Celebrating 0.25 years of Link Warble Dump Friday, bringing you banana boxes full of games wrapping 6.5 times a year. (Note: Due to an unfortunate alignment of Jupiter and Mars, you must multiply every calendar-based figure I speak of by eight and ignore all words that begin with the letter 'W'.) Oh, and happy Halloween!

Now it's time to break the rules. A little. This edition of Weekend Download highlights winners of the 2008 Unity Awards, games created using the Unity plug-in that are playable right in your browser window. Technically they're browser games, but since you have to download and install something, they're downloads, too.

Four very different games in this edition of Link Dump Friday, enough to appease the hungry appetites of RPG fans, tower defense masters, action gamers and anyone looking to give their reflexes a little test or two.

Some odd news to go along with your games: Recently the American Heart Association announced that the Bee Gees song "Stayin' Alive" provides the perfect beat to follow while performing chest compressions as part of CPR on a heart attack victim. While this will certainly help save a number of lives, I really don't want to see disco (or qiana shirts) make a comeback.

I'm going to preface this Link Dump Friday with a stern warning: there's a pun at the end of the article. I know I know, puns are like kryptonite for some people, but I just couldn't resist. You know those moments when you're writing, a sentence pops into your head and immediately afterwards you realize you were being "clever" without even realizing it? Yeah, it was one of those. So read on, play some games, and when you reach the end, don't say I didn't warn you.

Look! Over there! It's a giant robot alligator with a bunch of little drills going out to get some sushi! Before he sees us, reload your grenade gun with cherries and tap the appropriate key when his sushi order floats over the red zone!

In this blue-colored world (you know, 'cause of oceans and stuff), we have people that bake bread, people who build buildings, people who stack things on top of other things. We also have people who make games. Everyone fills their little niche in the grand scheme of things, but only one of the above listed folk have a Link Dump Friday. Can you guess which one?

Sometimes indie game developers really impress me with their rampant creativity. This week, for example, we have a surprisingly deep strategy game from Chronic Logic that looks like it was stolen from 1992, a fighting game starring rabbits, an unfairly tough platformer called Love, and a physics-based racing motocross racing game. When "Hey, I have a neat idea!" is the driving force behind a game, you know you're in for a good time.

If you ever sat outside on a warm summer's night (or a cool winter's eve, I suppose), stared up at the sky and thought "Boy do I wish I was that big ball of rock in the sky!", this edition of Link Dump Friday helps fulfill that wish!

More games to make you scratch your head, this bonus edition of Weekend Download features a few titles that caught my eye in one way or another. I especially enjoyed G2: Geeks Unleashed, not only for its corny references (every one of which I understood!), but for its unique strategy/puzzle gameplay.

Two really fascinating blasts from (or to) the past this week: The Lost Snowmen, which spiritually resurrects one of my favorite games from the 90s, The Lost Vikings, and Cavern of Doom, which takes pixelated graphics to an almost painful extreme.

As promised last week, I now present to you Link Dump Friday: IDUNNOWHATEVERLOL Edition! I apologize if a very light arcade/mouseplay feeling comes across when you play these games. Rest assured, however, that it's not a theme. Just a... flavor.

This edition of Weekend Download highlights some of my favorite entries in the recently-ended (and completely awesome) TIGSource Bootleg Demakes competition. Designers were challenged to remake a game for a system released before its time. So, for example, creating a Super Smash Bros. knockoff for the NES. Nearly 70 games were entered in the competition, so be sure to check out the competition page and try some more on for size.

The plan for this week's Link Dump Friday was to have a ball/bouncey theme. Then all these non-bouncing games came along, I got carried away, and suddenly we're left with a set of games that are great fun but, sadly, do not adhere to my original plan. Next time I'm shooting for a theme along the lines of "idunnowhateverlol"!

This week we have what is perhaps the strangest Weekend Download offering of all time: a sequel to a ten year old game originally packaged with Chex cereal. Yes, it's as odd as it sounds and yes, you have to have some pretty serious nostalgic yearnings to really get into the game. But hey, Chex cereal looks like miniature waffles, so how can that be a bad thing?

Look into my eyes. THESE eyes: O_O You are getting sleepy. Very sleepy. Soon, you will be under my complete control. Ok, you are under my complete control. Now I will snap my fingers and you will continue reading this screen. Then you will click and play every game below. And you will enjoy each one. Snapping my fingers........ NOW!

The intro paragraph to this edition of Weekend Download was delayed in an unfortunate airport scheduling conflict. Lacking the teams of writers normally required to complete this task, we have instead substituted the introduction with a single character, printed here:@. We hope you enjoy it.

This week on the official LDF Paragraph of Miscellany, I would like to discuss an advertisement poster I saw in a mall over the weekend. Pictured was a fancy hotel room with every amenity you could want, and just below, this simple phrase was printed: You see a room. I tried typing "enter room" (you know, in my mind), but apparently the door was shut, locked, and the key hidden so well no amount of drawer opening could uncover it. Darn.

We have just finished a massive walkthrough guide for Azada 2: Ancient Magic. This guide will help you through any of the books should you get stuck while playing. Be warned: This guide does contain spoilers, so proceed with caution and use only as a last resort!

There you are, standing on the precipice. Your pixelated toes hang over the edge. Taking a deep breath you move forward — and fall, cursing the heavens and hoping that the louder you say "But I pressed jump!" will make a difference. Such is the fate of all characters at some point — they fall. Some games take the idea of making that perfect jump and dare you to try hard at every turn in order to make every single jump count, and every miss hurt.

Ta da! Back with another Link Dump Friday! Showing you our collection of fabulous games this week will be me, the guy whose face is trapped in a square to the left. Playing the part of the contestant will be you, people reading this text! We still don't have any volunteers to play the excited armadillo sitting in the corner eating cereal, though...

Today I would like to use this space to address a horrible error made just one week ago: I neglected to mention the previous Weekend Download was number 50! That means we've placed over 250 downloadable games before your eyes, which is... well, plenty of excuses not to do your homework or fill out your TPS reports.

Just like the previous two Link Dump Friday features, this week we have a boatload of games to keep your fingers twitching. Unlike the previous articles, however, this one has a tasty breakfast treat I have long been calling for: WAFFLES!!! *confetti*

In the simple and kid friendly Tree House Defense, another fun game on Whirled by Three Rings, made by Bill Robinson, protect your tree house from bullies, skateboarders, skunks, and other assorted neighborhood menaces. If you find that some of the elaborate tower defense games are bit too eye glazing and forbidding to get into, then this cute and simple game is a great place to start. So, it's probably not for the seasoned tower defense veteran.

Each week we churn through dozens of downloadable casual games searching for just the right ones to feature. Is it interesting and fun, or is it just another clone? Does it have pretty pictures? Much like our weekly Link Dump Friday feature, this edition of Weekend Download highlights some of the games that, for one reason or another, didn't quite make it to a full review but are still unique and worth playing.

Eels, phonic substitutions, time-traveling groundhogs, and a game that lets you beat up Kirby-like avatars that represent people from around the world. Let's all join hands and sing a song of — OH MY OMELETS THE EEL IS EATING ME!!!

In last week's Link Dump Friday, I thought it was a phenomenal feat to feature six games in one article. Well, looks like we've done it again, and this time there are pirates and aliens, too! Still no waffles, sadly...

You like it old school? That's good, because on this edition of Weekend Download, we've got a healthy dose of retro-style gaming ready to throw you back a decade or two!

Link Dump Friday? More like Link Deluge, AMIRITE?! Six really great games, a few of which are heavy-hitters and will take away your afternoon without apology, and a fun Flash animation. Could Friday get any better? Well, maybe if we had some waffles...

If I were made of LEGO-style bricks, I would have an extra arm at the center of my back. Sure, it would make sitting down awkward, my shirts would never quite fit, and buying gloves would be kinda pointless, but... Please? Can I have it anyway?

We have a very special Link Dump Friday this week! Why? Because... I said so? Or is it because it's the first day of August? Or is it because we have games about math, ninjas, circus performers and cannons all in one article?!

Along with our usual smattering of games, this week we're featuring one of the games from the recent Toronto Independent Game Development Jam (TOJam), a three day gathering of game makers held every year to inspire creative ideas. Be sure to check out all of the TOJam entries for more experimental gaming goodness!

While crafting this week's Link Dump Friday, I uncovered a mysterious pattern that could be a sign of greater things at work. On a standard North American QWERTY keyboard, 33 of the 47 letters used to write the names of the five games below (numbers don't count) can be typed with the right hand alone. In fact, Starwave doesn't need the right hand at all! Government conspiracy? Alien intervention? Or does my being a lefty subtly influence the games we feature each week? You decide!

The moon disappeared from the sky on the night of April 10, 2008, and the public is in disagreement regarding why or how it disappeared. Several stargazers ... claim that a giant spaceship came by and "swallowed" the moon.

Good day and welcome to Weekend Download! For your comfort and ease of existence, we promise that Weekend Download will never say it's going to call you after work and never do so. Weekend Download will also keep its promise and get you that extra cash when it does your taxes. Weekend Download is also low in calories, low fat, and high in FUN.

When asked which toothpaste they preferred over the leading national brand, four out of five dentists chose Link Dump Friday. Their reasons included arcade-style shooters, puzzle games, and physics-based webtoys. What that other dentist was thinking, we have no clue...

A lot of first person gory goodness on this edition of Weekend Download. Two of our featured games are first person shooters, while a couple others pour on the macabre in their own special way, even if they happen to be packed with colorful pixel art!

The famous Skywire Tours, a popular tourist attraction designed by engineer Nye Trommey, was closed down indefinitely last week by order of the safety council. The safety of the ride was first called into question when marine biologist Oliver Aquanaut (age 21) and his wife, Emily (age 19) threatened to sue Skywire Tours after Emily was tossed out of the car during one eventful ride.

Your brain uses 20% of your body's energy, yet it is only 2% of your total weight. The power your brain generates while you're awake can illuminate a lightbulb. And if you're restless, lavender can have a calming affect on the brain, while jasmine can rouse it from slumber. Fortunately none of this week's Link Dump Friday games will tax your brain too much, scientific proof that JayIsGames gives your body energy (by, you know, not forcing your brain to gulp more than its fair share).

A few short, experimental-type games this week, including one from prolific Game Maker designer cactus, a two color game where you are a wild boar, and a game where you control a dark sun to capture golden butterfly/angel-type things. And just to make sure you don't go mad with weirdness, there's a nice relaxing mahjong game to tame the inner beasts.

Here on the slab of land just south of Canada and north of Mexico (including bits of land in the Pacific ocean and a whole hunk of terra firma way in the north), today is Independence Day. You know what that means, right? Fireworks, parades, barbecues, picnics, and this year, Link Dump Friday!

Sometimes a formula just works, and in the case of the tried-and-true matching setup, we've seen it work time and time again. This edition of Weekend Download highlights a few new games that take the matching to a new level with interesting twists on the old convention.

Recently, TIGSource held a competition centered around procedural generation, games that create their content on the fly rather than presenting pre-made areas crafted by the programmer. This gives the player a new experience each time he or she plays, opening the doors of replayability and creating some unpredictable situations. Below are the top five entries as determined by player votes. More than 60 games were submitted, so feel free to peruse the competition page for more procedurally generated goodness!

You like physics games? I like physics games. This week we've thrown in two physics playground/puzzle games to teach you valuable lessons about life. Namely, don't stack all your blocks on one side of the seesaw, and elaborate domino setups inevitably fall to the ground.

A big thanks to the folks over at G4TV for giving us a mention in their latest Blog Watch feature! Wooty tooty!

Just a heads-up about a major site upgrade that we've begun, so you are likely to experience a few bumps during the process. The site is getting a major overhaul to the underlying structure, as well as a much needed facelift, and therefore many scripts and templates are changing. The entire process will take at least the rest of the day to complete.

Sometimes you come across a game that looks amazing and receives nothing but praise from all the reviews. Everything looks positive and you just can't wait to play it — then you notice the download size. It's massive. How can you justify downloading something so large? Sure, it might be good, but maybe you'd like something that would be a little quicker to download. So here you are, four games that provide a decent experience at a fraction of the bandwidth.

Today's Link Dump Friday is brought to you by candy tins and completely hypothetical situations. If you are a candy manufacturer and you package candy in a fun-looking container, make sure you include at least one feature: the ability to open the tin and retrieve the candy inside. Children, tall people, people with feet, and Link Dump Friday writers like candy very much, and we generally do not like injuring ourselves or eating spilled candy off the floor. Hypothetically, of course...

What do you get when you cross prehistoric man with a group of combative ants and drop them in a few procedurally generated areas? I have no clue, but this edition of Weekend Download will probably be the closest thing to an answer you'll ever find.

This week's Link Dump Friday has a theme identical to the previous week's, only... different! There's also a little arcade vein running through the games, but that's not nearly as cool as being... different.

This is a player's walkthrough guide for Babarageo's Ginormo Sword. If you're looking for a review of the game. In general, this game can be played through using either superior skill, or through just overpowering everything in your path with massive stats. At least, that's the case for about 98% of the game.

Old and new, artistic and scientific breakthroughs, and a little bit of wacky fruit-loving robots, too. It's the most widely varied Weekend Download in the history of the universe, as verified by independent laboratory experiments!

This week's Link Dump Friday game theme is... a secret! That's right, all five games plastered on the screen below are related in some way, but it's your job to divine how. Do they all incorporate llamas? Were they made with the use of chopsticks? Dunno. It's a secret.

This edition of weekend download highlights a few notable IF titles. All you need is a computer and the ability to read and you're good to go!

A Flash version of Boom Blox, a tower defense made in the image of the upcoming GetSmart film, and a little arcade-style action thrown in for good measure. Link Dump Friday also provides nine essential vitamins and minerals!

We have just finished a massive walkthrough guide for Virtual Villagers 3: The Secret City. This Hint-through guide will provide gentle nudges in the right direction to help you get the best from your experience with the latest Virtual Villagers game. Be warned: This guide does contain some spoilers, so proceed with caution and as a last resort!

As you well know, new games are released everyday. So many, in fact, that it's impossible for anyone to play them all. This week we present a selection of downloadable platform games, one of the most popular genres of all-time. These aren't new games, however—they're just four nice games you may have missed before there was a Weekend Download.

Some of the best browser games are also the simplest. Take an interesting idea, make it accessible to everyone, give it a spiffy interface, polish everything to a gleaming shine and you might have a great coffee break game on your hands. This week we have a handful of games that do just that, presenting a simple idea in a nice-looking package.

A game where the goal is to kill yourself, a Japanese ghost who absorbs and turns into enemies, and a downloadable sandbox webtoy where you build things out of rice and then set them on fire? Yep, smells like a Weekend Download all right...

Mateusz Skutnik, the sultan of Submachine, the curator of Covert Front, has recently polished up a few of his older skill games and re-released them with better visuals, a high score system, and numerous tweaks here and there. Each one is a single idea carved into a deliciously challenging arcade experience.

Two heavy-hitting adventure games hit the casual scene this weekend, one a re-release of a classic point and click title, the other an exclusive from a seasoned adventure development studio. Each one spins an unforgettable tale using famous crime novel monikers everyone should recognize. Although the titles take strikingly different gameplay approaches, each one offers a deep mystery experience wrought with hidden agendas, misleading clues, and plenty of riddles to solve.

Ready to fill your hard drive to the brim? This weekend we've got several commercially produced games released as freeware. That means you get all the polish and production value of a big studio title without shelling out the cash. You'll have to be patient while they download, and the games aren't as friendly to casual gamers as we'd like, but you can't beat paying nothing for a game that used to carry a retail price tag.

My goal for this Link Dump Friday was to feature five games with one word titles. Did I succeed? Nope. Does that mean my mutant powers are waning? NEVER! It's just due to the position of Jupiter in relation to Capricorn, you see... And besides, one word or two, all the games are still fun, right?

Wan Hazmer has been very busy. Entering two of our latest competitions, Hazmer and his studio Easy Only! Games placed third with Ballistic Wars and more recently took the top prize with The Last Canopy. What's next for Hazmer and his pals? Read on to find out.

You awake rather late in the morning, the sun bursting between the blinds it's been banging on for hours. Your head hurts a bit, and your stomach aches ever so slightly. What was that you ate last night, anyway? Veggie lo mein? Groggy, you pull yourself out of bed, flip on the trusty computer and connect to the Internet. Your favorite website immediately opens, and your dreary face brightens as they rest on the sanctuary that is Weekend Download.

If you're like me, it's time for a distraction from Mario Kart Wii. This week's collection of Link Dump Friday games successfully stole me from kart steering just long enough to allow me to drive a real car without reaching for my stack of turtle shells in the back seat...

Our main course this evening is a heaping plate of voxels served on a bed of romaine and topped with bits of rock from an underground jail cell. Following that will be a tiny space ship served in bite-sized pieces that must be consumed within three seconds.To wash that down feel free to eat as many bugs as you see fit.

This week on Link Dump Friday: Nitrome likes boogers, your castle is being attacked by evil letters, a centipede is after you, and we trap you in a burning Atari 2600 house. Fortunately you have your glamorous life as a video store clerk to recharge your batteries while you contemplate the origin of life as we know it.

Mat from Nitrome sent over a short video preview of Skywire 2, the upcoming sequel to one of their most popular games, Skywire. So far it looks like it will be bigger and even better than the original, and is that 2-player versus split-screen I see?!

Noitu loooove Miss Teri Tale! Danger Mouse? In the black forest, ad nauseam, with Albero and the great blue emblem.

For those of you who have been waiting for Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze to be released at Big Fish, the wait is finally over! The second chapter of this gorgeous series of games is here and offers a unique mix of point-and-click puzzles and hidden objects that are all woven together into a compelling narrative adventure.

This week we have a special edition of Link Dump Friday, a collection of games that were not selected as finalists into our recent Casual Gameplay Design Competition #5. Even though these games didn't reach the last round, there is no doubt that considerable time and effort were put into each one.

I have a confession to make: before August 2007, I knew nothing of Jayisgames. Back then, I was this little guy who keeps coming up with game ideas, but had no drive to execute them. It wasn't because I was lazy or anything; I just kept questioning the games' purpose. I was drowning in a culture where people keep questioning the financial feasibility of a creative piece. Of course, this was the after-effect of being in the advertising industry for some time. In the end, no effort was taken to realize those ideas.

Driving, driving everywhere, but not a brake to squeek. Er... never mind about that lousy rhyme, its driving time! So hop in, close the door, and press that pedal to the floor. And you can also play the other non-driving games. You know, if you want to.

This week's Link Dump Friday pours out a paint-based shooter, a once multiplayer basketball game adapted for solo gamers, an adventure parody and a few twists on some old-style brain teasers. It's better than peanut butter!

On the topic of game design competitions, Brian Crecente over at Kotaku sends word that he's currently running a game design challenge to create a game about teen dating violence without using any violence. There is a $1,000 first prize up for grabs and the deadline is May 15th. For a complete list of the official rules, visit the JenniferAnn.org website.

Our 5th competition today comes to a close and we are here to honor all of the games that were entered, as well as award a few prizes, too. The "upgrade" theme was not an easy challenge, and several game designers rose to the occasion and delivered some of the most compelling and promising games we've seen in a CGDC yet.

In addition to an utterly superb isometric adventure game, on this edition of Weekend Download we'll be teasing you just a bit. Teasing how, you say? Teasing with a Mac-only demo and a preview build of a game that isn't complete! Yes, we're cruel. But you'll love every minute of it.

Wacky. That one word describes half of this week's collection of Link Dump Friday games. Well, maybe wacky and challenging, but challenging in a wacky sorta way. And the other half? Room escapey. Room escapey in a multi-lingual kinda way.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that. This edition of Weekend Download throws a strange variety of games your way, but with one major headliner: Westward 2. Insert obligatory "oohs" and "ahhs" (and maybe even a "cool it's about time yay" or two) here.

We have another winner to announce today, and we also want to thank everyone for participating in our Asylum plushie drawings! Be sure to keep checking the site, as we'll be giving away another plushie again soon!

It's a feast of sound toys and room escape games on this week's Link Dump Friday!

Total from voting... $437.34!
Not quite the level of support we've seen in previous competitions. Our sincerest thanks to everyone who voted and for your kind support of these competitions!

This Dolly plushie was recently delivered to JIG headquarters, except the doctor is way too busy to take care of it, so we're giving it away to some lucky visitor with a JIG Casual Gameplay account! All you have to do is leave a comment here on this entry by signing into your Casual Gameplay account. If it's a valid comment, our little mascot (the JIGster) will appear next to your name. That's all there is to it!

Ready for some serious content? This week we spill the beans on two games — one brand new, the other, well, not so new. One is serious, the other... not so much. One is in color, the other— well, you get the picture. It's The Graveyard and a remake of the classic King's Quest II!

We're looking to add an extra layer of support by forming a casual gameplay help squad consisting of a few dedicated readers who can follow discussions on weekend download games and provide hints and support when necessary. It's a simple but fun job that requires you to play through games in their entirety and check in on the comments several times a day, providing feedback, hints and tips when necessary. And the best part is you get free casual games for your help!

We have another winner to announce today, and we also want to thank everyone for participating in our Asylum plushie drawings! Be sure to keep checking the site, as we'll be giving away another plushie again soon!

Dragons, towers of shaky steel, a pink octopus, and stuffy 18th century aristocrats. No, it isn't my last family reunion (steel girders were scarce this year), it's a Link Dump Friday, the happiest weekly-occurring day of the year!

Finally, the moment we've been waiting for, the day all the finalists into our 5th Casual Gameplay Design Competition are now available to play! The extension of the deadline was well worth the wait as we now have 21 solid entries for you to enjoy. Don't forget to leave your kind feedback and constructive criticism for the game designers.

This Kroko plushie was recently delivered to JIG headquarters, except the doctor is way too busy to take care of it, so we're giving it away to some lucky visitor with a JIG Casual Gameplay account! All you have to do is leave a comment here on this entry by signing into your Casual Gameplay account. If it's a valid comment, our little mascot (the JIGster) will appear next to your name. That's all there is to it!

Hangovers, guns, and retro roguelike games. Sounds like a typical Saturday night in the 80s. This weekend, however, we're celebrating the good ole days casual gaming style, which results in less money spent, fewer blackouts, and absolutely no inexplicable bruises.

We have another winner to announce today, and we also want to thank everyone for participating in our Asylum plushie drawings! Be sure to keep checking the site, as we'll be giving away another plushie again soon!

Retro Sabotage edition! We here at JayIsGames love old games. You know, assuming they're good. We also like developers who try something new, which is what Retro Sabotage does with this collection of weekly-updated parodies. The humor is simple, the games are very short and are often more like interactive movies than traditional games. But you'll grin every time. And if you don't, we've still got you covered with more games below. Who loves the fuzzy wuzzy casual gamers out there? Yeees we do, yes we do!

Just a quick note to point you to two new updates to previously reviewed games that you might want to know about: Amateur Surgeon and Bow Street Runner.

This Sly plushie was recently delivered to JIG headquarters, except the doctor is way too busy to take care of it, so we're giving it away to some lucky visitor with a JIG Casual Gameplay account! All you have to do is leave a comment here on this entry by signing into your Casual Gameplay account. If it's a valid comment, our little mascot (the JIGster) will appear next to your name. That's all there is to it!

She is tolerable, I suppose. But she is not handsome enough to tempt me. Bingley, I am in no humour to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. Go back to your partner and enjoy her smiles. You're wasting your time on me. Just give me a few Weekend Download games and that's all I could ever need.

We have another winner to announce today, but before we do we want to thank everyone for participating in our drawings! You guys rock! Keep the great comments coming, we read each and every one and we appreciate all the kind words of support!

But the man he brought with him, Mr. Darcy as he calls himself, is not worth our concern though he may be the richest man in Derbyshire! The proudest, the most horrid, disobliging ... He slighted poor Lizzy, you know, and flatly refused to stand up with her. And furthermore, I hear he enjoys each and every Link Dump Friday! Such a disagreeable man.

The deadline for CGDC5 has come and gone, and the entries are in. Looking over the 25 entries we have so far, although impressed, we think we could be a bit more impressed. Some of the entries need a couple more coats of polish, and many of you wished you had more time to finish up and get your entries in. The judges and sponsors have talked it over, and we have decided to allow a bit more development time by extending the competition deadline by almost 2 weeks.

Today is the day! The deadline for our 5th Casual Gameplay Design Competition! It's time to finish up those games and send your entry in to us before midnight tonight. Even if you have previously filled out an entry form, we still need your game SWF for judging purposes, so don't delay!