Arcade Game Central

What were the best casual games of the 2006? You get to decide by voting on the Zeebys, the casual games industry’s version of the Oscars.

You can vote for the winners of the “People’s Choice” awards for the best games of the year in categories such as arcade games, puzzle games, strategy games, word games, cards games, and the big prize, the Best Casual Game of the Year award.

Nominations were chosen by members of the Casual Games Association (CGA). The nominees for the Best Casual Game of the Year are:

• Bookworm Adventures, PopCap Games
• Cake Mania, Sandlot Studios
• Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue, PlayFirst
• Delicious Deluxe, Zylom
• Lumines II, Q Entertainment
• Luxor 2, Mumbo Jumbo
• Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects, BigFish Games
• Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst, BigFish Games
• Super Collapse 3, GameHouse/RealNetworks
• Virtual Villagers, BigFish Games

CGA members have also chosen, and will vote themselves, for “Craft Awards” in technical categories such as game design, story, graphics, sound, etc. The top overall achievement garners the Craft Achievement of the Year award.

The complete list of nominees and categories is available on the Zeebys web site. Voting is open until the end of January, and winners will be announced on February 8, 2007, at CGA Europe West: Amsterdam.

Vote Now!

Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst is the the third episode in the Mystery Case Files franchise. The two previous episodes, Mystery Case Files: Huntsville and Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects, were two of the biggest sellers of 2005 and 2006, and Ravenhearst is poised to do the same in 2007.

Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst is a classic puzzle game that features a captivating story line, exquisite illustrations and plenty of unique levels and compelling characters

In Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst, players assume the role of a master detective who must unlock the hundred-year-old mystery that surrounds Ravenhearst Manor. The recently acquired diary of Emma Ravenhearst may hold the key to unraveling the history of this unsettling place, yet all the pages are missing. In order to solve the mystery, you’ll need to search 32 rooms, scouring each one for a list of cleverly hidden items, then locate and assemble diary pages to learn the history of the house and, ultimately, unlock the mystery.

The game includes hundreds of items to find, which are new and different each time the game is played. The items are all “hidden in plain sight” in the beautifully-rendered illustrations, but are so carefully camouflaged that they are all but invisible, until you see them, then you won’t be able to understand how you missed them in the first place.

It often takes several minutes of careful study to find all the items on your list, and sometimes the description of an item is deliberately ambiguous. For example, is a “bat” a baseball bat or a winged rodent? It can be frustrating, but it’s also tremendously addictive.

In addition to finding the items hidden in each room, you will occasionally need to solve a puzzle in order to enter a room. These elaborate mechanical puzzles are Rube Goldberg-ish in nature, in which you need to work out the exact sequence of events needed to unlock the door. These cleverly-designed mini-puzzles are great fun.

Once you’ve found enough items, you’ll receive the torn-up pieces of an old photograph, which you’ll need to piece together in order to receive a missing diary page and continue your quest.

Ravenhearst’s graphics are absolutely top-notch, and the game features moody and atmospheric music and sounds that greatly add to the experience of exploring a spooky old mansion. And once you’ve solved the mystery, the game’s not over. You can play again and again, and the game is always fresh, with new items and puzzles galore.

More information about Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst
Download Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst (71.39MB)