Gamertell

Games are expensive, and with people cutting back, that extra extravagance is one of the first things to be cut out of the budget. Many gamers are searching for free or cheaper game alternatives. That’s where casual games come in.

Casual games are very accessible, available in multiple locations online and many compatible with multiple operating systems. They often offer free demos for players to try, and quite often are affordable.

If you’re interested in testing the waters and perhaps becoming a regular casual game player, take a look at these helpful tips.

Test the demo first!

The absolute first thing you should do if you find a casual game you think you’d be interested in is test the demo. It’s smart for two reasons. First, you’ll be able to see right away if your computer is capable of playing and running the game. Some sites neglect to provide essential system requirement information, and it’d be a shame to pay for something you can’t even play.

Second, you’ll be able to see if you’ll actually enjoy the game. Most casual games demos allow players to sample the game for one hour. That should give you plenty of time to determine if it’s the sort of thing you could see yourself playing and replaying for hours on end. If you don’t like it, you’ll have saved yourself money.

Check out Amazon.com first.

If there’s a game you like, don’t just go and buy it right away. First, check out Amazon.com. The site has a substantial casual game selection and tends to be cheaper than other sites, without requiring buyers to commit to some kind of game club or plan. Which would you prefer, paying $19.95 at a site like Alawar Entertainment or PlayFirst, or $9.99 at Amazon?

Consider a game club membership.

If you know you’re going to be making a lot of purchases, look into one of the major casual game sites’ game clubs or programs. For example, Big Fish Games has the Big Fish Game Club, which lets you get their games for $6.99 and get access to new releases early. That particular site also has a Big Fish Games Toolbar which lets you see a $2.99 daily deal game. PlayFirst has a similar program called PlayPass, which lets you purchase games for $9.95 and get access to games early. GameHouse’s GameHouse Club FunPass also allows members to purchase games at a discount or sample a game for an unlimited amount for free. And those are only a few of the programs available.

Do your research first. Check out what games are already in a site’s catalog before you go investing in any club. See what kind of price discounts are offered. Make sure it’s the kind of plan where you can cancel at any time with no penalties. As long as you’ve done your research, taking advantage of one of these plans can help you get some great discounts.

Don’t overdose on one genre.

Pace yourself. While it’s great to have a favorite genre and kind of game, don’t only purchase and play games from that genre. If you spend too much time playing only hidden object games, your eyes could start feeling strained and you could find yourself bored with them. Then, you may even find yourself ignoring or not enjoying really great hidden object games.

Instead, diversify your casual game library. If time management games are your favorite, by all means get the ones that appeal to you. But perhaps get a match-3, point and click adventure or hidden object game every occasionally to play between time management endeavors. It’ll help keep things from getting stale and make the other games feel fresh.

Backup your games!

Once you start purchasing casual games, finding a way to save and preserve them is crucial. Make sure you back up the install programs to a CD, otherwise there’s a chance you could end up losing it. Make sure you copy any unlocking codes and paste them in a text file, also recording if there’s a limit to how many times it can be installed. Create a CD or DVD with that data backed up. That way, if something happens to your computer, you can still access your game.

And always remember - every Friday Gamertell runs Casual Friday, our casual games update. It details all of the latest releases in the casual game world, offers a brief description of each game, pricing information, system requirements and links to sites you can find them.

Site [Big Fish Games] Site [PlayFirst] Site [GameHouse] Site [eGames] Site [Alawar Games] Site [Amazon] Site [Reflexive Arcade] Site [Harmonic Flow]