Weekend Download contains 80% of your recommended weekly allowance of awesome. It is recommended you supplement your intake of downloadable games with a balanced diet selected from other sources, including Flash games, mobile games, and that game you play with a paddle where you hit the ball on the rubber band.

This week on Link Dump Friday; aliens! Cannons! Zombies! THE COMPLETE AND TOTAL ANNIHILATION OF THE SUN, THUS BRINGING AN END TO ALL LIFE AS WE KNOW IT!... sort of... only not really... oh, okay, it's another physics puzzle! We know what you like.

Puzzle time! Three puzzle games that are guaranteed to keep you busy for a very long time, mostly because they're fiendishly difficult and have hundreds of puzzles to complete.

Wait, so you mean, these games were just sitting there? Waiting for someone to grab them? Nobody was watching, no one at all? What about cameras or electric shock thingies? Nothing? Hmm. So I guess it's ok you downloaded them, isn't it? K whatever, let's play.

This is Friday, and as is our custom, we partake on this day of games from around the internets. This week! Save a queen while going on a tiny adventure and feeding some sheep before you rescue your girlfriend and then roll away on a glimmering trail of stars!... sort of.

Time for more portable gaming! This week we've got a mixed selection of apps ranging from simulation to puzzle to card games. As usual, each game does something particularly well, whether it's a gameplay feature, an interface, or an innovative concept on its own.

What goes into a Weekend Download feature? The recipe is a secret, but it involves lots of game playing, internet searching, and cinnamon. Especially that last one.

We've just finished a complete walkthrough (with images) for Dream Chronicles 4: The Book of Air! Be warned: contains major spoilers, so proceed only as a last resort. Be sure to read our review of Dream Chronicles 4.

Some days we try to make your Fridays themed. Some days we throw a ninja, a time-travelling mushroom, and a rusty pizza cutter at you and tell you to have at 'er. This is one of those days.

Two words for you at the start of this glorious new week: quickhook, and super. But, not in that order. You're smart, you can figure it out, no matter what day of the week it is.

Nothing like a tall, cool glass of game to wash the week out of your system and get you ready for the weekend. Dubloon could easily keep you busy until Monday morning rolls around, but Surphasm is unique enough to deserve your attention. Rein is a great diversion when you're ready for an adventure that won't take you a week to complete.

If it's Friday, it must be time for Link Dump Friday! This week; puzzles, tanks, dragons, and internet fads that should have died out long ago! It's a fine selection of games that were carefully analysed to make sure they were perfect for you and not at all thrown together in a frantic five minutes before this article was due. I love you too much for that!

With power rumored to be as great as the Dreamcast, iPhone games are slowly beginning to stretch their legs and show what the platform can do. Grokion is a great example of this, piling detailed 3D rendered visuals into a 2D game that looks and plays great.

Piling on the clichés can be fun, and the heaviest-hitting release this weekend, GunGirl 2, does just that. So, ig releases come in small packages. Also, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. And there's no time like the present.

This week, PANDAS! WORMS! NUNS! And it still makes more sense than most episodes of Lost! Train your eye, your aim, and your evolutionary capabilities in this week's Link Dump Friday, specially baked just for you!

We could go on and on about all the games featured below, but let's face it, you'll probably stop listening after you see the word Carcassonne. Yes, Carcassonne is out for the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad, so you can play it in-between times that you'd probably be playing it anyway.

Multiple endings HURRAH! Different outcomes to the stories you are playing are nothing new, but it isn't often that the games are short and entertaining enough to encourage you to gather them all. It's interesting to play through several times just to see how your actions affect the game world. Two of this week's games feature different endings, and you'll definitely want to experience some of these alternate conclusions!

Ever wanted to play a skull ninja while you rescued a chicken from a field of demons that was also falling down a bottomless mine shaft?... well... you can't. At least not all at once. But this week's Link Dump Friday does feature all of those things and more! Lucky you!

We're pleased to announce the next Casual Gameplay Design Competition! For CGDC #8, we are asking that you design a game around our theme, SANDBOX, and you may use any browser-based technology platform you are comfortable with (Flash, Unity, Shockwave, Javascript/HTML5, etc.)! Please read the official competition announcement for all the rules and details.

It's taken some time, but Google Play Android Games is finally beginning to attract some great games! Many of them have a dual existence on the iTunes App Store, but a few exclusives are starting to crop up here and there. Either way, gaming on your Android phone is getting better and better, and we're here to cover t

CGDC8 announcement coming June 1st!

One of my favorite things about independent games are not the games themselves. It's the games' names. When you don't have to attract a certain demographic to plop down cash for your game so you can keep your massive studio in California air conditioned, you're free to have fun and call your game Mr. Heart Loves You Very Much, Squid Yes! Not So Octopus!, or Punishment: The Punishing! We love you too, indie game creators!

What awaits you behind this innocuous link? Could it be... Link Dump Friday?!... well, yes. Obviously. Featuring platformers, strategies, and a bonus video made in tribute to a popular indie flash art game, this is one with something for everyone. Unless you're allergic to fun. In which case, here's some spreadsheets.

Sometimes the iTunes App Store is nothing but disappointing. Sometimes it's filled with a tolerable amount of playable games. Other times there are so many great things to choose from you kinda flip out and cry a little bit. This is one of the good weeks, so prepare to bawl.

Certain conventions in video games will never change. Platformers always involve hopping on enemies' heads. Zombies want to eat your brains. Role playing games will always start with the main character being woken up from sleep. And swinging from walls and ceilings is fun. Let's keep it that way for a very long time, shall we?

Boils and ghouls, assemble! This special bonus edition of your very own Link Dump Friday features spooks and scares for the hardier among you. Play an exterminator who takes on more than he bargained for, a man who wakes up to a strange package that changes his life, and more. Remember, it doesn't have to be October for us to make you want to hide under your blankets!

Pick your poison; this week's Link Dump Friday brings you puzzles and platformers, restaurants and angels. It's the perfect potpourri of gaming to start your weekend off right.

GRAGH! INTRO PARAGRAPH SMASH INTO BRAIN, TELL YOU HAPPY MONDAY AND GIVE YOU GAMES TO PLAY! INTRO PARAGRAPH also turn caps lock off to speak in a more cordial tone.

A few games for your weekend perusal, all of which summon that coveted "oh, neat!" moment at least once! Also, it's a miracle I didn't type a D instead of a T at the end of the first game.

With aliens, panda bears, yeti, moles, witches, and Kafka, this might be the strangest Link Dump Friday yet! All it needs is for you to click this link and dive on in.

Last week was an amazing week to own an iPhone or iPod Touch. 100 Rogues, a highly-anticipated game from Dinofarm Games, finally appeared on the iTunes App Store, prompting thousands of eager gamers to hit that "buy now" button. Not only that, but the massively addictive Sword & Poker received a sequel that does nothing but improve upon the original. We're supposed to be casual gamers and all, but it's ok to spend multiple hours on these games. Really.

New releases from either Daniel Remar or Ben Chandler, both highly-recognizable figures in the indie community, is always cause for fun-type celebration! Their games aren't as widely known in the mainstream gaming community as they should be, giving us cool people that smug, superior feeling of having a secret source of great entertainment.

Five amazing, cross-platform indie games, one gorgeous sale. The Humble Indie Bundle lets you pick up World of Goo, Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru and Penumbra: Overture for one magically low price of whatever you want to pay. All titles are DRM-free and run on Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems.

Evildoers, beware! Link Dump Friday is on the prowl! This week we feature some sublime weirdness, point-and-clicks, racing, and some good old-fashioned puzzle/platforming action.

I am pleased to report that this week's Mobile Monday features three games that are certifiably "replayable". Each one practically begs you to come back and play again and again, and they all deliver something unique each time you do!

It's Ludum Dare time again! Another competition, another healthy round of entertainment and creativity. Over 200 games were submitted this time around, each involving the theme of "islands". Below you'll find a few of our choices out of the lot. Be sure to check out all the games and, if you're cool, cast your vote for the winners!

What waits behind this synopsis text? Is it another installment of everyone's favourite Link Dump Friday, featuring pigs, robots, dummies, and furry stackable monsters? Or is it a horde of flesh eating scarabs just waiting for you to click and set them free so their tiny but so painful pincers can seek out your tender elbows?... well, it's probably another Link Dump, but just in case, you may want to get ready to run.

How about some arcade games to spice up your Monday? Back in the day, arcade games were designed to challenge players to master the game's mechanics for little more reward than a high score. You don't have to worry about losing quarters now, but the same "play it until you're good at it" gameplay still challenges and satisfies.

This edition of Weekend Download is all about failure. Failure to escape a missile attack, failure to create a non-ordinary game, failure to climb over a wall, and failure to, well, not die. Failure is part of playing video games, as without risk there's no reward for succeeding, but the titles below use failing in some creative ways!

Hey there stranger, fancy meeting you again! This week on your Link Dump Friday; bears, sharks, and magical orbs, oh my! Four puzzles with one big action title tossed in to help you start your weekend off right.

Hey, remember that Flash game that had a name that we featured before? Me too! I also remember it because I just played it on my iPod Touch.

Meta challenge! If you can choose the game featured below that's clearly better than the others, you win the meta game! Too bad that's impossible, 'cause all of the games are extraordinary pieces of gaming art. :-P

Welcome to your Friday! (We have to stop meeting like this!) This week; fish, birds, dragons, and zombies! It's like the best zoo ever, only in your browser, and with less overpriced souvenirs and crying children. Probably.

Sweet, sweet nostalgia is the theme for this week's Mobile Monday, as two (arguably all three) of our games bank on invoking that rosey feeling of reliving our past in modern form. A Star Wars game that's actually good? Check. Intellivision? DOUBLE CHECK!

A handful of simple games to help you pass your weekend! Nothing that will entrance you for hours, just a couple of action arcade games and a platformer that's actually two platformers running at the same time. Nice, simple fun.

Another Friday, another Link Dump, another fat dog that needs to find exercise DVDs to escape his house, and another mostly-featureless blobby thing running through a cavern from multicoloured waves. You know, just like any other old week.

What kid hasn't had dreams of being an astronaut? Exploring space, bouncing around in low gravity, meeting aliens, piloting a super-cool rocket ship. Ok, so maybe one of those is a bit far-fetched. This week's Mobile Monday features a game that's probably the closest thing most of us will get to flying outside of our planet's atmosphere. Or meeting an alien, for that matter.

Welcome to the woooooorld of tomorrow!!!! That'd be really profound if you read it yesterday. Why isn't it profound to read things about yesterday today? I, for one, am pretty darned impressed people can remember events of days past. Things like the release of Dissipate or Jesse Venbrux's older games. Not that those were small events, mind you, just that they happened at a moment in time that is not this very moment in time...

A veritable buffet of games for you to gorge upon on this week's Link Dump Friday, including an ambitious Alternate Reality Title, a boar with a gun, and more of Minoto's trademark cute insanity. This is also a serious article for serious people and there are no pop culture jokes in it at all. Nope. Not a one.

Who here hasn't wanted to be a hero and save the world at least once during their life? Trick question, of course we all want to wear spandex and fly around the city doing cool things! I mean, that's not just me, is it? Yellow spandex?

This weekend we have an enormously interesting game to share: Digital: A Love Story. The title encapsulates the experience quite well, as it's a game that's both about 20 year old technology and love.

Rise and shine, internets, it's Link Dump Friday time! Another fresh batch of fun and varied games from around the web for you to test your gaming mettle against. This week; puzzles, adventure, blobs, words, and absolute nonsense. I mean, even more than usual.

Well, it was only a matter of time. While not everyone on the JIG staff is a fan of social games, they seem to be gaining ground like a bowling ball tied to a freight train rolling down a hill. We Rule is the first heavy-hitting social app to hit the iPhone, and it's got the mojo needed to draw in an enormous player base.

Step one: Push the box, solve the puzzle. Step two: Go into space, push the box, get your stuff. Step three: Build a machine, buy some weapons, pick up some money. STEP FOUR WIN!

Another Friday, another Link Dump Friday, and another tasty assortment of games for your esteemed perusal! Have you ever wondered what a raccoon, a ballet dancer, a block-headed dude, and a red mage have in common? Well, nothing, obviously. But they're here in this week's installment of puzzles, point-and-clicks, and RPGs!

A digging game. A quiz game. And a game about shooting ragdolls out of cannons. It would be a challenge to find a more varied selection of iTunes App Store games. Unless one of them involved monkeys. Monkeys always win the randomness awards.

It's a roguelike-like Weekend Download! Two of our games this weekend snuggle up to the famously non-casual sub-genre without turning up the complexity. Same RPG flavor, one tenth the time commitment! Quaffing potions should be a standard roguelike feature, though...

Friday has once again arrived to shower you with pre weekend joy and a fine assemblage of games indeed! Test your geography skills, your typing skills, your... duck... skills?... hmm. Well, it's awesome. Just trust us.

One of the darling developers on the iTunes App Store, NimbleBit, has released yet another simple but crazy fun game. Sometimes I wonder if those guys stay up at night thinking of ways to make me stare at my iPod for hours on end. Between Text/Fishtropolis and Dizzypad, I'm going to have a hard time putting that little device away for long periods of time...

Why spend all of your time toiling away on one game when you can make a ton of them? The 529-in-1 Klik & Play Pirate Kart II: Kart Harder is all about that, and the games featured below are from this recent event. 102 people contributed a total of 529 games over the weekend, each made in under two hours. It's quantity over quality, so don't expect the next Sprout, but do expect a lot of wacky ideas, one-trick games, and maybe even a few things that, once seen, can never be unseen. Check out a random selection of the 529 games, and don't be afraid to download and play many more!

We know it says Link Dump Friday on this article, but there really isn't. No games here at all. You probably shouldn't bother clicking this link. It's not like we have awesome games for you this week or anything. Nnnnnooope.

HI. MY NAME IS AN INTRO PARAGRAPH. I hope you enjoy reading me, as I'm here to provide a fuzzy, comfortable buffer between the beginning of the article and the games below. Did you like it? I hope so, because you'll really like the games below. I know I do!

Games are fun. Jam is delicious. Why not combine the two? The Game Jolt Weekend Game Jam has both of those words (even though its jam is less strawberry flavored) and contains exactly the same amount of yum. Check out a few of the top games from this 48 hour competition.

We have just finished a massive walkthrough guide for Virtual Villagers 4: The Tree of Life. This guide will provide all you need to help you get the most from your experience with the latest Virtual Villagers game. Be warned: This guide does contain spoilers, so proceed with caution and as a last resort!

There're two shooters, two physics puzzles, and a sidescrolling commentary on the intolerance of man on this week's Link Dump Friday. Sounds like a winning combination to us! Like chips and dip, peanut butter and jelly, or ham and blueberries!

Today a very special Casual Gameplay Design Competition comes to a close, one dedicated to the realm of interactive fiction. We are very fortunate to have received so many excellent entries, and we are grateful to the development community for taking on our challenge.

How's this for a theme: three games that make you scratch your head! Colorbind because you can't figure out how to do what's right in front of your face. Gravity because you can't figure out how to precisely set up a chain reaction to tap a little button. And NOBY NOBY BOY because you have no earthly idea what's going on (even though you love it).

This week's selection of downloadable games seems to ask a lot of questions. Not because one of their titles practically is a question, but because of the way they're made. What rests beyond the next corridor? How can you get to the other side of that waterfall? And if I step out into that suspiciously dark and open wooded area, will I get attacked by something hideous?

Another Friday, another Link Dump, and another tasty assemblage of the best bite sized games plucked from the bakery that is the internet. This week; movies, physics, rabbits, and fantastical hats!

Multiplayer games are a bit scant on the iTunes App Store. This week, we've got an excellent online-enabled title that serves as an example of how mobile devices can be used to bring people together for collective gaming experiences. Friendly game of Pictionary, anyone?

The recently-completed TIGSource Assemblee Competition was all about artists and programmers working together as one big happy family-like unit. The two-part competition began with artists/musicians creating assets, then programmers came along, scooped up the goodies and used them to make games. The results, as you can see, are extraordinary, with over 70 games submitted in the end. Below are a few highlights of the competition.

A Friday, like any other... or IS it?! ... well, okay, since it's yet another installment of Link Dump Friday it probably IS just like any other. Which is to say, chock full of new games hungry for your perusal! Platformers, puzzlers, brain-benders, and more. And they still have that great new game smell!

One secret fact about iPhone games is that they can make you do weird things. Tilting the device to steer a car, for example, seems innocent enough, but when you're operating a flying taxi cab or flinging enemies up into the virtual sky, it's easy to get carried away. But you know what? Who cares if you look like a weirdo. You're having fun, and that guy making fun of you is not.

Sometimes you don't want an epic story or 80 hours of gameplay out of your game. Sometimes you just want to mess around, experience something quirky, and call it a day. All of the games below are extremely short. They're "just 'cause" games, because the only reason you play them is just because you can!

Need some sunshine in your day? How about bright colours, bizarre imagery, and a monkey in an iron barrel? That's right, this week's Link Dump Friday celebrates the weirdly wonderful games of the World Wide Web. Point-and-clicks, defense, physics, puzzles, all for you, dear reader. So hold tight to your no-nonsense socks if you value them, because this one is going to knock them right off with cuteness.

The entries for the 7th Casual Gameplay Design Competition are now online and ready to play!! All entries are available to play immediately on the competition page. There is a place to enter comments for each game, so please use each respective thread to leave your kind feedback and constructive criticisms for the game authors. The competition period will span 3 weeks, and we will announce the winners of the competition at that time. Please help us spread the word!

Puzzles come in a variety of forms, from straightforward "here, solve this" to more convoluted riddles in story-driven games. The puzzles in this week's titles are wrapped in different cloths, but they all provide a great challenge no matter what your preference.

Ahem. Here we go Loopty Loo! Here we go Loopty Li! Here we go Loopty Loo! Because it's Weekend Download that you can possibly read on a Saturday night!

Puzzles, puzzles, and more puzzles! Featuring cows, genies, helmets, and more, this week's Link Dump Friday is for those of you who like figuring things out, particularly when those things involve physics, zoo animals, and miniature labourers.

Just a quick reminder that there is just 1 week left until the deadline for our 7th Casual Gameplay Design Competition. It is a very special competition that will feature one-room games of interactive fiction incorporating the theme of "ESCAPE". See the official competition announcement for all the details. Also, if you wish to be a judge, please request to be added to the judges list on the official competition announcement page.

Tumbledrop! The most smilinglyest game ever made, with more grins per geometric shape than an LOLboxfactory, has made a surprise appearance on the iPhone. Quick! Must get star to platform!

Simplicity is often overlooked in modern games. Whereas early programmers had little more to work with than a few lines of code and a green-on-black screen, modern game makers can have armies of programmers, artists, and computers on their side. It doesn't take 3D visuals and realistic physics to make a good game, though, as indie game creators prove time and time again. This week's games are small in some ways, but enormous in others, and all have that special something that makes you treasure the time you spend with it.

Mechs, chefs, rats, and more on this week's Link Dump Friday! After all, what better way to start your weekend off than with time management and bullets. I don't want to get your hopes up, but there might be a pony inside this one!... I said, might.

After nearly 40,000 votes counted and compiled, we are pleased to present the results of the Best of 2009! This year it was all up to you, the JIG community, to hand out the awards to those games that earned the most votes. In a few categories the JIG editorial team has chosen a game to share the award to be sure some notable titles received the recognition and praise that we feel they deserve, but we didn't have to work very hard because we agreed with most of your selections!

We hereby declare this Mobile Monday "International Skip the Lite Version Edition"! We had such a great time with the games below, we're confident enough to suggest you just take the plunge and skip all that extra downloading and such. It's especially true for Sword & Poker, as if you try the lite version and fall in love with the game (which, you will), nabbing the full version will force you to start over again from the beginning. :-O And congratulations to our BLOCKOBAN giveaway winners!

Just a quick reminder for those who might have been waiting until the last minute to cast those important votes: We are heading into the final hours of voting. All voting will end Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 11:59PM (GMT-5:00), so don't delay. VOTE NOW!

Reflexes are a mixed bag, aren't they? On the one hand, they cause you to do things like uncontrollably kick people if they look at your knees (that's a reflex, honest), on the other hand, they jerk your hand away from painful objects and let you play insanely fast and chaotic games.

Puzzles and strategy abound on this week's Link Dump Friday, featuring modern twists on age old game ideas, long ears, and a whooole lotta tanks. Really, what else could you ask for to start your weekend off with? Except maybe a pony. A pony... with purple wings. And... magical breath that smells like cotton candy. ... well, now I'm all depressed. Try to enjoy this week's offerings anyway!

Just a quick reminder for those who may have missed our announcement late last week: Cast your votes now for the Best of Casual Gameplay 2009! You can vote for your favorite games once each day during the voting period. Voting period to end sometime this weekend, so don't delay! Vote now and vote every day!

It's time for free stuff! Accompanying this week's Mobile Monday feature, we've got a handful of unlock codes for last week's puzzle game (which is also a browser game, by the way), BLOCKOBAN. Want one? All you have to do is sign in with a Casual Gameplay account and leave a comment below. Winners will be chosen at random and announced on next week's Mobile Monday, so be sure and check back then to see if you've won!

It's Ludum Dare time again! Ludum Dare 16 has come and gone, leaving with us dozens upon dozens of unique, quickly-crafted games to enjoy. The latest competition's theme was "exploration", and here are a few of the top games as voted by the LD community!

Another Friday, another week, and still we don't have houses on the moon or flying cars! Some new decade this is turning out to be. Why not cheer yourself up with tiny dragons, racing hounds, or gears? This week's Link Dump Friday has it all... provided your definition of "all" is a limited selection of five games.

Another year for the record books, 2009 sure had its ups and downs. Throughout the year we aimed to bring you the very best online, mobile and downloadable casual games available on the Web, and now it's time for you to choose the best of the best, la crème de la crème. Yes, it's time for our sixth annual Jay is Games "Best of" feature. Vote for your favorite games of 2009! Vote now, and vote once per day during the voting period!

Big games, small packages. Well, iPhone apps don't really have packages, but you get my point. Without losing their pick-up-and-play appeal, this week's games stuff a lot of content into your hands, offering weeks upon weeks of casual entertainment.

It's the first Weekend Download of 2010! We thought we would go easy on you while you break in your new calendar, so all of the games below have a light download footprint. You can handle a few megs worth of games, can't you? Sure you can!

To celebrate the passing of a year (and of a decade), Joe, Dora and John sat down around a cozy fireplace, sipped some sort of expensive kind of drinks we couldn't even pronounce, let alone afford (it was hot cider), and had a nice little chat about the year behind and the year ahead. How was 2009 for casual games? What does 2010 promise? We don't know. But we sure sound like we do!

Happy 2010, dear reader! We hope it's filled with even more awesomeness for you than the last. What better way to start your year off on the right foot than with this week's Link Dump Friday? It's a well-known fact that people who start their Fridays with a strict regime of games are guaranteed to grow only the most luxurious of beards in the new year, men and women alike!... hmmm, or maybe it was just "have a lot of fun"? I can't remember, they're so similar!

Oh ho ho, we are so back with more casual gameplay in podcast form! Just in time to wave goodbye to the holiday season, Joe from FlashGameLicense along with Jay, Dora and John from JIG managed to get Eli Piilonen, creator of The Company of Myself, to sit down and be subjected to questions of all kinds. We get serious with the games this episode, so you don't want to miss the shouting matches, dirty glares, roundhouse kicks, and thoughtful gifts of chocolates and cheeses exchanged between us.

Hugely, hugely, hugely addictive games on this edition of Mobile Monday, apps we just couldn't keep our smudging little fingers off of for very long. Each should be familiar to anyone who follows the casual/indie gaming scene, but their transition to the mobile platform introduces new controls as well as our favorite hook: complete portability!

If games weren't challenging, we wouldn't bother with them, right? Games create a set of rules that cause certain actions to be difficult, then you, the player, must try to perform those actions. It's a narrow definition, to be sure, but challenge on any level is something that sits at the core of gaming. Each of the games below throws challenges at you in a different way, whether it's via enemies, puzzles, restrictive physics, or a combination of all three. Sometimes you have to form a strategy, but sometimes it's about fighting with the game itself to make it all work. Either way, it's fun.