In this very short but very atmospheric free indie experience, you putter around a tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere. It's quiet. Your fire crackles merrily. Why not go for a walk and see how the story unfolds?

You live to dig and must dig to live in this short, free indie point-and-click adventure game. Is there something more to this dreary life in this odd world where everyone is so lost with this tedious work?

Enjoy a high sea adventure in indie action adventure RPG Windward. Explore, conquer, plunder and more in this single or multi-player open-ended game. Complete tasks and hunt down pirates to increase your reputation as you level yourself up while running the pirates out of town.

A band of leopards has been terrorizing the town, and when it becomes apparent someone is controlling them, only the woefully under-qualified and unequipped local vet who locks herself in her house by accident can stop them in this campy but gorgeous hidden-object adventure.

Young women who all look alike have been vanishing all over the city, and the clockwork critters are the least of your worries when a malicious sentient puppet dogs your heels as you try to solve the mystery in this less-than-challenging but wonderfully fun and creative hidden-object adventure.

You arrive at Meadows Town in the middle of one serious storm, only to discover that there's something more going on than downed power lines. With the bodies piling up and one spirit that seriously wants you gone, you'll have to dig deep to uncover the truth in this madcap hidden-object adventure from ERS Game Studios.

A tiny French village is under attack by wolves, but when you arrive you find yourself face-to-face with a more supernatural incarnation. The townsfolk blame a young girl rumoured to have survived a werewolf attack when she was younger, but who can you really trust? A gorgeous and surprisingly inventive hidden-object adventure that's well worth a look.

Fearless Fantasy is a combat-centric role playing game created by Enter Skies. It ditches all the in-between stuff found in RPGs, such as overworld map traversing and endless dialogue trees, in favor of stats, skills, items and pure, smooth, delicious combat. Layered on top of that is a simple but enjoyable story that's got a runaway princess, a sarcastic hero, and at least one enemy who lost the battle because he has a hole in his sock.

Unravel the mystery of the moebius theory in this point-and-click adventure. Genius Malachi Rector makes a comfortable living in the high-end antiques business until a secretive government agency recruits him for analysis skills. But instead of analyzing objects, they want Malachi to analyze people to see if they resemble any famous historical figures. Use your superb deductive reasoning to solve they mystery, before it's too late.

The Christmas Stories series is back in time for the holidays! This winter you are invited to step inside A Christmas Carol and save Scrooge from a life of selfish misery. Elephant Games delivers Dickens' classic tale gift-wrapped with a pretty bow on top, with a stunning, jolly design, lovely gameplay and hours of heart-warming fun.

We've all dashed into a store at the last minute to grab a forgotten item. Mr. Pink Rabbit has a whole list of items he's got to collect before the store closes--and it closes in ten seconds! Set waypoints to create a path for the rabbit to follow through the aisles and to the checkout before time runs out in this hilarious game made in three days for the Ludum Dare competition.

You Still Won't Make It is a high difficulty action game from Vetra Games. It's name and form with this platformer, as each time you start a stage you know you probably won't make it to the exit. Even if you do, it won't be without splattering your insides over a precisely-placed spike trap. With level design by Karoshi veteran Jesse Venbrux, You Still Won't Make It is the kind of indie game you're going to hate while you fall in love with it.

And now we've reached the portion of the program where we delight you with things perfect and beautiful! Toki Tori 2 is a new metroidvania-style puzzle platform game from Two Tribes. It's a long-awaited follow up to the original Toki Tori released on Game Boy Color back in 2001. Featuring improved puzzles, longer levels, more varied gameplay, much better graphics and many, many other additions, the minute you fire up this game you'll realize it was worth the wait!

Show a video virus who's king of the button-mashers in Totally Tiny Arcade, by Joe Lesko's Flea Circus Games. A fun rapid-fire remix of retro gaming re-creations, parodies, facsimiles and new concepts, Totally Tiny Arcade may be too fast-paced for some, but it's a smart work that makes the most of its premise.

Wyv and Keep: The Temple of the Lost Idol is finally here! After almost three years in the oven, A Jolly Corpse has released its fully-baked (and delicious) puzzle platform game to the masses. It's got excitement. It's got adventure. It's got treasure. It's got multiplayer co-op. And it's got enough challenge to keep you scratching your head for a very long time.

Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller: The Oracle is the third in the series of episodic point-and-click adventure games by Phoenix Online Studios, and it's really going to bake your noodle. Taking place in a single location makes the experience fairly short and linear, but Cognition's tight, focused, and twist-filled plot, along with new gameplay mechanics and quality music, means one doesn't have to be psychic to see that Phoenix Online is going to stick the landing of their series.

Hours before her big performance, Florence finds out that someone has sabotaged the entire concert. Seeing that her friends are busy throwing up their arms in despair, she decides to save the day herself. Follow her as she scurries through hallways, rifles shelves and fixes pianos in this cute story-driven exploration game.

Run, Commander Video, Run! Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien is the next chapter in the BIT.TRIP series by Gaijin Games. You've got to jump, slide, kick, and glide your way to all of the gold bars while avoiding getting bonked by a ton of enemies. Sporting a wonderfully wacky atmosphere and fantastically catchy soundtrack, Runner2 is definitely a game you'll want to make a dash for.

An AGS collaboration between 9 year old Elena Honner and her dad, Liquid Nitrogen, Kitten Catastrophe is an adorable crayon-drawn point and click adventure. Help Daddy Cat find his four kittens before dinner, or else no one is having any pie! Like many works from new designers, it is an easy, straightforward little game with few superfluous details. However, it's gameplay and programming are solid, and its raw genuineness makes up for a lot.

Lake House: Children of Silence is a casual adventure game from Alawar that involves a young couple, a mysterious death, a kidnapping, some really creepy goings-on, and, naturally, a lake house. It all begins in the cafe with an awkward wedding proposal met by a cold reaction from the would-have-been bride-to-be. When she explains that someone broke into your house and burned/scratched you out of the photo albums, you can understand why she's so freaked out. And you should be too, seeing as how there's a masked man who may or may not be Ann's long-dead brother following you around. At least the proposal will be a day to remember!

In this direct sequel to the original dark fantasy title, Kathleen and her daughter Emily thought they'd escape the bizarre otherworld and mysterious legacy left to Emily by her dead father. But a letter ten years later as Emily is preparing to go off on her own forces the family to realise they must confront and uncover the dark truth behind dreams and nightmares in this stunning hidden-object adventure.

Ozzle wants to deceive you. Ozzle is bright and colorful, its fonts look like balloons, two big googley eyes watch you while you play, there's pink everywhere. But it's a puzzle game that will make you think and plan and execute only to realize you made a boneheaded move and could have done things much better. So, you try again, knowing you're smart enough to slide some bubbles around to match a stupid little pattern. All of this happens on the first or second set of puzzles, meaning they're easy. Easy! How on Earth are you going to make it through 60 of these things? By summoning the spirit of the relentless bear (that solves puzzles), that's how!

A spontaneous decision to rent a room in a stately old manor in the country takes a turn for the bizarre when you witness a girl abducted by a giant monkey before your very eyes and soon discover you're locked inside. With the help of a holographic cat, it's up to you to discover why the previous tenants at 13 Darwin Lane have quite literally lost their heads (and avoid losing their own) in this sublimely strange adventure from ERS Game Studios.

Three different people, three different worlds, and one very strange common thread. Tyler Glaiel, now part of Eyebrow Interactive, brings us one drop-dead gorgeous dark puzzle platformer in the form of this upgrade to his 2009 classic browser game full of ingenious levels and stunning design. Manipulate light to change your surroundings, using shadows to wipe away obstacles, and, ultimately, find your way back home.

Angelica "Dream" Weaver is used to being called in to use her "gift" to help the police when they're stuck, but even she isn't prepared for the bizarre chase this latest case will lead her on. A killer who seems to be dragging her back through time and enjoys his game of cat-and-mouse far too much to ever stop murdering will prove to be a challenge... and hopefully not one she can't overcome, since failure might be fatal in this gorgeous, cinematic hidden-object mystery adventure.

Never, ever gossip about a witch. Especially if they're the "suck your vitality to maintain their youth" variety. Top Evidence Studios provides a somewhat by-the-numbers hidden-object adventure that delivers gorgeous visuals and a few clever twists on your quest to put an end to the evil reign of a witch who has stolen your youth and spent centuries trapping and tormenting others.

There's a murder on the prowl in the Italian countryside. When the maid of a wealthy family finds a notebook that appears to detail the gruesome murder of three young women, she turns to you, a local detective, in fear. But when you arrive on the scene it soon becomes abundantly clear that someone doesn't appreciate you trying to solve the case, and you'll have to keep your wits about you to survive to the end in this cheesy but beautifully packaged hidden-object adventure mystery from ERS Game Studio.

Penny Arcade and Zeboyd Games combine to deliver this turn-based RPG with a distinctly retro feel that both fits with and stands apart from the previous two installments. Join Tycho and Gabe of the Startling Developments Detective Agency as they attempt to learn the secrets of the mysterious Necrowombicon... while dodging time-traveling dinosaur spies, murderous caterpillars, ancient cults and more in the process. Exceptionally heavy on combat but more than a little funny, it's a surprisingly engrossing little title with a lot to offer in the way of humour and charm if you don't mind a lot of strategy with your gameplay.

From movies to books to video games, the "creepy" seems all-pervasive. Put an individual or group in some deserted, out of the way place with lots of shadows and eerie sounds and you've got the recipe going strong! Luckily for you, assuming you're the type that likes creepy things, Specialbit Studio has quite the joyride for you! In the hidden object puzzle adventure game Haunted Hotel: Charles Dexter Ward, you get rewarded with the creepiest of creepy: a deserted hotel in a bayou out in good ol' Louisiana. I wouldn't stick around for any jambalaya if I were you.

In a city where the wicked never sleep a brave hero shall rise. Jeff the Sanitation Worker has come to save the day. Er...well, he's come to clean things up so that people can at least walk around without catching the plague from the rats that seem to be everywhere. That's heroic right? Still, prepare yourself for the high energy thrill ride of cleaning the streets as Jeff.

It starts with a letter from an old friend inviting you to dinner. How can something so simple, so innocent, throw you into a dark world of murder, mystery, and the supernatural? Set in London in 1603, this enormous Lovecraftian interactive fiction adventure will challenge and immerse you in a world that feels real and dangerous. Available as a free download or as an enhanced edition for Kindle devices and Nook tablets, this 12 to 15 hour adventure is a challenge, but one well worth undertaking.

And Then There Were None... an old English detective book that has been adapted for the stage, silver screen, and radio has given inspiration to an indie platformer game. As you quest through the blanketing snow and eerie white noise, the game follows a man known only as Hughes as he tries to defend himself from a roaming serial killer. Tensions rise and fear sets in as danger lurks around every corner, tunnel, and platform. Your only glimmer of solace is the voice emanating from a radio, leading you along and aiding you in your struggle until... it's too late.

The best games are ones that make you believe you are a part of one story, while another story plays out quietly behind the scenes. In The Ultimate Celebration, a poignant indie platformer from Brian Soulliard, you play a jolly little Party Dude who's only desire is to throw a party for all 20 of his friends. In the real world, you would just call them up on their cell phones and invite them, but where's the fun in that?!

Zaga-33 is a minimalist roguelike created by Michael Brough in one week but later refined into a more polished product for Windows, Mac, and iOS devices. It ditches almost all of the traditional roguelike customs in favor of focusing on just a few gameplay elements for an ultra-refined experience. No stats to track, enemy lists to memorize, or equipment to manage, just pure and simple power-ups and combat!

Who said plants are harmless? In this gorgeous and cheesy hidden-object adventure from Alawar Games, a storm strands you and a bunch of your friends on a seemingly deserted island. Awakening to find yourself alone, you strike out to rescue the others, only to find that the flora on this isle might be more dangerous than the fauna.

Girl with a Heart of is a sidescrolling adventure game that plays like an interactive, art-filled story. Making choices during conversations serves as the meat of the game, and what information you bring out and discuss with characters not only shapes the knowledge you take away, but it also affects future conversations. The characters, storyline, and backstory are all richly detailed and create a provocative dystopian science fiction setting, one that you'll happily dive into with each and every scrap of conversation.

How long has it been since you played a game of Arkanoid or any of its numerous modern-day children? A year? Five years? A billion-dy hundred years? Thought so. Tribute Games wants to fix that egregious error with Wizorb, an 8-bit-styled Arkanoid clone that adds a little bonus fun on top with the addition of magic spells, a shop, and some minor RPG elements. Sound awesome? You bet your slow-moving paddle it is!

Card games: love 'em or be just sorta "meh" about them. We happen to love them, and when it comes to downloadable solitaire games, you'll always be hard-pressed to outdo the card masters at Anawiki. New from the developer that brought you Soccer Cup Solitaire comes the smooth, attractive, and long-playing tri peaks sort of game Avalon Legends Solitaire. One you start, you probably won't want to stop. And hey, we won't blame you!

A distraught phone call from your sister informing you of your father's death is the least of your worries. When you show up at the family castle to settle some familial matters, you find that things are going from bad to worse as a malevolent force appears to be working against you and following your every move. Will you be able to save your sister and, ultimately, the world from the darkness? Find out in this short but engrossing hidden-object adventure from Vogat Interactive!

A fourth and much-improved entry in the logic puzzle series, World Mosaics IV weaves storytelling in with an excellent (and extensive) set of picross puzzles that are perfect for casual players to enjoy!

A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda is a new platform shooter from Extend Studio that's heavy on the fantastic sci-fi art as well as the action. Its gameplay is reminiscent of classic sidescrolling arcade shooters mixed with a little modern-knowhow and Metroidvania-style level design and progression. While it may feel old school in concept, the game is anything but outdated, and the heavy dose of action and exploration you'll receive will keep you in a trance for many hours.

As hidden object games go, you can pretty much bet you're either trapped in a haunted mansion/castle/town, trying to find your lost adventure-loving grandfather/uncle/sibling, or are wrapped in some sort of ancient magic that does nothing but bad. The latter happens to be true with The Curse of the Ring, a quirky, cheesy sort of hidden object game with a good battery of puzzles and a storyline that involves a ghost pirate as well as lost treasure!

From the experienced casual game forces of Reflexive Entertainment (Simplz: Zoo) and Anawiki (Soccer Cup Solitaire) comes GabCab, a way-too-cute time management game starring the big-eyed taxi cab, Gabby. People need to get to where they want to go, and seeing as how you seem to be the best (and only) taxi in town, it's your job to drive them there! Answer the call of the customers and take them to their destinations, picking up tips along the way to spend in the game's well-stocked upgrade store.

Martians vs. Robots from Tommy Twisters is an attempt to take the classic gameplay of Asteroids and bring it into the new century, using 3D graphics, expanded gameplay, and multiplayer options. The single player game features loads of great combat action, but the real meat is in the robust multiplayer modes where 24 people can battle it out over the internet!

With a solid story and hours of gameplay, Cindy's Travels: Flooded Kingdom is a game that builds upon the basic match-3 mechanic with additional gameplay elements. While character perspective may take a bit to get used to, it certainly doesn't detract from the fun packed into this title. Take up Cindy's mirror, clear the land of refuse, and get back to the business of "happily every after."

Once in Space is a downloadable puzzle-platform game for Windows that delivers both content and charm. Set in deep space, you are a lone astronaut trying to collect stars and reach the flag on different constellations of rock. You can change your gravity by walking around corners, and you must be facing the arrow direction of a star in order to collect it. The first level eases you into the game's mechanics pretty easily.

Much interactive fiction requires a time commitment of an hour or two, and sometimes quite a bit more. Not so with the text adventure entries in the Commonplace Book project, in which each entrant took a line from a notebook by H. P. Lovecraft and spun it out into a game. This was an international competition, drawing entries in English, French, and Spanish, as well as a couple of graphical point-and-click adventures.

Pogo Sticker is a wonderfully fun and free, physics-based downloadable game in which the goal is to guide a brightly colored pogo sticking blob safely to the exit platform in each of the game's 12 levels. Available for all three major platforms.

Since Jay and I have been so hopelessly busy playing Cry Wolf, I offered last night to write a review for a game that was mentioned in passing in a previous post, Sea3d, also known as Settlers of Catan. Settlers is a board game that's been around for a number of...

Zap alien bad guys in moon caverns and retrieve component pieces of your craft to get back home in this free space-based action exploration game.

You haven't seen Raymond Black, the man who took you off the streets and raised you, in over seven years, but a desperate message brings you to the seething underbelly of Heoi where something unspeakable awaits in this stellar continuation to Harebrained Schemes' indie turn-based RPG strategy game.

After a completely understandable murder spree, adorably sociopathic heiress Emily Enough finds herself Imprisoned in this darkly comedic point and click adventure. Not for the feint of heart or easily offended, Emily Enough: Imprisoned is as terrifically funny as it is gleefully wicked.

There are grim things happening in The Seventh Door. You play as Julian, a man who wakes up on a rooftop only knowing a name and as Detective Zikas who is investigating a murder on that same rooftop, unknowing it will throw them both right in the middle of a grand scale conspiracy in this free indie adventure.

In this free indie point-and-click adventure, your life is filled with beer, drugs, and sex. The only thing missing is rock and roll... oh and that large sum of money you owe Fat Tony. It's never a good thing to owe Fat Tony ,because he always makes sure you pay him, one way or another.

The year is 1983. Space is being conquered by man. However Xanadu, a research space ship that was searching the far edge of the explored universe has sent out a distress signal. Called in to help them fix their engines and get them back home, you soon find the crew to be missing and an even larger mystery surrounding the circumstances in this first-person indie horror adventure.

Join disaffected twenty-something Kelly as she makes an awkward phone call while driving in the rain, in Three Fourths Home, a piece of indie interactive art by Bracket Games. It is a work that is heavy on text and theme, and light on humor and action. Still, fans of thought-provoking interactive literature should not miss it.

Moondrop's website describes Amphora as "a peculiar puzzle game that mixes story elements and physics", and there can be no more accurate description of this gorgeous looking game. Guide a young girl into womanhood with shadow puppets and magic. Certainly the thick atmosphere can make things a little unintentionally hilarious at times, but overall Amphora is haunting, beautiful work.

Young women have been vanishing after being summoned to the Countess Elizabeth Bathory, but the king is too busy with the war to investigate. You, a young gypsy with a talent for mixing potions, have been called in to find out the truth in this rough-around-the-edges but appealingly grisly hidden-object adventure.

Chuck's Challenge 3D is Chip's Challenge for the 21st century. Created by Niffler, a team of indie developers that happens to include the original creator of Chip's Challenge Chuck Sommerville, the multi-platform sokoban-like game takes the tile-based puzzles from the original release and updates it for modern players. You'll still deal with slippery ice floors, falling platforms, enemies marching back and forth, and a large supply of items to collect before you can open the door. But now you'll do it with full camera control and lots of pretty visuals!

Finally, a game that accurately portrays the plight of the snow plow driver! Dan FitzGerald's Dawn of the Plow is an arcade game that's all about clearing piles of snow out of the road so cars can make it home safe and sound. It's as simple as bumping into the drifts while careening around the board, but no goofing off or you'll be fired. Seriously, you will.

The Myths of the World series takes us into the formidable Slavic realms where Morana, the goddess of winter, plans to envelop the world in everlasting ice. You are no ordinary human, so you'll take it upon yourself to help Vesna, the goddess of spring, to defeat the cold and bring back the flowers and the birdies.

I think we should have some bonding time. Chemical bonding, that is. In the clever chemical puzzler Sokobond, you're given a handful of atoms and the task of them joining them all by pushing and chaining them together. Like Sokoban puzzles you might be familiar with, you don't have much space to do it all in, so you've got to use the splitters, bonders, and rotators provided. Even if you don't give a hoot for chemistry, Sokobond is still a very accessible puzzle with easy-to-learn rules and an enjoyably element-ary design.

It seemed like Gabe and Tycho's plan to save the world was airtight except for ONE little detail someone forgot to mention, and now their entire party is stranded in the Under Hell. Mainly because the whole world was destroyed. Uh, whoops? To set things straight, you'll need to reunite your party and wrangle a veritable zoo of monsters to do your fighting for you in this wild and weird conclusion to the indie RPG series that gives a new meaning to the phrase "unique".

Once again seek out Dark Dimensions, this time a small town destroyed by a volcano (and a father-daughter relationship gone terribly awry), and attempt to heal them in Dark Dimensions: City of Ash. Easy on the eyes and challenging for the brain, this is definitely something to look for in the hybrid adventure genre.

The Binary Mill delivers a gleefully energetic and beautifully visualised racing game that's perfectly playable no matter what your skill level. Bounce around the track, crashing into and off of the scenery and other players, as you go for the gold and upgrade your favourite cars. Casual fans will welcome this with open arms as the perfect giddy party game for friends.

It all started as an innocent trip to Italy. Vanessa's grandfather, a member of a mysterious religious order, went missing a few weeks ago, and she is summoned to the order's headquarters. Once there, she finds out that the gates guarding peace on Earth are all but wide open because some cheeky prankster has stolen four runes which keep the gates shut. Vanessa must track them down by jumping into portals leading to other worlds, all the while trying to discover the evil mind behind this nefarious scheme.

What do you get when you cross a potential Stephen King novel with a pinch of Indiana Jones, minus the Nazis? Not aliens. Better, I promise! You get the newest Mariaglorum game; Mystery of the Ancients: Curse of the Blackwater. This thrilling new hidden object puzzle adventure game is not only a new release by the team but also the newest installment in the Mystery of the Ancients series. And to get this out of the way: no, Shia Lebeouf has not decided to play a misunderstood rebel.

Veronica's family's bloody legacy won't leave her alone, even when she travels all the way to Paris to get married and start anew. When she spies a hulking beast that can only be the werewolf that has hunted her for so long lurking around the family estate, she calls you, desperate for your help in bringing an end to the danger once and for all in this gorgeous hidden-object adventure.

As a young wizard, the fate of the four kingdoms falls upon your shoulders in The Chronicles of Emerland Solitaire. Travel the four kingdoms, gaining companions on your way to defeat Seth before he destroys the magical amulets that keep the kingdoms in balance. WIth card bonuses, beautiful artwork, and hidden object scenes, playing solitaire has never been so much fun.

It's adventure time and ape time! Adventure Apes and the Mayan Mystery is a retro-inspired platform adventure from ScaryPotato that shares a few genre points with games like La-Mulana, Cave Story, and many other metroidvania games. As you quest about through the jungle, opening up new areas to explore as you find new tools and power-ups, you'll need to keep an eye out for coins, keys, treasure chests, and relics, all while dispatching common enemies and squaring off against more formidable boss foes. It's all action and adventure, and it's all good fun, from beginning to end!

Of Light & Shadow is a puzzle platform hybrid from 12 Angry Devs that focuses on two characters, each with different abilities as well as environmental weaknesses. It takes place in a crumbling world of chaos, with giant frogs, chomping machine monsters, flying platforms and bubbling pools of lava all waiting to take a piece of you with them to oblivion. But, since you're such a talented player, you can survive the surreal stages and work your way to safety at the end!

ScrumbleShip is an in-progress sandbox-style game of ship construction and combat simulation, all accomplished using a massive list of building materials and a surprisingly smart heat simulation model. Built around simple block placements, you have complete freedom of movement in this game, allowing you to jet yourself in any direction so you can construct the most accurate (or most hilariously inaccurate) piece of space-faring machinery you've ever seen. Want a tiny escape pod all your own? Done. How about a massive star base? Orbital station? Or maybe even a Death Sta— er, moon?!

A cinematic simulation of hacking that owes more to Wargames and Sneakers than Kevin Mitnick and Adrian Lamo, Uplink: Hacker Elitecyberpunk intrigue. Originally released by Introversion Software in 2001, and streamlined into the Hacker Elite version for the US market, the latter is now available for purchase from the lovely indie and retro game outlet GOG, and it's a worthy addition to any gamers library.

Michael Molinari uses basketball and surreal, dreamlike imagery to explore love and family in this stunning indie title. Go one on one against nightmare creatures in your quest to find your sister, or solve platform puzzles in strange dimensions. It's a swanky, gorgeous, strange journey that overcomes somewhat clunky controls to deliver a beautiful and unique experience you don't have to love sports to enjoy.

The developers at Stolen Couch Games have captured that child-like kindergarten drawing time feeling with the one-button puzzle game Ichi, a mobile port of the downloadable version available for Windows and Mac systems. It is only the team's second commercial creation for the iTunes App Store, but they understand that quality is much better than quantity. If the simple visual style makes you think "oh, this game will be a piece of cake!", well, my friend, you'll think twice when level 'some-odd-number' comes around and you can't master it!

Imagine yourself serving as a communications officer in the German Wehrmacht, during World War II, doing your duty in an underground bunker. After developing a mysterious sickness, you are quarantined in solitary confinement. That was a few days ago, and you haven't heard from anyone (including the mysterious Dr. Klein, who put you here in the first place) since. Sound intriguing? It is, and with the release of Escape The Bunker: 1944 by LeviW, you can experience it firsthand. But, you know, in a non-terrifying-life-ending sort of way.

Continuing your quest to seek out and heal the places of the world plagued by dark energies, you find yourself in a small town whose only claim to fame is a wax museum. Sounds innocuous, right? Sure, and that's exactly how the sentient creeping wax hands get you! A creepy-campy, dramatic, and gorgeous hidden-object adventure that won't revolutionise anything but will definitely entertain you while it lasts.

Based a decade-plus old arcade game called XKobo by Akira Higuchi, KoboDeluxe is an updated and enhanced version of the original arcade shooter, porting the concept and gameplay over to modern platforms while introducing better animations, high resolution visuals, additional control options, a difficulty selector, and more. Whether you want a nostalgic arcade fix or are looking for a sturdy action challenge, KoboDeluxe will absolutely satisfy your craving.

When a reporter vanishes while she and her cameraman are investigating the notorious though supposedly deserted Black Isle, as a member of the detective agency Mystery Trackers, you find yourself called in to find her. But before long you'll discover this is more than just a simple missing persons case, and you'll get wrapped up in a big paranormal conspiracy that might just be the death of you unless you can get to the bottom of the mystery. A stellar hidden-object adventure that delivers campy drama and originality, lots of cinematics, and one big, enjoyable game.

Stranded in a dusty, limbo-like town, a freaky sheriff marching around, a little girl running around the streets, and mysterious messages telling you to stay in your hotel room. This sure is a strange part of Resurrection, New Mexico, especially when you consider the bricked-up wall with Native American symbols preventing your escape! Time to explore a bit and find a way out. This puzzle-filled hidden object adventure game from Media Art, creator of Love Story: The Beach Cottage, has a vibe that sits somewhere between an old western tale and an episode of the X-Files. Only, you know, with more ballerinas and serpent/dragon tails slithering about!

What would you be willing to do to recapture your first true love? You'll get to explore the answers to that question in Media Art's Love Story: The Beach Cottage, the second adventure/hidden object hybrid game in the Love Story series that grabs the hopeless romantic in all of us and takes us on a journey that may (or may not) give us the "happily ever after" we're looking for.

Gourmania 3: Zoo Zoom, from Alawar Games, takes a few common casual gaming genres and breaks their molds all to pieces, creating a game that's one half hidden object game, one half time management simulation. How do you combine a sit and think genre with a frantic click-fest genre? Easy! You hunt for ingredients in a crowded restaurant to cook dishes for impatient customers!

The business of fixing dreams is a delicate one. It requires a lot of time and energy, the clients are few, and let's face it, the pay probably isn't that great. That doesn't stop a young woman from helping out her tormented friend, Victor, from sussing out the source of his nightmares by traveling within his world of dreams. Foreign Dreams is a visually stylish hidden object adventure game that lays on imagery and mystery in its unusually-crafted world. As you follow a frightening young girl through Victor's dreams, you begin to piece together a bit of the puzzle surrounding the source of his nightmares.

When you hear the phrase "dream resort", you immediately think of a lavish getaway locale that's so luxurious you could barely even dream of it, right? Well, that's not exactly the case in Chloe's Dream Resort, a new time management release from Fugazo. Instead of operating the resort of someone's dreams, you're operating the resort of everyone's dreams. In other words, when people go to sleep, they visit this resort to relax their mind, body and spirit. The problem is, the resort isn't working so well, so while Chloe slumber's on her work desk, her dream self is busily serving dreamers from around the world.

Mmm, delicious time management games. If slinging burgers, serving tacos, or making cakes doesn't get your appetite going, you probably need to play a little longer! Stand O'Food 3 is a new time management game that puts you in the chef shoes of Ronnie, a mega-talented restauranteur whose skills at making eateries popular rivals that of every other time management game hero! Now it's your job to run a series of burger joints that, apparently, sell burgers the size of a couch cushion. Business is booming, though, and you'll have a great time serving food and pleasing customers in this casual game!

Even in the small-ish indie world, there are superstar game creators whose releases always turn a head or two. Two of our games this weekend are from some designers who have released heavy-hitting titles before. Check out the goods below!

In 2009, the first Serpent of Isis game had hidden object fans jetsetting Prague and London in a quest to recover the titular thingummy and fulfill the dream of the hero Robert's dead grandfather. It was an excellent game that soon had people clamoring for a sequel, and now your journey can finally continue in, well, The Serpent of Isis: Your Journey Continues. Gamgo Games have made the new game in much the same mold as the first, with the hidden object scenes being the main attraction and the adventure and puzzle elements only there for a little variety.

Columbus: Ghost of the Mystery Stone is a new and gorgeous looking hidden object adventure from Vogat Interactive. Use your object finding skills to help Christopher Columbus escape a mysterious island, resurrect a phantom, and save himself from a deadly curse. Succeed, and Columbus may survive to discover a new continent.

Give the rural life a go with this fast-paced management game. Plow, sow and harvest your crops to keep the local towns fixated on your watermelons (and other crops). And shoot a few crows for relaxation.

Little Space Duo is a platform puzzle game that puts you in control of two unique characters: the young girl Lucy, and a floating robot named Sunny. Similar to the classic The Lost Vikings in many ways, you switch between character to use their unique abilities to make it through each level. The animation is soft and fluid, the pacing is slow and thoughtful, and the puzzles are challenging even from early in the game.

Do you enjoy reading badly punctuated stories about romantic heroines dancing the masochism tango with a number of dully irritating heroes? Ok then, I'll add a full helping of solitaire card games with packaged with gorgeous artwork. There you have it, everything a card game/romance novel lover could want, all bundled together in Heartwild Solitaire: Book Two.

You discover your ancestor's ancient castle, but it's set to be sold in nine days. Maybe you can find something that proves that this castle is yours? Hidden in Time: Mirror Mirror won't keep you on the edge of your seat, but it is a fun romp through hidden object land that would be perfect for those times when you just want a little relaxing amusement.

A little-known sequel to an even lesser-known original, UfoPilot 2: The Phadt Menace is a fun little action shooter that pays homage to the classic Defender, with gravity-based elements reminiscent of all those "moon lander" games that you've probably played throughout the last decade. You're tasked with leading rescue missions to save your fellow pilots, who are being held as prisoners-of-war by the Phadt Armada, a hostile alien enemy.

Guxt is an original shooter created by Pixel, author of Cave Story, This work-in-progress download doesn't attempt to be revolutionary or even particularly modern, but Pixel's original music, sound effects and pixel-perfect sprites come together beautifully in this difficult but fair shooter.

Strictly not for children, NaaC is a gorgeously bloody and beautifully violent shooter. What Bloody Monkey has given us is a frantic, no-holds-barred, gore filled, blood soaked tour-de-force of non-stop thrilling kill-everything-you-see action. In short, its fun. Lots and lots of fun.

Bullet Philharmonic Orchestra is an ultra-simple, free, downloadable (PC only), barebones shoot-'em-up-inspired game with a simple concept: dodge the bullets. Drop your own MP3 files into the game's "music" folder, then watch as it generates projectiles based on the songs you chose.

Hidden Expedition: Titanic is a seemingly simple game of finding objects in a picture. The pictures have a mostly antique, nautical theme, and you need to find all of the objects on your list before your oxygen runs out. As you progress through the levels, the number of rooms you need to explore within the time frame increases.

With almost 10 years in the making, Sanctum from Nioga is a very unique game. The best way to describe it would be to say it's like combining chess with Magic the Gathering in a miniature game board setting. It could be one of those classic board games we played as a child, except this game is all digital and played only online.

Albatross18: Realms of Pangya is a free downloadable, massively multiplayer online (MMO) golfing game for the PC. I know what you're thinking... MMO golf?! Well, its not so hard to imagine, is it?