Casual Friday: Update for November 21 – 27, 2009

Happy Black Friday! If you’re reading this, then presumably you decided not to brave the crowds to indulge in the amazing sales. Or, perhaps you’re waiting for the more low-key Cyber Monday on November 30, 2009.

It’s been a pretty robust week in terms of casual game releases. There’s a nice mix of games from many different genres available, so there’s a good chance you’ll find something suited to your particular tastes. Take a quick read through, and find something to play on your day off.

This week’s best bets are: Hotel Dash: Suite Success (PC) and Amazing Adventures: The Caribbean Secret (PC).

Hotel Dash: Suite Success
Genre: Simulation / Time Management
Availability: Big Fish Games, PlayFirst
Retail Price: $19.95
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Quinn needs help again, so its Flo to the rescue. Flo must help assist customers and make everything perfect in all of Quinn’s hotels.
Demo Available: Yes

Cajun Cop: The French Quarter Caper
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Harmonic Flow, Big Fish Games
Retail Price: $9.99
Platform: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7
Premise: Jacques Lamont is trying to hunt down and capture jewel thieves in New Orleans.
Demo Available: Yes

Fishdom: Frosty Splash
Genre: Puzzle (Match-3)
Availability: Playrix, PlayFirst
Retail Price: $19.95
Note: Playrix has the game on sale for $9.98 until December 31, 2009.
Platform: Windows NT, 2000, XP and Vista
Premise: You play through Christmas-y, underwater match-3 puzzles so you can stock and create an aquarium full of festive fish. You can also use your aquarium as a screensaver.
Demo Available: Yes

Monster Ball
Genre: Strategy
Availability: Direct2Drive, Mac Game Store
Retail Price: $9.95
Platform: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7 and Mac 10.4 or better (also available for iPhone)
Premise: A Chinese Checkers style game, only with platforming elements, extra, unexpected features and balls eating opponents balls.
Demo Available: Yes

Little Folk of Faery
Genre: Simulation
Availability: Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $9.99
Platform: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7
Premise: You’ve found a small town of fairy creatures, and now its up to you to help them restore their world and once again become a thriving and happy community.
Demo Available: Yes

Mahjong Memoirs
Genre: Puzzle
Availability: I-Play
Retail Price: $19.95
Platform: Windows XP, Vista, 7
Premise: A classic Mahjong game where you can play Story Mode to learn about a forbidden, wartime romance or endless mode to earn 50 trophies and special badges.
Demo Available: Yes

Amazing Adventures: The Caribbean Secret
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games, GameHouse
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Search through the Caribbean, trying to find a sunken Spanish ship that could be housing a fantastic and amazing treasure.
Demo Available: Yes

Kara’s Quest
Genre: RPG
Availability: Amaranth Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $19.99
Platform: Windows 98 and better
Premise: A continuation of the Dark Souls series, this adventure follows Galahar’s wife and daughter Kara and Dorothy as they journey to find Galahar.
Demo Available: Yes

Farm Frenzy 3: American Pie
Genre: Simulation (Time Management)
Availability: Alawar Entertainment
Retail Price: $9.95
Platform: Windows PC
Premise: Scarlet from Farm Frenzy 3 returns, only this time you go through 90 levels and use robots and machinery to maintain your farmland.
Demo Available: Yes

Editor’s Note: Due to so many casual games sites offering game plans or preferred member prices, which can cause a game to have multiple price-points, the games’ average retail prices is mentioned in Casual Friday.

Site [Big Fish Games] Site [PlayFirst] Site [GameHouse] Site [eGames] Site [Alawar Games] Site [Amazon] Site [Reflexive Arcade] Site [Harmonic Flow]