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Best simple-mechanics, casual games of the last decade
Ramius
Joined: July 19, 2000Administrator, ClubPA admin
Joined: July 19, 2000Administrator, ClubPA admin
Yes, I know poll threads don't belong here. Yes, this is an abuse of power.
But with that out of the way, I'm trying to put together a list of the best casual, simple-mechanics games of the last 10 years, and I feel like I'm coming up way short on contenders, so I'd like to survey the crowd here for ideas.
When I say "best", what I really mean is games that have wide appeal (played by children, adults and grandparents) and game designs that are widely emulated or copied to produce "knock-offs" of the original. Sometimes, if a game is itself a knock-off, but is the breakout game of that game type, then I think that is the one to list. For instance, I have a feeling Angry Birds is copying some earlier games to a large degree, but every game of that type from here on out will be compared to Angry Birds, not to its predecessors, so that makes it the current "authoritative version" of that game mechanic.
When I say "simple mechanics" I mean to exclude things like Farmville, Mafia Wars, Cake Mania, etc.
On my list so far:
So like I said - this list is too short. What ideas spring to mind for you?
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Editing in some suggestions from the responses below.
But with that out of the way, I'm trying to put together a list of the best casual, simple-mechanics games of the last 10 years, and I feel like I'm coming up way short on contenders, so I'd like to survey the crowd here for ideas.
When I say "best", what I really mean is games that have wide appeal (played by children, adults and grandparents) and game designs that are widely emulated or copied to produce "knock-offs" of the original. Sometimes, if a game is itself a knock-off, but is the breakout game of that game type, then I think that is the one to list. For instance, I have a feeling Angry Birds is copying some earlier games to a large degree, but every game of that type from here on out will be compared to Angry Birds, not to its predecessors, so that makes it the current "authoritative version" of that game mechanic.
When I say "simple mechanics" I mean to exclude things like Farmville, Mafia Wars, Cake Mania, etc.
On my list so far:
- Zuma
- Peggle
- Angry Birds
- Bubble Breaker (I mean this: http://www.bubblebreaker.org/ but I think this is a knock-off. I have no idea who makes the authoritative version of this game)
- Bubble Shooter (like this: http://www.mybubbleshooter.com/ again I don't know who gets credit for authoritative version)
- Dust (not sure this one meets the criteria, but my son and nephews have spent so many hours playing this game I felt it warranted including)
- Bejeweled
- Here's a thought - do games like Jewel Quest and 7 Wonders count as a separate game from Bejeweled, or are they knock-offs?
- Mahjongg (not sure if I can include this one, and then exclude other ancient classics like pac-man, centipede, breakout, frogger, etc. - or maybe those all should also be included on the list. What do you think?)
So like I said - this list is too short. What ideas spring to mind for you?
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Editing in some suggestions from the responses below.
- Tiny Wings - yes, definitely the type of game I had in mind.
- Geometry Wars - yeah, seems to fit
- Wii Sports, Brain Age - borderline from the perspective of "simple mechanics" and "of the last decade", but worth writing down as "maybes"
- Tap Tap Revenge - Tricky because it is tied to touch platforms only, and to a degree it is copying the Guitar Hero formula, not sure if I'll keep this one on the list or not.
- [strike]Infinity Blade[/strike] - nope, doesn't meet the "simple mechanics" requirement.
Ramius on
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Agreed. Would Plants vs Zombies be the authoritative game of this type, then? And if so, then is this list skewing too heavily into the Popcap game library? Or would that just be appropriate seeing as they are a $100 million-plus casual games developer?
Reading comprehension ftw.
I looked through that bloody list twice and didn't see it.
I'm going to bed.
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Not played by children, adults and grandparents though.
I'm going to go ahead and toss Wii Sports out there.
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I haven't played it, but from what I understand of it I would consider it too complex to be called a "simple mechanics" game. I couldn't possibly include Infinity Blade and then go on to exclude Cake Mania, and then I'd also feel like I'm starting to slide down the slippery slope toward including Farmville, and I know that's not where I mean to end up with this list.
Much simpler than DDR and spawned a bunch of similar games.
Likewise for the individual games/activities in Brain Age. Actually, Brain Age probably qualifies more for the fact that it was the first Western video game to feature Sudoku.
Also, The Incident. Can't get much more simple on controls, but man is that game addictive and fun.
Simple, beautiful, elegant... I can't praise the design enough. A masterpiece IMO.
aka Grillaface
Picross or Pictross 3d would be way up there on my simple to play list.
World of Goo might also be a contender for the list.
And yeah, I'd say World of Goo should be a good contender.
You throw blocks at other blocks, by moving your arm in a throwing motion. And the game iterates on this simple premise with a variety of win conditions.
I've played games of Boom Blox with people from four different generations together.
Wife suggested: Rainbow Stars.
Also, stranger still: Robot Unicorn Attack.
And a genre I know of, but don't know what to cite as the first game: "Possibly Upgradeable Object sure does fly far," Penguin Launcher, Nanaca Crash, etc. (nevermind, Learn to Fly seems to have this covered, never heard of that specific one).
I was trying to come up with the definitive game for that too - but I second that this genre deserves a representative on the list.
Also, Majong is completely different from Majong Solitaire. (It's like saying Bridge when you mean Freecell.) And both are far older than 10 years.
I agree - there are a lot of decent contenders in this genre. The one I personally have played most would be the Yeti Sports "Albatross Overload" game. My kids like "Learning to Fly". I think this has been done well several times without ever having a million-dollar breakout implementation.
I think as of right now Plants vs Zombies fits the criteria of the OP best.
I second this. The iStore is filled with infinite runners but Canabalt is the only contender for a big name success that I can think of.
WiiU: JamWarrior
Hrm. I like Canabalt, but I'm thinking that for every 1 person who likes it there's got to be a hundred who would play it 3 times, find it too frustrating, and quit. I'm not sure it meets the wide-appeal criteria.
That's what I was thinking.
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I think Canabalt still might work for the list though, because as the breakthrough game it's spawned tons of clones, some of which are easier or more forgiving, or just plain awesome (like robot unicorn attack).
Do you want to consider things that require a specific peripheral, like DDR or Donkey Kong jungle beat?
Edit: What do you want to use the list for? That might help us target our answers better.
Edit edit: Maybe Texttwist?
3clipse: The key to any successful marriage is a good mid-game transition.
Yeah, I forgot that while stuff is simple to do, you have to make house payments and stuff. Lot's of people could find that a bummer.
Ok. So how about Minecraft Classic. The browser based one that's just building stuff with simple blocks, no crafting or ssssssssssssssss...
ninja edit: It also has the distinction of being free.