Your life takes a drastic change when you discover that you're no ordinary teenage girl; you're a witch, and there's a place at the secretive Iris Academy waiting for you! Will you bury your nose in your schoolbooks and become the next great magical prodigy? Develop friendships (and rivalries) to last a lifetime? Or maybe you'll find... someone special? This latest visual novel RPG simulation from Hanako Games and Spiky Caterpillar is not only tremendously addictive and engrossing, it's packed full of charm, replay value, and a magic all its own.

Make ready thine lance, young knight! And then make ready to hand it off to thine children, because thou art about to get thine hind end kicked. Joust for the ultimate price (the fabled "the lance") against powerful knights and the king's own Champion in this adorable action game that's a snap to play and a joy to behold.

It's Mardi Gras, home of costumed pedestrians, masked partiers, parades, dancing, food, and more crazy things than you can imagine. What could possibly go wrong with everyone in the throes of celebration? Try murder. Murder, and a number of occult happenings shortly thereafter. As you arrive on the scene of the crime, you learn something very strange has been going on in Louisiana, and judging by the glowing tattoo on the dead body, you know it's not going to be an ordinary case. Pick up your fingerprint kit and brush up on your voodoo knowledge, as in the new adventure/hidden object game Paranormal Crime Investigations: Brotherhood of the Crescent Snake, you're going to do some investigating of the supernatural kind!

While we at JayIsGames pride ourselves on featuring the best and latest in casual gaming, we always have time to feature quality works that fell through the cracks. Case in point: Soap Bubble, a, if not the, prototypical avoidance game, was originally released in 2002 and became one of the earliest games featured on the site. The charming and devilishly difficult tale of an ultra-delicate bubble trying to make his way through a cave back to his friends was the start of great things for Anders Gustafsson including the Audience Award winning Gateway series and the coolly claymated The Dream Machine. So it seems that the 2006 sequel which continued the story of the iridescent sphere that could passed us by... until today! Soap Bubble 2 keeps what was best about the original while still feeling fresh.

Curvy is a satisfyingly simple HTML5-based game where you twist a board full of hexagons in order to make each hex's lines and curves connect properly. You can customize the board layout and complexity, and take your time as you solve each Zen-like puzzle, making each piece fit as you bring order out of chaos.

You know, somewhere deep in the blackness of infinite space, there have to be all sorts of life forms bouncing around the void. Space clowns, for example, could exist here, living off of stray particles or digesting dark matter itself. With these life forms comes the inevitable life forms that feed off of them. In the case of Space Parasite, an arcade/action game by Kale Kramlack and Andy Wolff, you are that life form, infecting every piece of space life that floats your way!

Ragdoll Cannon 4 will have you propelling hapless stick-like ragdolls at "HERE" targets across 50 new levels. This physics-based projectile puzzles now features 3 different ragdoll types, including explosive and sticky ragdolls. Clever level design and a stylized approach makes this one a worthy addition to the Ragdoll Cannon series.

Mega Miner is a mining game that's all about repeated trips to the underground that challenge you to balance your fuel levels and item capacity for maximum efficiency, all so you can make your drill-bot the best it can be. There's something wildly addictive about unearthing gems, and let me tell you, one hip cat to another, I dig it. Can you dig it?

Ruby Loft Escape is a wonderful and bracing mid-week treat, a visual and logical delight from a relative newcomer, one we're looking forward to seeing more of. So have fun robbing some poor rich person blind.

The sequel to 2010's text adventure RPG Choice of Romance has arrived, and picks up right where the original left off. Will you be able to hold onto your new power in the court, or have you just painted a very large target on your back... and who can you trust to watch out for a dagger pointed at you when everyone has their own agenda?

Ever think about the high cost of the clothes you wear? No, not just the price you pay at the register, but the people on the other end you never see or even consider? Littleloud brings us a strategy simulation that tasks you with running a factory overseas struggling to meet demands for the most popular items. Will you be able to keep your boss happy without sacrificing the well being of your workers? Or will the need for speed and money trump health and safety?

A local 2-player versus game in which one player plays the man who builds barricades and finds elixirs during the day and the other plays the wolf who tears down barricades and eats people. It's a race for points over 3 days and nights, and then the roles switch. The player with the most points after 2 rounds wins. Grab a friend, or another personality, to play a game.

Helios Minor is under attack, and you're the only one close enough to respond to the distress signal! Fortunately, it's nothing you can't handle... just hundred and hundreds of vicious, fast, resilient enemy fighters and thousands and thousands of space bullets! Upgrade your ship and go up against the tide of foes in this vertical scrolling shooter!

Scrape Scraperteeth actually has you start out the game by reading and acknowledging a satirical "warning", pointing out its flaws before the critics can do so: it's easy (you can't die or fail), it's ugly (well... just look at the screencap), it's strange, it's even wanky. Platforming enjoyment is not what you're signing up for when you play this game. Slow down and take the time to watch all that happens as you move around the levels, to read the text, and to figure out the subtext.

In The Legend of Mulida, you are the brave, retro-style hero called upon to save the pricess. Can you get the powerups? Can you avoid the falling swords? Can you handle the mouse controls? Play this ode to classic 8-bit Zelda (complete with a robust second quest!) and find out.

It has had its ups and downs, but the entire first season of Back To The Future The Game is now out and doing the time warp. Can Marty save the past, present and future in this epic adventure series? It looks like he just might...

Gorgeous, entertaining, and fit for both the noob and the advanced adventure gamer, Timeless: The Forgotten Town is a feast of astounding visuals and amusing gameplay. Do not, however, expect an exciting roller-coaster ride of adventure in game form. Instead, enjoy a quiet and meditative stroll down avenues of the past, probably a lot more entertaining than actually being there.

You can put down your mallet; you won't be crushing any castles yourself this time! In fact, in Joey Betz and Toge Production's latest joint effort, you'll be (gasp!) protecting them! Take up the mantle of Siege Master once more in this challenging and well made tower defense game as you work with the leaders of the realm to repel troops of dangerous, numerous invaders who want nothing better than to crush your castle... hey... YOU'RE the only one who gets to do that!

From the horror-themed hidden object masters at Vogat Interactive comes F.A.C.E.S., another casual adventure tale filled with mystery, occult occurrences, and plenty of strange human abilities. You play a young woman who can travel into photographs and carry things back to the real world. She's trapped in an asylum at the game's outset, however, and knows she's about to endure the scientists' final experiment. Not good! To escape, she'll need to find the right photographs and scurry her way out into the world beyond!

An excellent metroidvania style puzzle platformer that's easy enough to jump straight in, but has a ton of hidden secrets for experts to find (especially if you want the best ending)... along with a few locked doors that just beg for further expansion. Legend of Kalevala has that perfect mix of old and new, alien and human, story and action.

In this latest escape-the-room game by TomaTea, you are whisked away to an enchanting little café in Paris, France. Each brain-teaser in Golden Heart is just complex enough to require thought without being overly perplexing. Although, one puzzle will be much easier to those who know how to read and play music, our review provides all the necessary information to elucidate even the tone deaf.

Totally Odd packs together a great bundle of clever thinking and creative presentation. Don't let those three little words "trial-and-error" dissuade you from the thoroughly enjoyable gameplay. With a bit of persistence and patience, that "Ah-ha!" moment when you finally solve a tricky puzzle becomes all the more gratifying. If you're hungry for mental stimulation in a cute little wrapper with an unusual dash of spice, Totally Odd is the perfect brainfood.

Most shooters not physics-sy enough for you? Then fire up Ant Karlov's creative spin on the genre! Start with sprawling levels, mix in some highly destructible scenery, and sprinkle liberally with zombies, machines, skeletons, and explosive barrels, and you've got a recipe for success. (... success... tastes funny... )

You start off on ice, which is rather natural for penguins, but soon enough you'll be sending your rampaging army into the jungle and beyond. This is a game where turtles are evil. And can hide under the ground sometimes. And also carry military-grade weapons on the backs of their shells. Look, turtles bad, penguins good, alright? You've got to upgrade la resistance manchot if you're going to stand a chance. Say by hacking off the beak and replacing it with a zombie beak.

The puzzles in Ancient Scripts are not necessarily the hardest we've ever seen. What Ancient Scripts has that many other games don't have though is that indefinable elegance of design, in the controls, in the backgrounds, and most especially in the puzzles.

There's a tremendous amount of brainbusting to be found in such a tiny puzzle game as this. The shortest distance between two points certainly isn't a straight line here, as you'll end up making circles around yourself to find the correct path to the exit. You only have thirty spots to move to, but you'll be trekking around the grid for a good long time. It'll be pretty hard to pass up this Impasse.

Breaking Banks can be nice, and Escaping from Prison can be satisfying, but diamonds are a stickman's best friend. And, wouldn't ya know it, the Tunisian Diamond is on display at Stickville Museum. It's night, so the usual rabble has gone home. So it's just a couple of guards standing in your way. With all your technology on-hand, they should prove no problem... Right? Ha. Ha. WRONG! Puffballs is back with Stealing the Diamond. And remember, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

Drop is a fine physics-puzzle game with a musical theme that shows a little clever attention to detail can liven up an otherwise ordinary game. Offering both Sandbox and Puzzle modes, the goal of Puzzle mode is to fill all the end pipes with bouncy white projectiles. Draw lines across the screen to maneuver those projectiles around obstacles and to their goal.

Presented in crispy pixel graphics and a soundtrack reminiscent of truly old console gaming, Froggish Swimmer is a fiendish little offering where you guide your frog towards a whirlpool. In his way are various obstacles, some to be avoided, others to be bombed away. Sounds simple? This is not your average one button game...

The Mission: A Search and Rescue Mystery is still a blast to play if only for those puzzles. For those who miss the days of classic point-and-click adventuring this is a game that, while not completely resurrecting the old days, certainly comes closer than most on the market.

My Little Pony, My Little Pony, what will today's adventure be? Well, in Friendship is Magic: The Story of the Blanks, a retro-NES experience by Donitz, it seems that Applebloom is going with Twilight Sparkle to deliver a package to the magician that lives deep in the woods. But the woods are dark and scary, and you'll never know what you will find... Flowers? Friendship? Magic? Love? Diamonds? Candy? Who knows? You'll need a beautiful heart, faithful and strong, to make it to the end, but a little bit of magic should make it all complete.

Maybe I'm expecting crime syndicates to have a unreasonable level of precognition, but I gotta say... I really can't see a situation in which killing the family of a guy named Mr. Vengeance is going to end positively. I mean, you have to think that with that name might get a little ticked off and have access to revenge-friendly weaponry. But hey, you have to kick off a rail shooter somehow, and you can't argue with what works. It's Mr. Vengeance: Act One by Russian developer TxGames. He'll roar. He'll rampage. He'll get bloody satisfaction.

Hop into the Wayback Machine with Taro Ito's dungeon crawling RPG that hearkens back to a simpler time in gaming. How simple? Well, there's an evil witch, a magic orb, a tiny village, and a big, sprawling set of ruins full of monsters just waiting for you to hack and slash your way through. A loving homage to the earlier days of RPGs, The Haunted Ruins has a few surprises and is a simple but enjoyable romp with a lot of classic flair.

Every scene in 58 Works' On Sen is picturesque, beguiling, and very peaceful, so it makes sense that the puzzles would be equally affable, not too strenuous or taxing. With logical puzzles, intuitive navigation and a beautiful atmosphere, On Sen is a pleasure to experience, even if it is only a quick dip rather than a long soak.

Escape from the Kid's Room is the perfect mid-week break, challenging but not too difficult, and a nostalgic look back for one of our most popular room escape designers. Pretty to look at and fun to play, Escape from the Kid's Room is definitely the perfect escape for those not wanting to spend too much time locked into a strange kid's room.

Simple does not mean that there's any less action, it just means there's more bullets and less to think about. No grenades, one weapon at a time, simple weapon shop and upgrades, it all means nothing but twitchy shooting action, one hundred percent of the time. Some might call it shallow, but I'd call it pure.

It's a long way to the top, baby, and if you want to keep your job in Nitrome's latest action arcade platformer, you'll have to survive the Office of Doom! Make your way to the helicopters at the end of each level, running and jumping through floors stocked with all manner of traps, tricks, and hazards. It's just a fact of life, kids; if you want that promotion, you have to be willing to dodge a few zombies and let your resolution get downgraded once in a while.

Brimming with attention-to-detail, artistic touches and many customizable options, Battle Stance: Human Campaign is designed to entice every ilk of casual gamer into playing hero. The upgrades, details and customizations make this real time strategy fantasy game worth venturing.

I wanted to start this article by saying how assu___ I felt that your bo___om would be shatte___ by Gaz's new release and how much it lives up to its inc___ible p___ecessors. Sadly, though it seems (puts on sunglasses) I was too eager in removing the reds. Yep, another forty levels of adorably devious puzzles are here in Red Remover Player Pack 2. If you've been wanting awesome tumble-drop physics challenges, look no further: the boxy faces of Red Remover aim to please.

FBI Agent Nelson Tethers works for the Department of Puzzle Research... yes, that's a thing, and he's quite happy with his job, until the day he's assigned to Scoggins, Minnesota, to find out why the local eraser factory has stopped working. What starts out as a simple missing persons case takes a drastic turn for the bizarre, and soon Nelson finds himself wrapped up in the weirdest, creepiest small town mystery he's ever seen. Take a trip to Scoggins in this clever duo of point-and-click adventure game that doesn't skip on the charm, the creeps, or the chuckles.

3D games? 2D games? Can't we all just be games and get along and have happy times together? What? Nobody's debating this and there's no contention in the gaming community over the game types? Then, why am I still writing interrogative sentences?!

When young Emily goes missing moments before midnight on the day before her seventh birthday, her mother Kathleen and uncle Peter have no choice but to follow her otherworldly abductor to a strange and dangerous realm typically hidden from human eyes. Who are the Extractors, and what is their interest in the mysterious "bridge of seven"? Find out in this fantastic hidden-object adventure!

You must sprint, kick, and bribe your way to athletic glory! Refusal to use exclamation points is counterrevolutionary! Grab a bowl of rocky road or double chocolate chip some morning and double your pleasure and/or fun by accompanying it with this game.

Escape Castle consistently defines fun. Although some puzzles may leave you feeling you've been there, done that, Escape Castle's final "puzzle" is a welcome twist on the genre, elevating it to a new level while harkening back to an age-old gaming tradition of the final boss battle.

About as epic as any game about snails can be, Snailiad will take hours from you, and you'll be glad to see them gone. It's action-packed and adventure-filled, completely unlike the lives of real snails, who mostly sit around hoping they don't become escargot.

They pushed you down, then kicked you while you were there and stole your lunch money! Stupid Forces of Goodness! Can't tolerate a little badness at all, can they? Well now it's your turn to make them pay (and then some) in Cellar Door Games' quirky, addictive strategy title that puts you on the other side of things in a typical tower defense game.

A young boy is cruelly mocked. Years later, he becomes a mad scientist and seeks to destroy the world by breeding giant rampaging monsters. If you've ever taken a Godzilla figurine and stomped it around a sandbox while providing your own terrified shrieks for the GI Joes and Barbies in your wake, Days of Monsters will provide that service while sparing your vocal cords.

Conceptis has come through once again with the next installment in their Conceptis Light series. Regardless of your experience with Slitherlink puzzles, Slitherlink Light offers a challenge to satisfy your logical cravings. Let yourself get wrapped up in the twists and turns of this puzzle, and you'll be slithering your way to a fun ti—BOOOOOM!!!

Kotorinosu is treading into Mya's Neutral territory with Mirror Escape in regard to variety and difficulty of puzzles. The game is fun, challenging, logical, and a joy for experienced room escapers looking for something fresh and new. Just remember, when gazing into mirrors it is sometimes wise not to look too closely lest you get lost inside with no hope of escape.

Here you assume the role of a wily mosquito whose main ambition in life is to subdue a cow with whatever means are available with the ultimate goal of filling that mosquito belly with bovine blood. Beautifully rustic artwork blended with the backing sounds of Spanish guitar really give this game its character, and you can't help but feel that mosquitoes work pretty hard to earn their daily blood, no matter how stupid cows apparently are.

Nerdook is back, and once again here to hybridize disparate game genres, this time as an entry for Ubisoft's Project Eden game contest. Jacob and the Magic Piano, a game which deftly combines platforming, music, and tower defense gameplay is the result. A starving artist's unknown Aunt has passed away, leaving him a cat, a chest of drawers, and a piano... a magic piano. Playing the piano releases the spirits resting within, but also the golden stars that are the key to accessing the possible riches of the chest. Can Jacob slay the spirits and save the stars? It's all up to the power of music!

Kayzerfish's latest epsiode in the point-and-click trilogy appears unrelated to the first two chapters apart from the glorious graphics and secrets to be found. The beauty of Imagia is immediately obvious with gorgeously crisp imagery that is somehow congruent with the natural world. Imagia 3: The Quarry may just be another tidbit to tantalise a gamer's tastebuds, but I seriously get the feeling that there will be more delightful and sweetly intriguing Imagia to come...

Boccia is a game that requires both careful planning and skillful execution. You can't just be thinking about getting this particular ball close to the jack. You have to think at the same time about what position that will put your opponent in, whether he will be able to knock your ball away, etc.

Can you beat the evil black space rectangle in the bullet hell vertical shooter? In Boss Battle, you will guide your ship through endless bullets and obstacles as you pump thousands of bullets and missiles into a boss that gets stronger each round. The game employs simple graphics and gameplay, but is ultimately a fun, short break game.

Back to save the village once more, eh? Youda Farmer 3: Seasons is a time management game from the seasoned experts of the casual genre, Youda Games. Following the original Youda Farmer and its sequel Youda Farmer 2: Save the Village, the third in the series keeps the gameplay largely the same but introduces several great features, all adding up to a healthy and robust time management simulation experience you'll enjoy mastering!

If you love time management games in the vein of Build-a-lot, then there is a lot to like in The Timebuilders: Caveman's Prophecy. Fast, frantic, and fun this is definitely what casual gaming should be. Have fun building civilization and shaking the devil out of those mischievous kitties!

Push blocks, toggle little slug creatures, maneuver clouds and more in your quest for crumbly sugary goodness. You won't beat this one for the compelling plot, but rather for the sense of accomplishment gained from smooth, seamless teamwork between Paul & Percy. That can be as delicious as any biscuit.

From ERS Game Studios, creator of Haunted Halls: Green Hills Sanitarium, PuppetShow: Lost Town, Redemption Cemetery: Curse of the Raven, and a number of other games, comes a hidden object adventure that takes place in old Italy. Grim Facade: Mystery of Venice is a dark, atmospheric game populated by empty streets and moonlit statues, strongly punctuating the shaded character you're chasing after: the man in the mask.

MaXploder is a brand new action exploration game from Ninjadoodle, creator of the ClickPLAY! series. The president needs your help rescuing some archaeologists who have become trapped in an ancient tomb. The catch is that you have to save them by yourself with only your whip-like wits, a generous jumping ability, and an infinite store of bombs!

Place of Light has nabbed you again, and this time you're trapped inside a very cozy, but very small, entry hall. Unless you're satisfied with the company of animal photos and can subsist on shoe leather for the rest of your life, you'll have to follow the clues, solve the puzzles, and find some way to escape!

Wikipedia tells us that the Battle of Britain was a World War II bombing campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom in mid-1940. It was the first military campaign fought nearly entirely by forces of the air, and those British that fought and prevailed inspired the famous Winston Churchill quote that "Never... was so much owed by so many to so few." And who were these few to which we owe said victory? Well, according to Black Moon Design's new real time strategy release, appropriately titled The Battle of Britain, they were a quartet of quipping, heavily-accented, impressively mustachioed flying-aces... Okay, perhaps a bit of history is lost in the adaptation, but it's fun.

What's more important... the truth or happiness? Sometimes you can't have both. In Thomas Brush's latest platformer adventure, you play a robot named Skinny, woken up from a pleasant dream by his Mama, who insists she's being terrorized by a little boy named Felix who only wants to steal from your friends and hurt the ones you love.

Based on a short story by HP Lovecraft, this equally short point-and-click horror adventure was made in just three days for Newgrounds' Game Jam competition. When you wake up confused and alone somewhere in a dark and unfriendly environment, all you want is to make your way back home to civilization... but are you ready for what you'll find?

Leap into a world of irresponsible driving and geometric collisions in Oslo Albet's simple but breezily fun and fast-paced 3D racing game! Swoop around the screen across 32 different courses, avoiding hazards and nabbing time bonuses, in an effort to lock in the high score and prove once again what all adults know... driving in the real world is boring.

Not very difficult but fun and occasionally challenging, Suntrap Room Escape is the perfect mid-week break, a light and airy confection as delicious as its designer's name implies. Dive in and enjoy the experience, even if it will leave you hungry for something, anything strawberry flavored.

Created by Japanese math teacher Tetsuya Miyamoto in 2004, Kashikoku naru Puzzle translates literally as "A Puzzle That Makes You Smart". Hitting that exact right combination of mathematical calculation and logical reasoning, it soon became an international sensation under the name KenKen. As the story goes, "Ken" translates as Cleverness, so KenKen (or, I guess Ken^2) is Cleverness-Squared. That's an apt description for this arithmetic grid-based brainteaser. At JayIsGames, we're always on the lookout for good online versions of pen-and-paper games, and Nextoy has provided with 6 daily, devious, and easily-printable KenKen. Why? Because they Ken Ken Ken!

The crazy snail is back, so make sure he reaches his grandfather alive in this skill/avoidance puzzle game sequel. In a strange way this is more of the same without being more of the same at all. Then again, it's about a snail with absolutely no Darwinian sense relying on your need for a high score. Normality doesn't operate here.

Once you pop you can't stop! Blocks, that is! Blast chains of coloured blocks in this simple, simply fun, and simply addictive action arcade game from Andrew Morrish! Coloured blocks fall from the screen and it's up to you to destroy them before they reach the top, while staying away from the spikes and racking up a high score in the process.

Is it art or is it murder? In Pastel Games' mystery point-and-click adventure made for TNT, it's both! As a brand new gumshoe, you aren't expecting much from your first day on the job, but quickly discover the murder case you've just been given is anything but routine. Scour the city for clues and make all the right connections if you want to crack this case wide open.

For everyone who enjoys Pencilkids games or point-and-click adventures Little Samurai is well worth the time, especially for the kicking animations at the end as our intrepid hero and the evil Emperor get their kung-fu on in a fight that spans several scenes. So travel back to an ancient Japan that exists only in fantasies and daydreams and help wipe out evil from the land

In Undefined's latest, you'll use match-3 to duel enemies and earn loot. Loot which you'll need to pay down the debt that your dad saddled you with while he goes gallivanting off. Wizard dads do that. Gallivant, I mean. The only question now is what Undefined will tackle next now that they've crossed off match-3. I humbly suggest full contact rock paper scissors.

Robots, man. They're the worst. Always pulling you out of your workplace and forcing you to battle them in a series of psychedelic levels, blowing you up, killing your cows. It's ridiculous. Luckily, we have Deepak, representing the everyman in the daily struggle against robo-baddies. Deepak Fights Robots, from Run-Man: Race Around the World creator Tom Sennett, is loaded with mind-bending levels, quick arcade action, more colors than a rainbow drowning in a crayon factory.

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.

Beautiful, engaging, lengthy, difficult, Dreamland is everything that you could want in a hidden object/adventure hybrid and more. A feast for the eyes, ears, and brains, evoking that long ago distrust of the traveling carnival and showing the evil that can lurk beneath the surface of any childhood fantasy. Take the time to enjoy the experience and the thrills of Dreamland.

Political game starring a cat? Got that! Game with a really big title? Got that, too. How about a game made out of letters? Got that! A game that dispenses pie? Aww, not got that. Fail. Maybe next Weekend Download?

From Orneon Games, crafters of The Agency of Anomalies: Mystic Hospital, comes Secrets of the Dark: Temple of Night, a hidden object/casual adventure game steeped in legends, demons, and a town that's a little on the strange side. The game uses a creative light/dark mechanism that allows you to peer into the demon world simply by turning off or blocking the lights in a room. This morphs the scene and opens up new passageways, reveals new items and objects to explore, and disseminates new bits of story that you'll gobble up like delicious popcorn.

Summer is often a season of sequels, a season of unimaginative rehashings of proven hits, hoping that the sweaty populace will be too befuddled to notice that the movie or game they're consuming is exactly the same as its predecessor only with all the charm and surprise sucked out. That's why Learn 2 Fly is as refreshing as a blast of south pole air.

Nobuyuki Forces 4 is a remake of 2003's Nobuyuki Forces 3, and feels similar to arcade rail shooters like Time Crisis and House of the Dead. You control a wily female soldier infiltrating a heavily-guarded office complex. Alternate between hiding behind cover and darting out to pick off the enemy across numerous stages to reach the roof and a powerful boss.

Pixels and physics, two things just about every casual gamer is thoroughly familiar with. Pixel Explorer takes these simple ideas and turns them into a challenging and precision-oriented game of action and reflexes. Using just the mouse, you play a little pixel ball that can transform with nothing more than a [left click]. Turn yourself into a shooting ship that can blast in any direction and work your way through over 30 stages of increasing difficulty, encountering strange new types of pixels while you play!

Visual novel meets shooter meets RPG meets space opera meets awesome in this unusual hybrid from Anonymous D Studios. After decades of skirmishes and violent protests, the battles between the pirates and the Federation appears to be heating up, and one young pilot finds himself in the middle of it. Strike out on an hours long adventure that combines drama, romance, and fast-paced arcade action in this impressive game.

Nitrome has done it again! We've guided the little blue piece of protoplasm test subject through two incredibly enjoyable series of experiments. Now, however, it (and you) faces its greatest opponent yet: a person sitting next to you at the keyboard! Yes, it's Green vs. Blue in Test Subject Arena

Goin Up is a new vertical-scrolling arcade platformer by Comix. Well... when I say "new", I guess I mean "recent" more than "novel". In truth, its gameplay feels more like a mish-mash remix of the mechanics of other releases than its own creation. However, what Goin Up lacks in innovation, it more than makes up for with style. After all, if I'm going to be steering my player-character into bombs to be propelled higher for the hundredth time, those bombs had better be darn pretty. And well... they are.

Described by the developer as a "five-minutes room escape game," Pearl Room Escape is not short on pleasing visuals, intuitively logical puzzles or enjoyment. While not all players will make their way out within the abbreviated time frame as advertised, the game is leisurely enough for anyone to dive into, providing a vacation from the ordinary milieu. Pearl Room Escape may seem too short or lacking in features to garner much attention, yet this mini-escape is a true pearl of delight.

Everybody's favourite emotionally tortured little robot is back in this sequel to 2010's K.O.L.M., a Metroidvania style platformer about a lonely little robot with one very dysfunctional family. Picking up right where the original left off, having escaped the claws of his Mother, will our hero finally find out where he belongs, or will he be unable to escape his family ties?

Now that you've defeated that pungeon master, the five-man band is descending into a cave with an even greater threat: humidity. Turns out putting a cave of ice and a cave of fire next to each other isn't that great of an idea. The good thing about Flagstaff: Chapter Three is that it's more of the same, and since the previous games were fun, light-hearted time wasters well received by many in the JIG community as well as myself, more of the same can't go too wrong.

Sad armadillo is sad because he can't fly like the birds. He can run and roll, though, and with your help, he can do something remarkably close to flying! Dillo Hills is a browser-based action game similar to the iPhone release Tiny Wings. All you do in this simple physics-centric title is hold the [down] arrow key to dive towards the hills. When you hit terra firma you start to roll, coasting along the slopes to gain more and more speed. Release the button and soar high into the sky, picking up speed and traveling to distant lands in the process!

Help the blocky-headed hero escape in this fun physics puzzle platformer hybrid from bart99. Labscape skews more towards the platform than the puzzle end of the spectrum when it comes to its challenge. While the level designs are clever and frequently charming, with my personal favorite being what I might call "razor blade surfing," it doesn't take more than a little thought to figure out where the missing pieces are that you have to draw. Completing this game won't necessarily turn you into a lithe athlete, but it will provide a fun little break for your day.

Anyone who has ever played the classic PC game Lemmings will recognize the gameplay in Dibbles. In each level, a troop of marching ant-like critters (who I suppose are the eponymous Dibbles) must be ferried to the exit point with as little loss of life as possible, taking special care to spare the life of the chief monarch Dibble. The fun in Dibbles is in breezing through the levels and seeing what other gruesome tasks you can set your Dibbles to executing. All For The Greater Good, of course.

Go, Speed Runner, go! A superhero whose only super power is running really, really fast runs afoul of an evil genius whose extracurricular activities include building giant death machines and planting bombs all over the city. (... and... his... hideout?) Spring to the rescue in this bouncy, stylish arcade platformer that demands quick reflexes. Note: not for players with allergies to repeated spiky death.

You like Dino Run SE, right? And Nanotube? Well, imagine a game that's nothing like either of those games but co-created by the makers of each. Imagining that? Now stop and check out Super Space Rubbish, a game that satisfies the wildest fantasies you've had since starting this review, and does so with a fantastic retro style. Super Space Rubbish looks a lot like the classic Asteroids game on the surface, but really it's a mining/upgrading sort of experience where you customize your ship using materials extracted from asteroids smashed with your turret.

Hotel Dash: Lost Luxuries is time management done fantastically well, challenging, amusing, beautiful, and frantic. Take a few minutes and get sucked into the world of Flo and Dinertown!

Just because a game isn't technically finished doesn't mean you can't play it. Or that it isn't fun! This edition of Weekend Download features two games that are still works in progress. They may have some rough edges, dusty corners, and missing bits and pieces here and there, but you can still experience the core of what is shaping up to be a great game. And just think: when the games are officially released, you'll feel all cool and stuff because you already knew about it!

The goblins are angry... again! They're rolling out the big runs to crush the humans beneath their very literal wheels. Big Block Games serves up an impressive new rendition of their original action physics shooter with this massive overhaul that brings awesome new weapons, minigames, new enemies, new areas, and much, much more, all wrapped up in one beautiful, snarky package.

In Bug Tunnel Defense, bugs are in fact our deadly enemies after an atomic war has laid waste to the rest of civilization, and they're coming for what is left of humanity. So, not much different from the present day, really, minus the radiation and the end of civilization. With 5 levels of tutorials and 40 levels of gameplay, Bug Tunnel Defense is short but entertaining. If you enjoy tower defense games, then try out Bug Tunnel Defense with its fun new twist on an old classic. And for heaven's sake, get those darn bugs before they wipe us all out.

As per usual with Tonypa games the difficulty curve in Regrebluli is pretty steep, but that's about the only complaint there is with this addictive, entertaining game. The one thing we can always count on with Tonypa is a simple idea (plain stark graphics and elementary gameplay) done exceedingly well.

In a day when physics puzzles are as common as tax collectors, you can't just set a square block on top of an orange block and let your game loose on the world. Enter Steampunk, a simple sort of phuzzle game whose goal is to provide a sturdy challenge through 30 levels of puzzles while painting everything with a gorgeous steampunk art style.

Help a fledgling Dreamsong Catcher's own dreams come true in Nerdook's latest unique game! Collect the imagination and music that emanates from dreamers as they sleep, using it to create fantastic creatures, destroy horrors looking to disturb your work and restful sleep, and experience a whole mess of dreams that are silly, sweet, or just downright weird.

It's not just apocalypse, it's the pocalypse, and zombies aren't the only thing you have to worry about in this beautiful, quirky little defense shooter from newcomers Green Pixel. Defend the city of New Hammerston against zombies, mutants, plant monsters, robots, and even vampires with an array of powerful weapons and abilities, and spend the cash you earn to upgrade your butt-kicking prowess.

Time to brush up on your culinary skills and get cooking in this latest Tesshi-e escape game! Explore the irregular dimensions of this out of the ordinary room as you enjoy the beautiful and stunning graphics that Tesshi-e is known for. You'll need to combine logic, puzzle solving, object finding, object using, and a few culinary skills in order to call your friend to let you out so you can enjoy the lovely breakfast you just slaved over a hot...hot-plate to create.

If you've ever had sand kicked in your face at the beach by a vending machine, then this ridiculously over-the-top arcade game will provide some much needed closure. Unleash a massive array of upgradeable abilities and weapons, including volleyballs, lightning, guns, magic scythes, and lightsabers, to showcase the most "epic man vs vending machine" brawl ever.