Cubic Exploding Goro is nearly as strange as the name suggests. This 3D action game from Japan puts you in the shoes of Goro, a grim angular anti-hero in a violent, polygonal Shockwave-powered world. Weird, fun and, with over 24 levels and a wide variety of enemies, quite challenging.

Developer Code is a series of six (6) point-and-click games of the escape-the-room variety, brought to us by IBM in China. The gameplay is the usual for this kind of game: For a reason unknown to you, you find yourself in a locked room with no apparent way out.

Panzo Invaders, like Gel Invaders before it, is a Shockwave arcade game similar in gameplay to a combination of Space Invaders and Breakout. Toss a steel ball up at floating enemies in the sky, but don't get hit by them when they fall to the ground! Grab coins for points and power-ups to extend play. Colorful and delightful.

Created by Bernd Mattiebe of Germany, Wogger is a multi-level, point-and-click surrealistic adventure in the same vein as the venerable Samorost. While much of the game is finding the correct click spot to move the story forward, there are a couple of puzzles that will pose a challenge for some.

L'expresso Empoisonné (The Poisoned Coffee) is a superb point-and-click mystery game created by Anode and Cathode, the authors of The Museum, The Casino and others. Paintings and other artwork have been stolen from a museum gallery. All of the evidence points to Damien Bestieu, one of the featured painters.

Monster Trucks Unleashed is an impressive 2D action driving game involving huge-wheeled monster trucks (of course), unlockable levels, and upgradable trucks. From the amazing Stimunation group of European Flash game developers.

A stylish Flash Breakout clone from GameDesign, Block Kuzusi demonstrates a great deal of respect for its roots while offering just enough originality to feel fresh. It is one of the better versions Breakout I've seen online, and well worth a look.

Daxo is an interactive portfolio created by musician and designer Hans Reichel. The style is similar to Blue Suburbia, another non-game we featured recently on JIG, and pulls together sound and image in a fusion of interactive multimedia.

Bonte Room 2 is the sequel to Bart Bonte's first room escape game we featured back in December. The game shares a lot with its predecessor, including simplistic art style, room layout, and a strange animal that's integral to solving the game's puzzles.

There is more than one way to enjoy this simple but effective Flash platform game construction set. Leveraging the power of player-generated content and the Web, Block Action puts platform game level design into the hands of millions and thus offers virtually unlimited variety in ways to enjoy its gameplay.

Hit the dance floor in this foot-stomping, original new take on the connect-three puzzle genre of casual gameplay. In Disco Jungle, play as a funky blue elephant with a special ability to absorb the color of any dance floor tile and then drop it anyplace else. Use it to match three (3) or more same-color tiles, horizontally and/or vertically, to score points and clear levels.

Gamma Bros. is a deliciously slow-paced old-school space shooter created by PixelJam. It's written in flash and offers both an online version and downloadable files for the Mac and Windows. Although simple in looks and design, Gamma Bros. gives the illusion of a massive game world interspersed with moments of action and quiet space floating.

Brain Strainer is a physics-based construction kit with which the player creates a quasi-perpetual machine from a palette of objects including bumpers, kickers, conveyor belts and other contraptions. The objective is to score enough points to launch a rocket.

Dice Wars is a unique new turn-based strategy game from Japan. Using nothing but dice and a randomly generated territory map made of hexagons, the game is similar in gameplay to that of the board game, Risk, though much simpler and quicker to play. The objective is to conquer all territories and eliminate all your opponents by attacking them with dice.

From David Thorburn, the fertile mind behind the enormous Teagames site, Orangutwang is a cute and original Flash-based action game. As with most of the other work available on Teagames, Orangutwang manages to blend Thorburn's remarkable physics expertise with simple and intuitive casual gameplay.

Combo! and Blockdown are two great flash puzzle games by Anders Pousette. They're remarkably simple and build upon classic puzzle gaming themes while throwing a few fresh ideas into the mix. Each comes with a public high score board to give you a chance at your 15 minutes of fame. You'll have to earn it, but with the amount of time you'll spend playing each game, odds are you won't really mind.

Chick Flick is an action game of rescuing little chicks by bouncing them on a trampoline up into the safety of their nest. It incorporates a simple and accessible gameplay mechanic that is similar to Breakout, and yet there is surprising depth to enjoy here. Excellent casual game design, as usual, from UK-based Nitrome.

An intense, fast paced game from developer f1ash, Iconien plays like an modern update to the arcade classic Missile Command. Put your basic click & drag mouse skills to the test as you defend your base from wave after wave of stubburn missiles, creepy bugs, mindless circles and powerful tanks.

ZWoK! is a charming and addictive, multiplayer, turn-based strategy Flash game in which players engage in battles using projectile firing weapons. It's a fight to the finish where the team with the last Zwok standing wins. The game is essentially a simple version of multiplayer Worms, and yet its simplicity is one of the games most redeeming qualities. It easily surpasses most Flash multiplayer turn-based strategy games I have played.

With an aim to get everyone online and sending email with the click of a mouse, the British Computer Society has commissioned this cute, Flash action puzzler called Mouse Mailer, starring PC Mouse. (Apparently they don't care much about Mac users ;)

Uchuwars is a classic-style shmup with weapon power-ups and bombs. I found this shmup when I visited Babarageo for the banner game reviewed recently on JIG. The instructions are in Japanese, but it didn't take long to figure out what to do.

Animator vs. Animation, by 17-year-old Alan Becker, draws a scene in the epic wars waged between the drawing and the drawn. Tensions draw high as the action starts simple and accelerates both in quantity and quality through the work, and the clever manipulation of screenshots will likely draw the appreciative attention of anyone who's ever worked in flash.

Babarageo STG Banner is a tiny 15 pixel tall space shooter. Most banner games have a single goal that can usually be accomplished in a few seconds. However, STG Banner introduces something a little different: rotating images with clickable hotspots. It may not sound like much, but it adds a surprising amount of strategy to an otherwise mindless game.

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.

Akai Ryu, or Red Dragon, is a surprisingly addictive little shooter created by Jason Reinsvold and available to play on his LostVectors website. The object of the game is to stay alive as long as possible while shooting down all of the various enemies that come into play.

The enviably talented crew at Nitrome have just released their latest game and it's an ambitious effort to put it mildly. Roly Poly is a Flash action game of skill with a unique mechanic: Click and drag to tilt the play field and use gravity to roll the little hedgehog to the goal of each level, and within the time limit provided.

The Privacy is another Flash point-and-click adventure from the stellar Gotmail team that gave us The Bar, Il Destino, The Salon and others. The game is set in a high-tech, big-brother world where even the watchers are watched and elaborate security systems are commonplace.

Grow ver.2 is completely different than what Grow ver.3 turned out to be, and yet the basic premise is the same as it is for all of the Grow games: Just click on the various items, one-by-one, and try to make them all reach their maximum level. Hint: order matters.

Pricilla Gone Missing is a Flash point-and-click adventure from Johan Törnkvist, a talented design and technology student at Hyper Island in Kariskrona, Sweden. The game begins with the player learning of the disappearance of Pricilla (Aunt "Prissy") and that warrants an investigation. From there a charming little adventure unfolds in which the player must look for items and clues to progress through the story.

Galactor is a Flash-based point-and-click room exploration game from the Finnish Consumer Agency. Aimed at increasing awareness of consumer issues, Galactor's meticulous style and dry humor transcends the stigma often associated with educational entertainment. While the information within may not necessarily be accurate in regards to consumer protection laws outside of Finland, the game still contains a wealth of good advice and common sense.

The oddly named game, OUT file#01 is a classic Flash point-and-click room escape game, and it features all the usual suspects: locked doors, missing keys, pieces of paper with clues, and secret compartments galore. Your job, of course, is to escape by unlocking the mystery within the room that holds you captive.

As anyone who's worked in an office knows, staving off boredom is your primary objective. Enter Binball Wizard, a simple flash game similar to Cyrkam Airtös. All you have to do is kick a ball into a trash bin located somewhere in the office. Control the power, height and direction of the ball and smash objects in the room. Then sit back, finish your coffee, then maybe file that TPS report when you have time.

Soccer Challenge, the latest from JP at Pepere.org, is an online flash game where you play eight different mini-games with colored soccer balls. They're all very simple and you can jump right in and start playing. Say goodbye to the next hour of your day.

JIG reader Josh recently pointed us to a flash version of the old raft puzzle everyone played back in grade school. The simple idea is that a group of people must cross a river using a small raft. Unfortunately not everyone gets along and there are certain rules that must be followed in order to get everyone across safely.

A minor release from flash game developer LUT!, known for the plasticine game Tomb of Doom and the point-and-click horror games Darkness 1 & 2, Invasion of the Space Invaders from Outer Space is a little on the wacky side. You fly a disguised space ship above the streets of Earth gathering humans and evading the police. Use your mouse to toss cars and people skyward, or just devour them in your toast slots. Stay alive long enough and you'll unlock a special bonus.

Echo Genesis is another digital media feast for the senses with a heavy emphasis on aural stimulation. Let your mouse guide you as you float dreamily through five (5) unique environments while interacting with the elements contained within.

JP of Pepere.org recently released a new version of his Ringmania game, creatively called Ringmania 2. In this latest update to the connect-three game based on magnetism, control is now with the mouse allowing more freedom of movement as you try to eliminate all of the colored rings from each level's initial configuration.

You may remember the name Hannu Pelkonen as the creator of the infectiously addictive typing games, Letters and Words, both of which were previously reviewed here. He now has a new game that was recently added to his collection at 2addicted, and this one is based on a familiar classic arcade hit from days gone by.

Following on the success that Arseniy Shklyaev enjoyed with his two previous action puzzle games, Orbox and Orbox B, his latest game is a rather odd combination of action and puzzle elements that will challenge both sides of your brain. The objective of Warp Forest is to collect all of the keys to activate the exit, and then make it safely to the exit to advance to the next puzzle/level.

Like eating the middle of an Oreo first, ClickDragType skips past the plain cookie outside to deliver only the sweet puzzle center in a collection of 10 intriguing, mind-bending puzzles for your pure and uncompromising enjoyment.

Air Support is a relentless one screen platformer with pixel perfect control. Try to stay alive as long as possible while deadly missiles fall from the sky and a parade of wicked monsters strut their stuff on the ground below. Unfortunately, every single missile is aimed directly at your head and you will need excellent reflexes to guide them to their targets without getting hit.

The talented crew at Gamesheep has just released their latest Flash game, and this one is a new take on the classic gameplay of miniature golf. Dumbolf stars a club-toting elephant that needs your help to make par on each of the game's 18 unusual and tricky holes.

On of Eyezmaze fame captures our hearts and minds again with Chronon, a brand new and unusual point-and-click puzzle game. This time-based puzzle takes place in the dwelling of a creature that leaves early in the morning and returns in the evening. The object of the game is to manipulate objects at various times throughout the day to complete the charming story. Brilliant.

Invader360 is a great little Flash based tube shooter, similar to arcade classics Tempest, Gyruss or, more recently, ABA Games' downloadable Torus Trooper. Developer f1ash brings this exotic branch of the shmup tree to life with frantic action and a minimal, well defined style.

Those shifty (har, har) 8-key critters are cruising down the screen towards you, an intrepid, er, lightbulb, as you ascend the y-axis in this evasion flash game. While 'don't touch the sprites' is a very (very very very?) common game mechanic, this is a superb execution with twists that make it less about endurance than about nerves.

Gwigle is an online puzzle game that actually teaches you Google search tricks as you play. Each screen shows a few search results along with the search string at the top. One word is replaced with question marks; it's your job to fill it in. It's hands-on education that feels more like you're playing a game than learning useful knowledge.

Betty's Beer Bar is a great arcade-style indie game by Mystery Studios. The game features a very simple mouse interface where you control Betty, the small town bartender with aspirations of running her own bar on the beach. Help her raise the money to fulfill her dreams by serving beer to customers as fast as you can. This online version serves as a quick taster of the downloadable version for Windows and MacOS.

Almost twenty years old, Woody Pop isn't as visually stunning or innovative as recent titles such as BreakQuest, but the collision detection and level design is solid, and the bright, chunky pixels still look good.

JeuOnamis is a short room escape game perfect for a coffee break. It takes place in a single black-and-white room that appears to be in the depths of a nuclear power plant (cue Mr. Burns). There is no narration or story, just the implied goal of trying to leave through the big locked door in the center.

Il Destino R is a revamped version of the original Il Destino point-and-click room escape game. It isn't a sequel, but the puzzles are different, items have moved around, new items make an appearance, and there are a few extra nooks and crannies to uncover. The layout and visuals are identical in both games, but R offers more challenge and features a completely different car on center stage.

The online game Color Box by eyehook takes the familiar puzzle formula and tosses in a little color theory to brighten things up. Slide and drop squares of color to pile them on the bottom of the screen. Your goal is to make them vanish, but your methods will be a little different. Instead of matching like-colors you must use color theory to change the blocks to white. Fortunately you don't need an art degree to pull this one off.

Anyone who has ever attempted Sega's chaotic masterpiece Chu Chu Rocket will feel right at home with Puzzled Sheep's familiar arrow-dropping action. The cute graphics and proven concept make it a joy to play but, with only 20 levels to the demo, the fun doesn't last as long as you might like.

Ryan and Matt over at Grubby Games have a Flash version available of their award-winning downloadable game Professor Fizzwizzle, and it's now up and ready to play online in your browser. See what all the fusswussling is all about in this online version of the exceptional, award-winning Fizzwizzle puzzwuzzle game.

From Lightning Games and Playaholics, the Flash-based Lightning Pool brings all the accoutrements of modern electronic entertainment to the classic game of billiards. Race against the clock as you collect power-ups and coins, unlock secret levels, avoid obstacles and, of course, clear the table with style and finesse in this addictive take on pool.

The Da Vinci Code Quest is a Flash-based game comprised of a series of puzzles that together form the basis for a contest to promote the May release of the Da Vinci Code movie. The puzzles may be played as often as you wish, and there are several unique variations to each one. Wrong answers don't count against the player, nor does the time required to complete each of the puzzles.

Find the Bug is a set of three flash-based spot-the-difference games. Each game in the trio has a different set of themed images: nature, space, and classic paintings. You are given one out of dozens of images paired with a slightly altered version. It's your job to spot the five differences and click them before time runs out.

Escape to Obion is a five-part series of short point-and-click Flash games by Matt Slaybaugh of SkepticTank.net. The games are strongly reminiscent of old-style adventure games such as Myst, complete with the mysterious atmosphere, fiendish puzzles, and an absolutely gripping sense of exploration.

Cubrius is a commercial-quality puzzle game in which the player pushes boxes (cubes) to solve stages by removing all colored cubes from view. A variant of Sokoban, Cubrius extends the classic gameplay by introducing a variety of cube types, each with special characteristics and behavior, as well as time-based bonus scores.

Il Destino is an online point-and-click room escape game by the same team that created The Bar. Your father is a famous car designer who created a vehicle based on your childhood drawings. He sold it shortly after it was built and you thought you'd never see it again. But today your father gives you the keys to his showroom where you find the shining car waiting for you. The only problem is you can't seem to get out.

Vaguely reminiscent of a 2D Rubik's Cube, the goal of Mozaik is to match the blocks on the board with the key at the bottom of the screen. The catch? You can only rotate blocks around strategically (that is, inconveniently) placed nodes.

String Avoider is an online flash game where you slide a string through a series of mazes using your mouse. Coded by fwe and part of the Gamenet network, String Avoider has the nasty habit of being both addictive and maddeningly frustrating all at once.

1UP is a great Flash web toy from Tanaka U over at Nextframe. In a twist on traditional scoring, the number of 1UPs you collect are representative of your progress while coins and points are a means to that end.

Here is one of my all-time favorites and it will surely be one of your favorites, too: ZomboCom. Actually there is no other place quite like it that I know of. It's unique, it's original, and it's one-of-a-kind; truly a rare swedish fish in a sea of jujubes.

The third and final chapter in the Hapland series and this one is arguably the best of the bunch. Not only is the game visually stunning, it is also just about the right size and difficulty to enjoy by oneself. A genre defining series from a very talented young artist. It doesn't get any better than this.

Orbox B by GameBalance is a game of striking simplicity and compelling puzzle solving, and is the sequel to the original Orbox game previously reviewed here. A pure puzzle solving game with 30 levels, this one isn't the most innovative game you'll play this week, but it could very well be one of the most mind-bending.

The Fancy Pants Adventure is an gorgeously animated platform adventure game created by Brad Borne. You play a hip, hand-drawn character who, as one might have guessed, wears a very fancy pair of pants. Run and jump around levels in this beautiful and enaging Flash game.

SameGame (pronounced sah-meh-gah-meh) was created in 1985 by Kuniaki Moribe and has since appeared on devices as diverse as the Super Famicom, several Texas Instruments calculators and even home tv recording unit Tivo. This Flash implementation created by Jussi Kari plays very smoothly and the stripped down aesthetic suits it well.

The Bar is a breathtakingly beautiful point-and-click room-escape game that begins with an intriguing story of a couple who promise that if they parted they would meet again in 50 years at this bar. The lovers have separated, time has passed, and here you are waiting at the empty bar. But... where is she? It is an atmospheric room-escape game that steals you with its ambience and stunningly rendered scenery then holds you with some challenging puzzles.

PandAventure is a simple Flash based point-and-click game from France's Pandaf Games. When your red capped panda-partner disappears, vaguely mumbling something about a bamboo forest, there's only one thing to do: find him (and get ahold of some tasty bamboo!).

SpaceCab is an online flash game created and hosted by Sporkle. This tough little game has you piloting a round spacecab through dangerous terrain to rescue lost miners from aliens. Navigate through tight tunnels, uncover secret pathways, and scream/curse every single time you crash. It's a jolly romp in space, bring the kids!

Filed under the Hapland/Puzzleland/Industrial Place Thingy category, Odubang 2 is an online point-and-click adventure game where timing and precision cursor clicks are your key to survival. Guide a spastic stick figure through an MS Paint world of red soil and gigantic green boulders. It's a short but entertaining game.

Nest of Moai is an online flash game that will take you exactly 90 seconds to beat. Fortunately there's a little more to it than just one run through, and with its quirky sense of humor you'll play it several times in a row.

Brand new from Gamesheep is this charming, albeit frustrating, little side-scrolling platformer starring an adorable vegetarian spider that is able to walk, jump, and swing from its own spidey-thread. In Jamal and the Wasp Bunker, terrible enemy wasps are suspect to the recent disappearance of inhabitants of Golden Claw Village, and Jamal sets out on an heroic adventure towards the Wasp Lair to rescue its friends.

Roboclaw is a simple game of skill that will test your dexterity of hand-eye coordination in your attempts to move a small blue sphere into a goal by controlling a 'robotic' arm. The easy-to-understand gameplay paired with a not-so-easy challenge is the perfect combination for a quick lunchtime distraction that is sure to test your skill, and your patience.

El Complo is a casual puzzle game, similar to the Grow series of games, in which several items are added to the puzzle, one at a time, until complete. The detailed animations of El Complo contain much of the same charm we are used to seeing with Grow, and thus makes this game a fine addition to the growing list of 'recipe puzzles'.

Word Sandwich is a free online Flash game that adds something a little different to the word game genre. The goal of the game is to guess the mystery five-letter word. Simple to play and difficult to master, the game can be highly addictive. Consider yourself warned. The combination of guesswork and alphabetic strategy (with a nice jazzy musical score) grabs you pretty quickly.

A masters in fine arts thesis project created by Jenova Chen and Nicholas Clark of the University of Southern California, flOw is a mesmerizing game of primordial life, evolution and survival. Dive deep into the wild blue to seek out and consume other organisms on your path to simple cell nirvana.

A delightful game integrating sight and sound, ARC is a game of chain-reactions and music-making that will likely go directly into your Favorites list. The elegant simplicity with which ARC blends audio and visual stimuli with interactivity is like sweets for the senses, and a refreshing change from the usual.

Breakit 2 is a brand new game from Terry Paton in which he takes classic casual gameplay elements from Breakout and Arkanoid, and energizes them with stunning Flash graphics and a high-tech soundtrack. The result is a gorgeous game that is a lot of fun to play.

Who doesn't enjoy playing card solitaire now and again? There are many varieties of Solitaire, or Patience as it is called by British folk, and most involve the dealing of cards into a set pattern on a table, which is then used by the player to order the cards by rank and by suit constrained within a set of rules defined for the game. Game Design offers a simple variation of Klondike in its latest Flash game.

Back in 1980, Midway released an innovative maze game called Rally X. It involved the player driving a rally car through a maze collecting flags while avoiding enemy cars. Baja is an excellent Shockwave 3D implementation of the traditional gameplay first seen in Rally X, and delivered to you within the convenience of your browser.

Nyctalopia (Greek for night blindness) is a short, Flash-based puzzle collage by French artist Philippeloy. More than an interactive portfolio, yet less than a fully realized point-and-click adventure, Nyctalopia bills itself as "a journey into (Philippeloy's) works."

It seems our hero's balloon has been shot down by the paperclip factory's anti-aircraft artillery, and it's your job to find a way back home. That is the opening sequence that drops you into Industry 2, the sequel to last year's Industrial Place Thingy. Like the first game, this one follows the same point-and-click stick-figure formula popularized by Rob Allen's seminal work with the Hapland series of games.

Immersing and beautifully textured, The Frog World will be immediately familiar to anyone who has played a 3D platform game in the last decade. Gathering stars in order to access new levels? Time trials that force you to go from point A to point B as quickly as possible? Frustrating clipping problems and difficult to estimate jumps? It's all there in your browser, thanks to Macromedia's Shockwave 3D.

At first glance, Linez immediately pulls you in to its attractive, minimalist display as well as its simple and accessible gameplay. A perfect combination for a casual game, and just the kind of thing I find great enjoyment in playing as well as highlighting here.

Following the trail blazed by the tremendous popularity of the Eyezmaze Grow series of casual Web games, two enterprising young Flash developers used that inspiration to create a sim-ilar game with a SimCity-like theme. Cityscape puts you in charge of breathing life into an otherwise undeveloped land mass by choosing the building order for the elements that make up a standard city.

An Independent Games Festival finalist, Professor Fizzwizzle is a remarkably enjoyable puzzle game filled with all sorts of robots and contraptions. The game is a delight to the eyes and ears, and it will even give your brain a workout while you play. With both downloadable and online versions available, be sure to give this one a try.

King of Skeleton is a first person quasi-3D flash game where you pilot a racer down an icy chute. Unlock longer, more difficult tracks by beating the target time, or go for the Olympic record. If you dare. The game is based on the sport Bob Skeleton in which racers tumble head-first down the tube on a small sled.

A completely different approach to a DDR game, Beat Bubbles offers an enjoyable music-game experience that doesn't rely on precise rhythm to do well with it. Instead, the player must repeat the sequence of keys shown within the time limit to advance, while making music in the process.

Bola is a casual and enjoyable puzzle game created by the developers at Gamesheep.com, the same folks who brought us Manole and Makos. The goal of the developers who host the site is to eventually populate it with all their own games, and Bola is not a bad step in that direction.

Available on Uminin's Flash Game Zone, home of several other previously reviewed works, the curiously named Brain Force is not very intellectual. No, Brain Force is purely an elegant exercise in agility, a beautiful example of how little is needed to make a successful twitch game.

The McDonald's Videogame is the newest Flash creation of Molleindustria, an Italian design team dedicated to the discussion of the social and political implications of video games. Overall the game is an entertaining distraction that is definitely worth your time for the satire and laughs or if you enjoy a challenge.

A brand new game from Tonypa just launched along with a new version of his games page. TriLinks is a strategy puzzler in which the player must connect each set of three (3) same-colored links by moving the mouse over adjacent points on the game grid. It is a game in which caution and restraint must be exercised throughout the game.

Warbears is a unique and original Flash point-and-click game that is played a little differently than anything I've seen so far. The gameplay is similar to Rob Allen's Hapland games, and yet there is an additional layer of complexity to it that sets it apart. It's a cute game with a great sense of humor and a lot of fun to play. Created by Gionatan Iasio of Italy.

Alice is a game animator. She likes to draw and create games on her ba-xi, a small handheld device that both entertains and consoles her in times of need. Even her friends affectionately call her "the animator," due in part to the animations that she draws of Brad, her imaginary friend. Alice is 8 years old. Don't miss this excellent and award-winning interactive narrative experience.

An official Katamari Damacy mini-game is now available on Namco's Japanese website. It appears to have been designed to illustrate the main concept of the game, which is to joyfully roll the katamari over smaller objects to collect them and make the katamari bigger so that you can then roll over even larger objects. To this end it works quite well; however, the mini-game does not even come close to the fun of the original.

Another brand new game, this one combines the addictive qualities of pouring sand with the addictive qualities of lemmings-like gameplay. The result is Sandman, an action game in which you must pour sand to rescue as many of the sleepwalkers as you can. Just click the mouse to pour sand where you want it. Use it to build ramps, slopes and bridges, and to turn the little walkers around.

Pong with a pretty face. That is how I'd sum-up this gorgeous game that Rich Nelson just released on his Merciless Games website. Puff Ball is a single-player arcade action game played under the sea against a computer-controlled opponent bouncing a puff ball back and forth until a player misses.

Monk is a detective with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) in a show of the same name on the USA network. To increase exposure for the show, and to generate traffic to the show's website, a new game has been launched that focuses on the trivial and repetitive tasks that Monk might face on a daily basis.

Remember the typing game, Letters, that was reviewed here in November? Well, the author, Hannu Pelkonen, has released a very significant addition to the series: Words! Though lacking the power-ups of Letters, Words uses the same slick interface and addictive dynamic high score display that updates your rank in real-time while you play.