Outlet

I don't think many people read this anymore. On the other hand, people do read Facebook, so I'm going to make my postings there from now on.

There's a followup to last year's Christmas Escape, and I think it's even better!

For those who prefer a more satiric take on game design, try Achievement Unlocked. Can you unlock all the achievements>

Aren't the Meeblings cuuuuuuuute?

DOWNHILL BOWLING! It's exactly what it sounds like! (you will need to install the Unity player plugin if you don't have it already. Don't worry, it's nothing bad... it's analogous to Flash)

Finally, a real treat to play: Auditorium. As the gorgeous puzzles approach completion, the lush music builds in layers upon layers, ultimately reaching its climax as the puzzle is solved.

I don't know if anyone who reads this doesn't already know (or wouldn't care), but I'll be in MN from the 20th-28th and then in Wichita until Jan 2nd. Buzz me if you care to do something.

... is the name of my mix CD for 2008. And it can be yours for the asking, shipped right to your door! And yes, I will ship internationally. Even to California. (in-person also works)

Some teasers: it turns out I seem to prefer songs in minor keys... the majority of these 19 songs are keyed minorly. That's not to say this is a sad album, though. Also, I've been obtaining new music at a higher rate this year, mostly due to the awesomeness that is the Amazon mp3 store. In fact, I believe only two of the songs came from other sources (both CDs). They have a daily deal where they offer some album for $1-3, usually either a classic album like OK Computer, or a recent release (such as today's which was Coldplay's new EP for $1).

So, if you want one just drop me a comment or message or email with your address, and it will soon be in your hands!

QWOP - Run. Or attempt to. This is the type of game that's as fun to fail at as it is to do well! The best part is the Chariots of Fire theme that starts up if you begin to do OK, and abruptly stops one you start faltering!

Splitter - Get the ball to the goal by slicing up anything in its path!

Hanna in a Choppa - Fun little game with lots of quirks and plenty of awards to earn. Use the choppa to fly around and perform a variety of tasks.

Zilch - Did I say the last game had lots of awards? I take that back. Zilch has 120 awards total that can be earned! A flash version of the famous dice game Zilch (aka Farkle). Quick version of the rules for those not familiar:

Start by rolling 6 dice. 1s and 5s are worth points, as are certain other combinations of dice. You must bank at least one die (collecting its point value), and then you may re-roll the rest. Continue until either
1) all 6 dice have been banked, in which case you get to roll them all again and continue to add to your score
2) no scoring dice are rolled, in which case your banked points vanish and you get a Zilch!
3) you have banked at least 300 points and decide not to risk Zilching. Your banked points are added to your permanent score.

First to 10000 wins!

Incredibots - Build robots to get stuff done. For the mechanically inclined.

Mirror's Edge 2D - Great momentum-based platform game, with vast leaps, swings, wall runs, etc. Currently in beta, so there's just the one level. The controls are wonderfully fluid, making it easy to leap tall buildings in a single bound... or something like that.

Bubble Spinner - Like Snood with rotational inertia!

It's called Casual Escape but it's more like a collection of puzzles than an escape-the-room game.

A new twist on the ol' block-pushing games: Globule. It's from the same people that brought you Scorching Earth... meaning we can expect a Community Edition of levels soon!

Fans of Shift will enjoy Never End. Despite at first seeming like a complete ripoff of Shift, it's actually adds a nice dimension... feels almost like Shift 4, actually. Beware, though... the title is not all that far off.

Light Bot - Like programming? Give commands to your robot. You can only use so many instructions though, so create your own subroutines for repetitive tasks. You'll probably find this either really fun, or very boring.

Maverick - How does a cowboy get around when all he can move is his arm? By using his pistol, of course! Get to the bottom to talk with the magic pig. Great retro green monochrome style in this one.

Hoshi Saga 3 - Find the star. Easy, right? (also check out Hoshi Saga 1 and 2 from the jayisgames page)

Chess Mazes - 2 or 3 chess pieces are on a board with some walls. The pieces move just like in the game Chess, except that a piece can only move if it is "under attack" from another piece. Get one piece to the goal.

Think you know your Japanese provinces? Try Japanese Map Game. The dots fill up based on the areas of the provinces you choose... try to get within the target range. 10 levels total. You get bonus points for ending further in range, but beware of going over! More bonus points for using all of the provinces in a region.

How good is your visual estimation? Test it out by performing various geometrical tasks (bisecting angles, finding centers of circles, etc.) in The Eyeballing Game.

Finally, the game that wins the award for the best game ending, evar: Blocks With Letters On. Also wins the award for least creative title... and with competition like the previous two games, that's quite an accomplishment. You have to put the lettered blocks into the yellow goal area to spell a word. Be careful... it's not always the word you think it will be! After each level is an animation or the word you just spelled, with a droll British voice reading the word. This is a must-play!

Did you know you can drive from Kansas to Florida in just over an hour? You can!

Any other peculiar driving directions that you know of? Share 'em in the comments!

Lovely games, wonderful games! Slightly heavy on the physics-based games this time.

First, if you liked Scorching Earth from the last post, there is a new level set out, the "Community Edition"

Another sequel, Shift 3. Like the previous two, you'll be in and out of negative space, but the third installment finally perfects both the gameplay and the narrative.

Swinging Ball Exactly like the name suggests: use the arrow keys to spin your ball left and right and click the mouse to shoot a grappling hook at the green lines to swing yourself about. Get to the yellow square to finish the level. What's really great here is that elements of the level often spin around some axis, letting you do some really cool momentum-based tricks!

Two game that mirror each other a bit are Totem Destroyer"> and DUI. The object of both is to remove a specified number of blocks while guiding an object to some goal. Totem Destroyer is the simpler one; just click the blocks to remove them (black ones can't be removed) and keep the little idol from hitting the ground. In DUI, you can use the arrow keys to roll the ball left and right. The ball must not come to rest beneath the red line. To win the level, make the ball stop on a colored block and remove the requisite number of blocks by clicking them (you can hold the mouse button down and sweep over them for efficient removal). Also, all moving blocks must be removed whether or not you've already taken away the required number.

Another get-the-ball-to-a-goal game, but this one may be the best on the list: Fantastic Contraption. Basically, you're given an initial setup and have to find a way to get the ball(s) to the goal over any terrain that might be in the way. Draw line segments and join them together to make ramps, bridges, trusses, etc. If you need some locomotion, there are spinners that can be implemented into your contraptions. Sounds simple, but there are some really nifty things that can be built. After you solve a level, you can view others' solutions as well.

Moving away from the physics games, here's one that'll test your multitasking and reflex skills. Tontoko Family puts you in charge of four people (presumably the Tontokos) each chugging along their own road. Each one has its own obstacles that must be dealt with, and each character has exactly one key that controls it: W, A, S, or D (Z, X, C, and V may also be used). Nothing too deep, but so rewarding at the end when you find out what "prize" your score has earned.

Next up, a choose-your-own-adventure style game called Mr. Coo: El Laberinto Esferico. It's pretty short, so I won't go into a lot of detail, but basically you have to get this strange-looking man out of the maze of dreams. The choices you make affect future happenings, so be careful. Also, realize that the true end of the game comes when you have escaped in each of the three possible ways.

Finally, for you abstract thinkers, try Wiclimo from Tonypa. Simply discover the correct order in which to visit the blocks with your mouse. Your only hints are "dings" (good) and "whoops" (bad). Just mouse over the shapes until you find the first "ding" (no "whoops" will sound until you find the starting point) and then carefully move the mouse to what you think is the next shape in the series. If you're right, you'll hear another "ding"; if not, you'll hear a "whoop" and have to start again. Each level has enough clues that there need be little trial and error (although that strongly depends on how long it takes before the correct pattern dawns on you). There are 30 levels, but they are randomized, so it's not too big of a deal to have to restart after you use up your generous number of lives.

More thinking games today:

Qink - A twist on the traditional Tangrams. You need to cover the cube with the given pieces, but some of them clearly don't fit! Solution: change the 3D perspective until they do! (this will make more sense when you actually play the game). Use the mouse to outline the shape you want to fill (size doesn't matter) and then click the piece with which you want to fill it. Each side can be only one color.

Scorching Earth - No tanks in this game, but on the plus side, you do get to play the role of fire. BURNINATE!!! Spread to neighboring spaces and BURN to gain one burn point for each square you inhabit. But don't run out of fuel! Most levels contain a purple fire which will compete for resources with you, but isn't very smart: kill it off with a raincloud or block its path (fight fire with fire!)

Dino Run - Take a break from the brain-busters and check out Dino Run, a frantic race for survival. Awesome pixellated graphics and TONS of unlockable bonuses, abilities, levels, etc. But don't take my word for it, take the reviewer's ;)

Chronotron - A time-traveling robot needs to collect all the keys to continue his travels. Unfortunately, most of them are located out of his reach. Luckily, he can go back in time to give himself a hand! All of its selves must get back to the capsule at the end though... can't have any of those time-paradoxes, you know. Apart from a couple of bugs, a good execution of a great idea.

Knuckleheads - Another good one from Nitrome. Guide the main character (two Mexican wrestlers' heads connected by a chain) (yes really) to the end of each level by swinging the heads around and using [up] and [down] to extend and retract the chain that binds them together. Avoid baddies.

Brute Wars - An RPG-style combat game with a surprising amount of strategy. Assemble an animal army and fight other squads. Use randomizers to gain better animals when you're within realms where they may be found. Ultimately it becomes too easy, but stick around for the best win message EVER!

6 Differences - Like those find-the-5-differences games you see in bars, except with breathtaking nighttime photography/photoshoppage/animation. Relaxing music sets the perfect mood. Also check out 5 differences by the same author.

...since I posted some games.

CoBaCoLi is a simple game, reminiscent of pool in which you must get the colored balls to the colored lines. However, you have no control over the power of your shots, so you must plan carefully -- there's a lot of momentum in each shot, and you have to figure out where to put it all.

Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection - Downloadable versions of 27 classic puzzle games, including Sudoku, Mastermind, Samegame, Minesweeper and many more. Great for filling in downtime.

Vision - The top-rated game at Jayisgames. It's a room-escape game, complex, but not overly difficult (but there's a walkthrough to help you out if you get stuck). The in-game puzzles are clever and logical, and are complemented nicely by and amazing graphical environment, full of stylish lighting effects and vivid, detailed textures. It's not quite photographic, but it might be even better!

Pac Xon Pacman meets Qix! Claim 80% of the level, but don't let the ghosts eat you! (thanks unmannedflyingdeskset!)

Shift 2 A neat little platforming game in which you simply have to find your way to the exit. Press the SHIFT button to flip your character into the floor and change colors and gravity... just play it, you'll understand soon enough! Great use of negative space, and a sense of humor rarely seen in flash games. Also check out the slightly flawed original.

Dirk Valentine and the Fortress of Steam - One of the best games ever released by the webgame automaton that is Nitrome. It's got spies, dramatic music, steampunk visuals, and a frikkin' chain gun!

Compulse - The same guy who made TBA (see this post) is back! Place motion fields on the level to guide the ball to the goal! Your score is based on the number of fields you use, so be frugal!

Oh, and
( Read more... )

Idea and images stolen directly from XKCD, but I arranged them to reflect my own personal taste, and added a few more too.

One Man Band is a charming, easy-to-use music toy with a surprising variety of musical progressions -- i.e. not your simple 1-4-5.

( Click here for songs I made )

Another little toy/game I found interesting was Olla Podrida PLEXUS puzzle. It's like a jigsaw puzzle, except instead of the picture spanning all the pieces, each piece is a picture in itself. It might seem intimidating at first, but once you get a few together, the rest fall into place pretty quickly. Press the left or right arrow keys to rotate pieces.

Finally, check out TBA - a game resembling the Donkey Kong barrel shooting levels. Simple but satisfying. Hit the spacebar to fire the ball out of the, uh... ball-firer-outer-thingys when the timing is right. The first couple of levels are pathetically easy, but they'll soon get harder.

The company that makes to most rubber tires annually:

Lego, with ~306 million

The 4 6 states contained completely within the original Louisiana Purchase:

Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma

Parts of Oklahoma and Kansas later left the US to become part of the republic of Texas. I was confused looking at this map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:U.S._Territorial_Acquisitions.png

Which are the only four US states which lie completely within the historic Louisiana Purchase?

UPDATE: It turns out I can't read maps. There are actually 6.

What company produces the most tires annually?

So you like Escape-the-room games, huh? Like that Christmas one in my last post? Well, you're in luck, because there have been some good ones recently. But first:

Pursuit Across Europe Think Cruisin' USA, but slightly more artistic and free to play online.

Vector Runner - Short, sweet, and deliciously retro. Avoid the obstacles, collect the bonuses. My high score is in the upper 40000's.

Areas - Shoot the growing white circles. When you destroy one, an area appears where it once stood, which affects anything you shoot into it in different and awesome ways. Overlapping areas = overlapping effects = possibility for some wicked combos. It's more luck-based than the creators would like you to believe, but it's so much fun just to discover all of the nifty tricks they can squeeze into the areas, that you'll find yourself playing level after level (there are 75 total)

Now then. Escaping rooms. In order of difficulty:

Escape Game - from the designer who brought you Dice Wars and others. Escape Game is pretty straightforward, although there is one pretty tricky part. If you liked the Christmas game, you'll find this one to be similar in style.

Synapsis - Beautiful and bizarre. The spooky and psychological graphics are superb, and don't forget to turn that sound on! The puzzles are fairly logical here, but you'll want to be on the lookout for clues. Also, some objects take a little bit of pixel-hunting to find their clickable parts.

Job Pico - from Gotmail, whose escape-the-room games are something like legendary. Again, wonderful graphics here, and quite innovative puzzles. The storyline is that you are trying out for a job designing escape-the-room puzzles, and the job interview consists of you having to figure your way out of a locked room.

All of the previous three games have walkthroughs on their Jayisgames review pages, in case you get stuck. You'll probably need it for Job Pico, and you should feel in no way inadequate if you need it for either of the others either.

Here's a really simple but charming escape the room game for the holiday season. The object is to ... wait for it ... escape the room! And hunt for all the presents.

High quality full-length episodes of The Chaser's War on Everything (mentioned in this post) are available for free download here. There are a few sketches that people outside of Australia won't get (Australian news and politics), but there's definitely enough awesomeness to go around!

If you like games like Bejeweled or any number of similar tile-dropping combo games, you'll definitely want to play Chain Factor. Even if Bejeweled isn't your thing, I'd recommend giving this one a go. To play, simply drop the circle in one of the seven columns. A tile will clear when it is in a row or column containing exactly the number of connecting circles as the number of the tile. Sounds confusing, but it's really not. There are 3 modes of play, and 12 special powers that you can choose from to use, which gives Chain Factor a high replay value. Apparently it's also somehow related to the TV show Numb3rs, and there was for a while a whole underground code-cracking game associated with it to unlock the powers (all powers have now been unlocked).

In Sola Rola, you are required to tilt the various maze-like levels back and forth to get two colored balls to their goals at the same time. As usual, there are switches and traps that lend an element of strategy. Do yourself a favor and skip the intro though... it is truly boring and almost turned me off to the game itself before I even started playing!

Boggle enthusiasts will enjoy San-Go. To play, simply move the tiles around to form the greatest number of words horizontally and vertically. However, once you move a tile, you have 3 turns to get it exactly where you want before it locks in! This would be a little bit better if yu could only switch adjacent tiles, but it's still a lot of fun. You can compete for a high score on each puzzle, although there are so many that only the lower-numbered puzzles have much in the way of competition.

Finally, here's two "games" from hamumu.com that are daily, interactive word contests.

For Dumb Words all you have to do is predict the word will be the most common answer. For example, yesterday's question was "What is your favorite type of cheese?" Cheddar was the overwhelming winner with 54 votes, so everyone who guessed Cheddar received 54x2 = 108 points. Second was American with 6 votes, so each person who guessed American receives 6 points (no bonus multiplier for non-winning words). It's like word-association, except you have to (perhaps) ignore what your own mind comes up with and try to get into the minds of the average website visitor.

The second hamumu.com game is T.A.G., which presumably stands for The Acronym Game. The object here is similar to the acronym part of Beyond Balderdash -- come up with a meaning for the given acronym. You're provided a theme to adhere to. Come back the next day to vote on the best submission -- you get as many points as your acronym receives votes, but only if you yourself have voted.

The score for both of these games is your total points for the last thirty days, so it may take a while to crack the leaderboard. But for just a few minutes a day, it provides an immense amount of entertainment.

You may now include me in the subset of people who have eaten poutine.

The version I ordered came with fried onions and bacon.

For the third straight year, I am sending out for free (yes free!) a compilation of songs that happen to make me groove just that much more. As per usual, leave me a comment or send me an email or catapult a caped marmot in my general direction to indicate your interest. I'll get your address from you and you'll be set!

This year, I've decided to be a little more descriptive about the mix than in previous years. Maybe it's for you to start getting excited about it, or maybe I just like to see myself type. I'm stopping short of posting the entire playlist though... you've got to leave some suspense!

The title of the 2007 mix is called My Best Behavior. It doesn't mean a particular lot, other than the fact that I think this is my best mix CD in terms of the overall quality of music. It's also the most obscure. I had never heard of any of the featured artists 5 years ago, and nearly all of the songs have only been made known to me within the past year. They are songs I have collected from listening to stations such as Kansas Public Radio, Pandora Internet Radio, XM Satellite radio, and most particularly, The Current from Minnesota Public Radio. It's heavy on the indie music, but don't let that scare you off! If there's one thing I can't stand, it's indie music for the sake of being indie (Please see Exhibit A) Especially if it's overhyped.

However, I was humbled earlier this year, when I discovered that, despite the massive hype surrounding the band, The Crane Wife by The Decemberists might just in all seriousness be the best album ever recorded. You'll get a taste of it on My Best Behavior -- the epic 3-part "The Island." If you like that song (and I don't know why anyone wouldn't) don't hesitate to buy the full album -- every song is solid, and many are absolutely phenomenal!

Also prominent on My Best Behavior is Sufjan Stevens, from whose song the title of the mix is taken. Besides the Decemberists, Stevens has been the artist most often in my rotation. I've chosen some of his more mellow numbers for the mix CD, ones that don't really highlight his great versatility, so do yourself a favor and check out his other songs.

Other artists you may recognize on the mix: Ozomatli, The Bird and the Bee, Sea Wolf, and if you received last year's mix, Spottiswoode and his Enemies.

haha, no, just kidding. More games. via the usual source

Square Divide -- Shoot the squares. Then shoot them again. And again. Ad (almost) infinitum. Yes, I have beaten the HARD level. But not without a helpful glitch that gave me infinite large bullets :)

Platform -- Get both of your guys to the exit without getting either one killed, and slowly uncover a vast conspiracy! You'll need to make them work together. There are some superbly designed levels in here, and the best part? There's (usually) a new one every week! Although I must say I'm not terribly thrilled with the way they implemented the jetpack in the most recent levels.

Tiles of the Unexpected! -- Mahjong meets one of those click-to-clear-combo games (Bejeweled, for example)! Click groups of similar tiles to clear them, but this time you'll have to clear two stacked levels. Somewhat flawed in that it relies quite a bit on luck when it doesn't necessarily have to, but still a lot of fun to play.

3D Logic 2 -- The sequel to a ripoff of Hyperframe. Use logic to connect all of the colored nodes on the surface of a cube. More fun than it sounds...