I loved Shiver: Poltergeist. I have played it twice and will probably play it again at some point.

I thought the same thing when I finished it today. Such a large game, so much to do, to figure out.

I have Shiver: Poltergeist on disc also. Another one I haven't played yet.

It almost seems like I am having less time to play lately even though I am not doing anything more than I was before. Reading here about all these good sounding games that I have but have not played is making me crazy. I will never be able to play them all.

Oldbroad, I felt the same way. The end of March last year I started keeping a list of casual games as I played and finished them and that has made me feel a lot better. Looking at the list, I am now up to #100. This helps me feel like I have actually put a dent in my unplayed-games pile.

You must have SO many, Marian. You are on top of all the Casual games. I have no "unplayed" games. When I buy one, I play it immediately.

Yes, Reenie, I have enough casual games to sink the Titanic. I have been buying games from Big Fish for nearly 15 years now.

I have games I bought years ago (and of all genres, not just Casuals) that I haven't yet played.

But even so I will still opt to re-play a favourite

Marian, since 2018 I've been having lists of games played, casual and adventure, and whether they are first time plays or replays. It went from 64 in 2018, to 96 in 2019, and back down to 64 in 2020. Not sure why though.

Those are combined totals, adventure and casual. I do have them broken down on my lists. Casuals go 29, 43, 39.

I just finished the latest Labyrinths of the World game, "Eternal Winter." I have played more than a dozen of the games in this series, with quite different reactions to each. Some have been good and there are two that I marked for possible Replay. A few that I bought and played fall in the middle range of quality, while some have been so uninspired that I bailed on the Demo.

I bought this last one without playing the Demo, and it ranks among the worst. Everything was wrong with it. Shallow characters, Disney-cartoon-type art work overburdened with saturated and completely unrealistic color rendering, all that multi-colored smoke obscuring each scene (does this save them from having to execute better art?), mini-games that were childishly easy (I played on the "Hard" setting) and/or nonsensical, no real story line.

In looking at my spreadsheet, only the LOTW games that were a couple of years old even got "Good" ratings. This is the first game in a very long time that I contemplated just bailing out of and unloading from my computer. I couldn't wait for it to end. It seems they have lost their way, and if they can't invest more effort into their games than this, I won't be drawn to future offers in this series. In fact, I'm going to take a jaded look at any games issued by Domini. Just my view. Others' may differ.

I appreciate your opinions on the game, Reenie. I haven't played it yet, but I probably will. Just not sure when.

Well, we can't love them all!

Tonight, I reloaded Brink of Consciousness: Dorian Gray Syndrome, another of the old games I bought in CDs. It is compelling and adult. Amazing complexity, great attention to detail, excellent artwork, creative ideas and pesky, unusual puzzles that make you work. This is what captured my attention in casual games. I have really missed it in the contemporary HOA games.

Dorian Gray Syndrome is another one of the great games, for sure! I think I am probably overdue for a replay on that one.

Just finished the second Darkness and Flame (Missing Memories) - thanks again to Marian. 5BN quality all the way. They understand when they get it right, stick with it. Certain facets of the games get predictable, but that is absolutely no problem. I am still thoroughly enjoying their series.

When I started the first one, Born of Fire, I was somewhat unimpressed - and went on to play another game in the meantime; but came back for a second chance; glad I did!

I am so glad you are enjoying this series too, Tally Ho!

Agreed that is a decent series. I've played four of them, and found Enemy in Reflection to be the best so far. Natural atmosphere, adult protagonist, fine graphics and creative (original) puzzles.

Mad, I had to look at BF to see when I joined. 2013. Prior to that, I bought their games in CD format from local retailers. It doesn't state at BF how many games I've bought from their web site, but I have over 600 games in my Excel database. There was a period of an entire year when I was recovering from a bad accident and spent most of my time in bed. Lots of reading and playing time.

My hubster reminded me that I had joined Big Fish a few years earlier but bailed out after a few years because I wasn't playing enough to warrant the monthly dues. A year later, I signed up again, but not for the monthly "dues." Not important, just wanted to be accurate.

I made it through Level 99 and then got kicked back to Level 52 (in my Match 3 game). Am back now at Level 71 with 6 lives and all my power ups. It does get a little easier when you repeat it over and over but my arm is killing me!

I finished Dream Chronicles 3 a few days ago and am in the bonus chapter of Living Legends. Still playing Amazing Adventures and also Mystery PI: The Lottery Ticket, another straight HOG. I don't usually play 2 straight HOGs at one time but thought I read the The Lottery Ticket used Flash so I took a look. Apparently it doesn't and I started playing it.

One of these days I'll get back to the Amaranthine Voyage series.

Well, I just finished Living Legends: The Crystal Tear. Just a so-so game IMO. I seem to remember liking the other games in the series much more. I truly didn't understand the story (which is me, I'm sure). There are some different puzzles but nothing I particularly liked. Most of the puzzles were pretty simple. The hardest puzzles were in the bonus chapter.

Old Broad, your determination with that Match3 game is admirable. I hope you get all the way soon!

I haven't tried Crystal Tear yet, so thanks for the heads up. Yeah, that Living Legends series is pretty uneven. I thought Bound by Wishes and Uninvited Guests were the two good ones. Have you played them?

Thanks Reenie. I just can't let the game go.

Yes, I've played all of the Living Legends games but it's been a long while and I don't really remember much about them except the music that is the same in all of them. I do seem to think I liked them all though. You might like Crystal Tear, I don't know, but it didn't quite do it for me. I seem to be in a gaming slump right now though. Sometimes my mood affects my gaming and sometimes the gaming affects my mood so...

"I made it through Level 99 and then got kicked back to Level 52 (in my Match 3 game). Am back now at Level 71 with 6 lives and all my power ups. It does get a little easier when you repeat it over and over smashpc but my arm is killing me! "

oldbroad, I'm still speechless !!!!

And Reenie ....
I bought my first game from Big Fish at the beginning of June, 2010.
Prior to that I had only dabbled very spasmodically with casual type games and they were all on disks

Same here, Mad. I was into adventure gaming in the beginning Myst, the Zorks, Gabriel Knight, you name it. I'll still buy a modern adventure game if it doesn't involve combat.

I never liked any arcade-platform games that are all about speed and reflexes (Asteroids, Tetris not to mention combat. As for Casuals, I thought they were for kids. I don't remember how I finally played a Casual, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Since then, I've played about one per week. I always have one loaded, to fill up the corners on my day, so to speak. I do prefer casuals with "substance" over ones that are just a series of Find-the-Object scenes, loosely tacked together with a weak story line.

Hi everyone, I'm playing the bonus chapter in Amaranthine Voyage: Legacy of the Guardians. Oldbroad, I love that series.

Mary

Nice to see you here, Mary, and thank you for the recommendation!

I'll be starting Amaranthing Voyage: The Orb of Purity soon. (If I can ever stay away from the Match 3 game that AGAIN sent me back to 52 from 99. I just can't get 100!)

It takes a lot of fortitude (and possibly also masochism) to keep trying after that, oldbroad.