I just played all the Dream Chronicles games this weekend--they were pretty good! Myst games are my favorite, along with escape-the-room games, but these were fun brain candy. I liked the later Dream Chronicles games better, when there was more ability to roam around. I can tolerate some amount of hidden-object stuff, but the more variety of puzzles, the better What should I play next?

You might want to try the Mystery Case Files Dire Grove or Return to Ravenhearst,2 great games with lots of Puzzles and Hog scenes

If you liked Myst, then you've got to try the Broken Sword series.

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars was the first point-and-click adventure game that actually made me laugh out loud, often. Great puzzles, very long playing, nice "graphic novel" style graphics, and you can even die, in several places.

Don't worry though, if you die, you just reload your last saved game and start again. Although, if you save often (as every point-and-click adventure gamer knows you should), you'll have far less to repeat.

The voice acting (absolutely do NOT mute the sound) is superb and makes the very amusing dialog even more hilarious. I've played all 4 in the series...1 and 2 are great, 3 less so and 4 kinda took off in a different direction.

I've played the first one at least 25 times, and it still makes me laugh. I'm planning on getting Broken Sword: The Director's Cut which has added gameplay from the original 1996 game and some other things I forget. It's now available for PC, after it was first released for iPhone (didn't bother because we all know how small the iPhone screen is...same reason I didn't get the iPhone version of Myst).

Best bargain for Broken Sword (downloadable or boxed) is the trilogy from Mastertronic...only 9.99 GBP, which is about $15.81 USD. The first one is also available at Steam (original) and GOG (Director's Cut). Plus they're probably available at Amazon or eBay.

Be warned, the original Broken Sword is Win98 only, but just change the compatibility mode for the installer and game executable and you'll be fine.

Thanks cakefordinner, I believe rivenwanderer is looking for casuals. If not, it should be posted in the Adventure game forum.

Ana

Hi, rivenwanderer!

If you haven't already played them, I would recommend "Nightfall Mysteries: Asylum Conspiracy" and "Nightfall Mysteries: Curse of the Opera". Even though they were released in reverse order, "Asylum Conspiracy" is the prequel to "Curse of the Opera". Both have excellent storylines and a good variety of puzzles.

Susan

In addition to Broken Sword, you might also like Nightmare Adventures: A Witch's Prison. Regardless the marketing tag (this one's not an hidden object game), it's a pure point-and-click adventure game (or, interactive puzzle adventure, if you will), chock full of creative and challenging puzzles. Now, whether or not it fits the "casual" category probably depends on your perspective and which of the web definitions you find. It's available at BFG, so maybe it does fit exactly within the forums' definition.

N.B. I still think you'd like Broken Sword, too. After all, one can't have too many games. LOL

I think you'd also like the Enlightenus series and both episodes of Drawn (Hidden Tower and Dark Flight.) I preferred the second episode there. The new Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat in the Dark Tales series also has a lot of puzzle. You might also check out any of the Nancy Drew Dossier offerings, as these are Adventure Lites rather than Hidden Object.

In a more humorous vein, I liked Royal Trouble a lot, along with Eden's Quest: The Hunt for Akua, Anka, and PuzzleBots.

All of these are available on BFG.

Another series in which I really liked the second volume even more than the first is The Clockwork Man, but BFG doesn't have those, unfortunately. I buy almost exclusively from BFG.

However, the developer does still have a special on here: http://www.total-eclipse.gr/en/tcm1-2-bundle-special-promotion/ and they do have free hour trials.

These games all have hidden objects, but the emphasis is more on puzzle solving. (I'm spoiled and I don't even like straight hidden object games anymore. ) Hope these suggestions help.

These sound great, I'll have to check them out! Pure hidden object games don't really appeal to me, but it seems like a fun thing to have along with puzzles. The Hidden Tower is probably the next thing I'll try.

Rivenwanderer I also love the Dream Chronicle games. I only have the first two games and am waiting for the 3rd to come out on DVD so I can buy it. Love the Myst series too! Enjoy The Hidden Tower!

Like you, I'm a Myst fan. I love to explore (which you tend not to get much of in Casual games) and I like challenging puzzles. Some casual games I really liked - Green Moon, Dr. Lynch Grave Secrets, The Fall trilogy, the 2 Alabama Smith games, and all the Mystery Case File games.