Editorial:Casual Web Games

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by user BoxTree

The Casual Web Game (CWG) genre is probably the best-kept secret of avid gaming.

And since I don't like keeping secrets from people who would benefit from the knowledge (without harming anyone else, of course), I figured it was time to write an article.

For those of us who don't have hours on end to devote to our favorite game (like Kohan: Ahriman's Gift, Civ II, or any Lucas Arts Graphic Adventure) but still need to satisfy our gaming bug, CWG's are the perfect solution. Most of them take less than a minute to load, 30 seconds to learn, and will keep you entertained for 15-20 minutes. Occasionally, you'll find a game that really intrigues you and you'll spend a good hour on it. Once in a while, you'll stumble across a game that really shouldn't be called a CWG since it seems to take up more of your time than anything you've played in recent history.

But barring those, it's incredible how fulfilling and exciting a Casual Web Game can be. Personally, I'm a big fan of point-and-click adventures (although sometimes the translations are a little lacking). But I recently played a remake of Galaga, an online version of Whack-a-Mole (with a twist!) and have spent a good deal of my CWG time in "Tower Defense" games. (Basically, you have a limited number of resources which you use to defend your tower against a continuous onslaught of enemies.)

Of course, a lot of CWG's are shoddily made and not worth the 30 seconds it takes for them to stream onto your computer. Fortunately, Jay Bibby at jayisgames.com has taken a lot of the guesswork out of the CWG-search. Also, everything at eyezmaze.com and orisinal.com are exceptional. At those sites, the line between gaming and art is often blurred. And for me, that's a real treat to experience.