very difficult but fun and occasionally challenging, Suntrap Room Escape is the perfect mid-week break, a light and airy confection as delicious as its designer's name implies. Dive in and enjoy the experience, even if it will leave you hungry for something, anything strawberry flavored.

Put your platform skills to the test and wrap your mind around the increasingly difficult laws as you climb the Tower of Heaven in this tricky retro platformer. Beyond the extremely nostalgic qualities of Tower of Heaven, the most striking aspect of this game is that it's hard, very hard, but in a unique and extremely interesting way.

Have you met your orc slaughtering quotient for the day? No? Good, because In Battle Panic, a new strategy defense game by Kaiparasoft, your kingdom has been overrun by the orcish horde and it's up to you to take back what's yours and bring the fight to the enemy's homeland. Nothing new here, of course, but what makes Battle Panic stand out is its controls. To build, heal, destroy, and mine, just place your cursor over the object you want to interact with, no clicking required. Finally a strategy game for the truly casual!