A fast-paced, single-player mouse avoidance game where your only goal is to survive as long as possible. Dodge angry red buggles and collect mysterious blue boxes to obtain a high score. Catch the little green buggles to become the mighty devourer, destroyer of red buggles! Eat them all! Muhahaha!

A tribute to the Moai series, Doeo takes the same basic principle of frantically mousing over moving targets while racking up enough points to move to the next level. Instead of the statuesque Moai that inhabit previous games, here you try to collect as many pink and blue Doeo as quickly as possible.

XSketch is a multiplayer Pictionary-style game with an interesting twist on gameplay and scoring. Players can jump right into any game already in progress and begin to have fun immediately. Points are earned by drawing and guessing successfully, and monthly competition leader boards give the game a real competitive feel.

Coil is a game unlike any other; it may confuse you, it may offend you, or it might mystify and move you. Coil is a game about discovery. It is also a series of mini-games involving the gestation of what appears to be an alien fetus, from initial insemination through adulthood when a murky twilight leaves its fate in question and the cycle starts anew.

Planet Cruncher lets you satisfy your appetite for destruction by casting you as an omnipotent exterminator of worlds. It doesn't exactly feel like a game about the deaths of billions, encased as it is in a shell of relaxing arcadey puzzle gameplay. But sometimes you have to play a game in your own way, and I choose to play this one while cackling maniacally and stroking an imaginary long-haired white star-cat named Lord Galaxathon.

Cursor*10 is a simple-looking puzzle game just released by Nekogames. You are a cursor in a tower trying to reach the top. Each of your ten lives is time-limited, and when one ends the next begins on the bottom floor. But you're not alone. As you start the next life your previous actions are replayed in real-time, creating a fun "cooperate with yourself" atmosphere.

Another simple game oozing with personality has just been released by Game-Pure, creator of Bound Bear and Oshidama. Samurai High Jump answers the age old question: if a samurai warrior had a big bamboo pole, how far and how high could he jump? It's up to you to find out in this Monkey Kick-Off-style arcade game.

Hopefully the moment you've all been waiting for. We'll be rolling out the entries in the order we received them. Here is the first entry to our 4th Casual Gameplay Design Competition: Event Horizon by the_Corruptor (Canada). An action game of mouse-play that implements the "ball physics" theme and creates gameplay that revolves around it, literally.

The latest from Bloons creators, Stephen Harris and Ninja Kiwi, Hotcorn is a game about popping corn... with heat. You control a smiling sun avatar with the mouse, moving it over kernels of corn on a top-down game board to pop them into some kind of exploded corn substance. Pop enough corn before time runs out and you win the level, simple as that.

Another simple idea executed almost perfectly, Andrew VanHeuklon's Rerun is a unique mouseplay game of collection and avoidance. And though we have seen this core gameplay mechanic in other games before, it is the creative implementations of the "replay" theme that elevate this title above others of its type.

Most everyone has probably played an avoidance game before. They are generally based on a very simple gameplay mechanic. Orb Avoidance is a simple game of mouse avoidance with the added bonus of a combo system. It's a little mindless fun to get your gears turning, and it won't take more than 10-15 minutes of your time.

Game-Pure has released an update to their Oshidama series, this one is a collection of levels for the month of July. There are 6 fresh new levels to play and you can compare your relative success with them against others who have tried. As with the June collection, mousing-over each screenshot in the level select menu shows how many have tried the level ("challenger") and of those, how many were able to clear it.

Overhead Consistence is another mouse maze game, but please bear with me... this one's good, even if you don't normally go for manual dexterity games. If you don't believe me, go check out Overhead Persistence, reviewed here in March. Has JohnB ever steered you wrong? This one is well worth the effort.

Two updates to the orb-nudging arcade game Oshidama have been released. Oshidama Plus adds a wonderful Time Attack mode that lets you race against yourself for a better score, while Oshidama Monthly goes episodic with regular releases of extremely challenging puzzle-type levels. More Oshidama is always a good thing.

The old "navigate through a maze" concept enjoys a small rebirth in the form of Overhead Persistence, a gorgeous Flash game by Acrid Rose. Guide the cursor through each level avoiding the walls and any other obstacles you come across. Normally a game like this wouldn't be anything special, but Overhead Persistence provides a stunning audio and visual package along with a level editor and other extras to make a worthwhile experience.

The new Nest of Moai game features a bigger screen, more stages, and an interesting "zoom" feature that lets you take a closer look to find hidden moai statues. Simply move your mouse over the statues as they appear. Quirky, casual fun as one might expect from a game with Japanese roots.

Turning Moai features the same statues from the previous moai games but with a slightly different take on the gameplay. Instead of rescuing or touching the heads, you must move the cursor to make them face the same direction. Same great Moai sound and music, same catchy gameplay!

Apple Farm is a simple and very stylish arcade game in the style of Breakout. You control a cute little bear trying to catch apples the bouncing bird knocks from the trees. Gather fruit and drop it in the basket as quickly as you can and try not to let the bird touch the ground!

Tabuto is a fast-paced action game with a strangely mesmerizing concept. Cards fall from the top of the screen, and your job is to touch them with the cursor before they vanish. The more you collect in a row, the more points you get, but if you drop 20 it's game over.

Instead of simply moving one object around the screen to avoid the falling dots, in Formation you must control an entire setup of orbs that rotate and periodically change position. Touch one of the flashing white balls that fall from the top of the screen and it becomes part of your formation, thus forcing you to be mindful of yet another ball's position and causing your brain to hurt.

Oshidama is an simple and elegant flash game by Game-Pure, the creators of Speed Cluster. The goal is to nudge a white orb to the exit point on each screen. Walls, pits and other obstacles stand in your way, forcing you plan your path and be ready for a last-second save at any moment. It's an interesting mix of strategy and fast-paced cursor shifting delivered in an astounding audio and visual atmosphere.

With simple gameplay and an almost frantic feel, Tower of Moai is as entertaining as it is... weird. The goal is to save scrambling moai statues stranded on top of a wobbly tower. As the moai statues move the tower bends with their weight. Use the mouse to guide the platform and try to keep it beneath the swinging ladder.

Arguably one of the best (if not the best) Flash game series of its genre, Dr3i is more than just a game of avoidance. As before, collecting small positive and negative signs speeds up and slows down the rotation of the obstacles that you must make your way past. However, this 3rd version in the series introduces an animated "beast", an engaging cloud of black smoke that follows you in pursuit.

Drag the Dot is a simple Flash game, created by Oliver Castañeda of Scarsdale, New York, in which the objective is literally self-explanatory. Just drag the dot to the goal in each of the game's 16 levels, and a final boss level that is "better than doom" (whatever that means.)

An updated version of the original Reverse game (previously reviewed on JIG), Reverse 2 is a very simple point-to-move-the-block game where the basic rule is that the mouse input directions have been reversed, so pushing the mouse up pulls you down, and so forth.

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

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

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

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

German Flash-based design firm, Mach Parat, has released an update to its excellent Flash game, Dr3i, that was reviewed here back in October of 2004. This new horizontal scrolling version of the action game is played just like the original. Use the mouse to move the red dot through the maze and collect all the black dots.

Pretty Pretty Bang Bang is a simple action game of avoidance, bosses, and chain reactions. It's the pretty chain reactions that occur that gives this game its name. Very easy to pick-up and play and it can be a lot of fun once the rules are understood. Featuring the effervescent Hairdresser Corndog and Bumbershoot Evangelist. Not to be missed!

Egg Run is a silly action strategy Flash game, and yet it is surprisingly fun due to its simplicity of design. The object is to catapult the egg to catch the twig(!), and then land on the platform that holds the ladder to advance to the next level.

The entertainment technology students at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) are up to their Experimental Gameplay antics again this semester. Their goal is to create over 50 games in one semester by popping-out four (4) new games every Wednesday.

Bania Kururin is a wonderful Japanese action game in which you play as an anime-style cat-girl character with a rocket-pack on her back. The author of the game has kidnapped your little cat-friend and plans to eat him, so you must rescue him by collecting stars. Tricky at first to control, and yet very gratifying once you get the hang of it.

My Diamond Baby is another single-room point-and-click game, this one was created by Project C-Time! and Haruo Seto. You start off as someone on a motorcycle on his way to give an engagement ring to his girlfriend. On his way he is involved in a motorcycle accident. When he regains consciousness...

Comboling is an original puzzle game that is very easy to pick-up and play. It was conceived by Jérôme Lulling in the mid-80's by examining tiles on the bathroom floor. He eventually teamed up with Dmitry Irsheins to help bring his idea to life, and the result of that collaboration is this remarkable Flash game.

Lately I have been enjoying this cute little platformer with a twist. Generally, a platform game puts the player in control of a game character that is moved throughout each level toward a goal at the end. The term 'platform' comes from the many varied platforms that the player must...

Poom! is an action arcade game in which the objective is to bounce a ball, for as long as possible, on a randomly generated platform. The tricky part is the platform, as it randomly changes each time the ball bounces on it. It may even be composed of several missing tiles that the ball will fall through. If the ball falls through or misses the platform completely, the game is over.

Here is a simple one-button mouse game that is easy to understand, and yet difficult to do. In fact, it's likely that it will be downright frustrating for those without the sharpest of reflexes or mousing precision. ClickRed is an action game in which you must click on the moving red...

After playing many "me-too" casual games that offer nothing other than a new skin to old gameplay, it is refreshing when a game comes along that forces you to think differently. And though Mamezo is not the first game to offer such a gameplay mechanic as drawing lines to bounce an object around the play field, it is a game that will provide a unique experience for many.

Next up are a couple of games with no name, simply refered to as NoName Game #1 and NoName Game #2, created by MadMax of Poland and hosted on his Freshblood.zic.pl site. An action puzzle game of hand-eye coordination, the games are similar in design to DR3I and Reverse that...

Rodeo is a Flash game that is clever in its simplicity of style and remarkably fun in execution. Created by Mark Vertegaal of Coldtomatoes in the Netherlands, the object of the game is to ride the bull for as long as you can. Click the rider's hat to begin, and then...

Time for a break from all the thinking required in those point-and-click adventure games. This next game comes from Jared Tarbell, maths and Flash wizard extraordinaire. Maeda Path is a relaxing game of eye|hand coordination with elegantly simple graphics and a brilliant use of sound. Using your input device of choice,...

This pretty Flash puzzle game is oddly titled Bear & Cat, and yet it is really just a clone of PopCap Games' popular game of Zuma from a couple of years ago—which itself was a clone of Mitchell's Puzz Loop game from 1998. The player shoots colored balls onto the play...

What might possibly be the very first new game of the new year, David Thorburn has just released his latest game, Chuck, on his Teagames.com website in the UK. The veteran game developer is responsible for BMX Backflips and other fun-filled Flash games that make use of impressive physics implementations...

"My name is Ada. I'm going to show you how to catch butterflies." Loop is a delightful action game that makes use of the mouse for drawing loops around butterflies to catch them. It's a full-featured, multi-level, gorgeous Web game with personality, style and grace. If you haven't seen this one before, don't miss out! Created by gameLab, and hosted by Shockwave.com.

Created by Ferry Halim, this wonderful and innovative Flash game makes use of the mouse for drawing circles and shapes around floats of the same color to capture them and score points. The more floats you capture at once the higher the score. The simple and elegant gameplay mechanics serve to showcase Ferry's exceptional talent for expressing fresh new ideas with Flash.

Relive the grammar school days of yesteryear with this Flash make-a-flake snowflake maker. Simply make several cuts in a folded paper with a pair of scissors, the way you may remember doing, and then unfold to reveal your stunning creation. A cheerful seasonal activity to wile away the hours during the cold indoor months.

It is beginning to look and feel a lot like Chrismahanukwanzakah up here in the northeast, with temperatures dipping well below freezing today for the first time this season. And with all the snow we've been getting, it would be an excellent time to build a snowman, or simply stay indoors and play this charming Flash game instead.

As the days get shorter, so do the starry nights get longer with the winter solstice fast approaching. Capturing the essence of these calm and peaceful nights is Ferry Halim's beautiful Starry Night. The Flash game is a work of art, and of exemplary casual game design.

Dr3i is a simple game to click and play for a quick diversion, and is remarkably fun... if not a little dizzying. Use the mouse to move the red dot around the screen to collect all of the black dots, marked with a plus or minus sign, without touching anything else.

Here is another mouse cursor game that is nicely put together. Simple, minimalist graphics with levels of increasing difficulty, 20 in all. Guide the mouse cursor to the goal, however the control of the mouse is reversed. Simple and straight forward, Reverse is yet another short little diversion to cleanse the palette of your brain. Created by Moba...

Squares 2 is an addictive action Flash game with a phat beat. Very similar in concept (and sound) to Manuel Fallmann's Bubbles collecting game, Squares 2 has you collecting all the black squares while avoiding all the red ones. The game is extremely easy to pick up and play, and good fun for a quick diversion or two.

Monkey Slide shines with glistening golden bananas, twinkling shooting stars and cute adorable monkeys all sliding down a pole. Your task is to get all the monkeys to safety while avoiding all the bombs. Games don't get much cuter than this, nor more beautiful. An Orisinal production.

The disappearing cursor game was created in Flash by Tom Pennock and released to the public just a few days ago on his site, BeatsTelevision.com. It's a game with a modest design and lofty expectations on the player. There are at least 12 levels where you must navigate the cursor with the mouse from point A (Go) to point B. The concept sounds easy ...

iSketch is an online multiplayer Shockwave game similar to the drawing game Pictionary, and it works remarkably well on the Web. Players take turns drawing a word assigned by the game. When it's your turn, a basic and simple-to-use drawing interface appears with which to begin drawing. It's very well designed and loads of fun, though it can be terribly addictive so beware.

This game keeps popping up every where I look. Based on the simple game of paper toss, the object of Cyrkam Airtös is to first catch the various paper objects being thrown at you, then toss them into the waste bucket. If you make it, someone moves the bucket for the next toss to make the game more challenging. Created by Sticky, a creative ag...

The Australian government has issued this latest game for would-be pilots interested in joining the Australian Defence Force. The Flash game consists of mission based levels that have you flying an F/A 18 Hornet aircraft by using the mouse to guide the plane. You must keep the plane with the boundaries of the gates as you follow the lead aircraft. ...

A game that's more difficult than it might seem, this one is based on clicking sequentially numbered circles to clear each level.

File this one under interactive Flash tools for creative expression. Scribbler is just one of many interactive "toys" available at Zefrank.com. This "generative illustration toy" allows you to draw with the mouse in the window, then Scribbler takes over and creates its own drawing on top of what you've drawn. There are even interactive controls t...