Hanukkah is here and Christmas is just around the corner, and that means it’s time for some adventure in historic Egypt, on Treasure Island, in a lost cavern and somewhere in Leonardo Da Vinci’s house. His workshop, perhaps. Coladia has announced a special Christmas sale on their iPad Games, which will be sold at a baseline low price for a limited time.

Still wondering what your costume should be for Halloween this year? Take a look at Coladia’s Mac games sale and just pick from there. You’ve got Dracula, Cleopatra, Da Vinci, Nostradamus, Catherine de Medicis…okay, the the last three probably don’t make much sense, but this article isn’t about costumes, it’s about Mac game sales, of which Coladia has many this Halloween weekend.

The weekend’s about over, but the good times have only just begun…if you’re an adventure gamer, that is. That’s because Coladia has announced their Summer Holidays Sales on their Mac Games. What holidays? I have no idea. I assume it’s a French thing. Regardless, their excellent collection of Mac games will be sold at half price until July 31st through Coladia’s webstore and the Mac App Store.

That Da Vinci fellow was quite talented, I’m told. A good thinker. Drew stuff. Did some other things. But he was also, apparently, quite secretive. And now, courtesy of Coladia, you can uncover The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript via the Mac App Store. This investigation and adventure game offers “… a thrilling mystical quest into the heart of the Renaissance.”

Dracula 3: The Path of the Dragon takes place largely in 1920s Transylvania. The Twilight and Lost Boys and Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter crowds may find this all a bit quaint, but for an adventure game such as this, it’s appropriate. Kheops makes old school adventure games for old school adventure gamers, and honestly, this is the best of theirs I’ve played.

Return to Mysterious Island 2 is a very frustrating experience for all but the most patient of players. The game presents a variety of puzzles for you to solve in order to move forward, ranging in level from completely obvious to totally obtuse. Expect to spend a lot of time working things out when you hit a wall.

Today’s the last day for entries into Appletell’s pirate game giveaway, in which we’re awarding one winner copies of Freeverse’s Jack Keane and Coladia’s Destination Treasure Island. But is that all? Of course that’s not all. We’ve decided to throw in two games of your choice from the Appletell review vaults. Which games? Well, you’ve got to find the treasure chest before you can open it up.

Pirates are bad. They steal. They kill people. They’ve got horrible hygiene. It’s just not a pleasant thing. But that hasn’t stopped Hollywood and the gaming industry from glamorizing them, and why should it? I’m guessing sword fighting skeletons would be nasty in real life, too, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be included in every movie ever made. And although we’ve got no skeletons for you, we do have some pirate games we’d like to give away this weekend.

Pirates have sure made a comeback, huh? No longer relegated to goofy musicals and crazy notions like the idea that Geena Davis could ever be a respected ship captain, pirates are now back where they should be: the subject of big budget action movies and sexy Halloween costumes for the ladies. Even better, they’re now the subject of an Appletell giveaway.