CBS is turning several of its well-known television properties into games through partnerships with developers including Ludia, Ubisoft, Merscom, Legacy Interactive and Mindscape.

Upcoming through these development deals are games based on CBS shows Criminal Minds, The Amazing Race, Survivor and Ghost Whisperer.

The company is also delving into older shows including…

Time management games where construction and property management are the goal are typically very straightforward. Players are given certain goals for each level to complete and asked to organize a given area of a certain city and make it profitable and successful. At its core, Empire Builder: Ancient Egypt proceeds in the same way, but adds a sense of history and fantasy that is both unique and unusual.

Players are put in the role of a builder, architect and planner in Ancient Egypt. You start off small, with simple goals like building a few workers’ homes and then building a monument, and eventually are tasked with creating and managing all aspects of a successful Egyptian community. In order to receive your final goal for the level, which is a monument or a temple. Eventually, as you build your successful kingdoms, you’ll be given larger and more demanding tasks…

With so many hidden object games available on the market, companies have to make sure that there is something special about their title, a hook that will lure in casual gamers. The Mystery of the Mary Celeste, Merscom and MediaArt’s latest entry, does just that. It takes a real mysterious and unsolved incident from the 1870′s and combines it with the supernatural. So those who play the game aren’t only enjoying searches for hidden objects and some brain teasers, they’re also enjoying an engaging story.

The original Mary Celeste was discovered in 1872, completely abandoned. Over a century later, a new ship bearing the name Mary Celeste II has been crafted and is on its maiden voyage. As a bit of good luck and to make things interesting, Mary Morehouse, who’s descended from one of the people who discovered the abandoned Mary Celeste, has been invited on said voyage…

Casual games can be a great diversion for beginning or proficient gamers. They offer something you can play for minutes or hours, and the great ones are both simple and addicting at the same time.

Winemaker Extraordinaire has the appearance, controls, story and gameplay that could make it one of the great ones. Players can create wine, manage wineries, fill orders and search for success at their own pace in colorful locations around the world.

Maria’s hanging by a thread. She’s alone. Her job is stressful and unfulfilling. Her beloved grandfather has just died. Just when she’s at her lowest point, she learns that she has inherited her grandfather’s winery.

Remembering how happy she was there as a child, and encouraged by a letter he left for her urging her to pursue her dream, she leaves the city behind and goes to Italy to take over the family’s winery…

It wasn’t all that surprising when the announcement came that Dexter, the Showtime series about a blood splatter analyst serial killer who only kills serial killers, would inspire a video game. It is surprising, however, when a show like The Tudors gets a game of it’s very own. Merscom and Showtime Networks have decided the show is worthy of an interactive offspring.

The Tudors game is going to be a casual game that combines two popular genres, adventure and hidden object. The premise hasn’t been unveiled, but it will act as a sort of side-story and complement to the series, and center around a mystery players will have to solve.

The Tudors series covers the life of King Henry VIII. You know, the one with all the wives, many of whom end up dead…

Another new hidden objects game has been added to Big Fish Games – Merscom’s Coyote’s Tale: Fire and Water. Well, it’s mainly a hidden object game, but there’s more to Coyote’s Tale: Fire and Water than that.

Players choose to play as Tletl or Atl, with the assistance of the gods Coyote and Macuilxochitl (Max), as the four attempt to stop the Aztec gods from causing major trouble. Players choose who’s story to follow by choosing whether to be Tletl, which means they’ll play with a time limit, or Atl, with no time limit, and must then find hidden objects in 18 different locations. Once they find the objects, their staves will be charged and they’ll be able to challenge one of the 15 Aztec gods in the game in a mini-game…

Merscom and MDNA Games’ latest entry in the Carol Reed series of point-and-click mystery games have just announced that The Color of Murder is now available through Big Fish Games: The Color of Murder. Though it follows the same formula as previous Carol Reed Mystery titles, The Color of Murder is the first entry to feature a tutorial and hint system to help beginners find their way through the game, should they get stuck.

In The Color of Murder, Carol finds herself in Norrkoping, Sweden, attempting to find her friend Willy’s estranged son. As she searches for the man, she discovers that Willy’s son may not be the most upstanding citizen. Apparently, a resident of Norrkoping was killed the week before Carol arrived, and it looks like Willy’s son may have had some kind of connection to the victim. Its up to Carol to find out what is going on and who the murderer is…

Oh, I was so, so ready to write a jaded story on Mr. Smoozles Goes Nutso. The second I saw that press release with that title. I was excited too. Then I saw the screen shot pictured above and was charmed. I also went and visited the Mr. Smoozles web-comic, created by Steve Ince and Stefano Collavini, and played the free demo – that helped. Mr. Smoozles Goes Nuts is developed by Juniper Games and published by Merscom.

So in Mr. Smoozles Goes Nutso, Mr. Smoozles has been zapped by the alien Goragons’ mind control ray and has basically gone nuts. He’s attacking everyone and everything with a machine gun. So one of his friends, Ed (the grey cat with glasses above), has to solve puzzles, rescue Mr. Smoozles, defeat the Goragons and save the day.