Arcade Game Central

Reflexive Arcade is excited to celebrate their 9th anniversary on October 15th!

As a way of saying thank you, Reflexive is handing out the coolest party favor ever: a totally free game!

Until November 15th, you can freely download the full version of Ricochet Xtreme, one of their most popular games, and a long-time favorite of gamers everywhere.

To get your free game, just sign-up as a Reflexive Member (it’s free!) and Ricochet Xtreme will be yours to enjoy now and forever more! Or, if you are already a Member, just request your activation code at via the link below!

Get your free game now!

After an intense 12-hour competition, Kavitha Yalavarthi of Odessa, TX emerged the champion of FUN Technologies’ first-ever WorldWide Web Games (W3Games) and winner of the million-dollar grand prize. Yalavarthi outlasted 70 of the world’s top casual gamers, who made the trip to Hollywood for a chance to be named the “World’s Best Casual Gamer.”

The head-to-head event, hosted by Todd Newton (“WHAMMY”, “Game$how Marathon,” “Made in the USA”), and produced by Base Camp Films, took place on September 9th and will air on GSN (Game Show Network) in December 2006. The competition consisted of six rounds of strategic game play in three of the most popular casual games, Bejeweled 2, Solitaire and Zuma. Gaining top rankings early on,
Yalavarthi established herself as the competitor to beat.

Yalavarthi, an aspiring law student and honors graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, got her start playing casual games by challenging her mother to friendly competitions online. She plans to use her winnings to purchase her first home with her new fiance, who accompanied her to the competition.

Shortly after winning the million-dollar prize, Yalavarthi woke her parents with a late-night call to break the news. “Mom, Dad, you know those casual games that I play online?” Yalavarthi asked. “Well, they’re not so casual anymore. I just won the $1 million grand prize.”

Each participant in the W3Games qualified by playing online tournaments at FUN Technologies’ casual games sites, WorldWinner and SkillJam, or at any of FUN’s partner sites including GSN.com, MSN Games and Real Networks. The 71 contestants, ranging in age from 20 to 63, represented six countries and 22 U.S. states.

“Yesterday’s competition elevated skill games to a new level,” said Lorne Abony, CEO, FUN Technologies. “For the first time, online casual gamers faced off in a live event that culminated with the largest prize ever awarded in a skill games championship.”

Yalavarthi won by the narrowest of margins, defeating Amy Demerath of Green Bay, Wis. Speaking of her future plans, Yalavarthi commented, “I just got engaged two weeks ago. I have no idea what I’m going to do next. Life is unbelievable. Life is good.”

Source: FUN Technologies Awards Million-Dollar Grand Prize to First-Ever Worldwide Web Games Champion.

Virtual Villagers, a simulation game where where you care for and nurture a tribe of little people by teaching them the basics of survival on a tropical island, has turned into a quite popular download, both here at Arcade Game Central and at gaming sites across the web.

And as with any game of any depth that becomes popular, online guides and walkthru’s have appeared to help players make the most of the game. Last Day of Work, publisher of the game, has produced a Virtual Villagers Strategy and Puzzle Guide, and Gamezebo offers Virtual Villagers Tips & Tricks and Virtual Villagers Beginner’s Walkthrough.

Courtney Marchelletta from About.com has written a Virtual Villagers Review, as has Jay Is Games, which includes an excellent discussion of the game in the comments. Reflexive Arcade users also offer their opinions of the game.

Learn more about Virtual Villagers.

Macrovision, which runs the TryGames game digital distribution portal, recently conducted a worldwide survey that focussed on the playing habits of casual gamers. The survey participants included nearly 800 gamers who have played casual games through TryGames.

The survey revealed that many casual gamers play more than nine, two or more hour ‘sessions’ each week. Also, casual gameplay happens most often at night as opposed to during commute hours or other ‘quick break’ times during the day.

“Our survey has determined that mainstream audiences dedicate a substantial amount of time to gameplay - not just in 15-minute increments as previously thought,” said Loren Hillberg, executive vice president and general manager of Commerce at Macrovision.

Other findings from the survey:

• 71% are female, 29% are male
• 37% play 9 or more game ‘sessions’ per week, 66% say each ‘session’ typically lasts for at least one hour, 31% spend more than two hours in each gameplay ‘session’
• 73% of the participants play at night, and 55% play on weekends
• The most popular game genres are puzzles (67%), card games (44%), strategy games (35%), and action games (34%)
• 67% read game reviews, and 46% of those who do feel subsequently try or purchase the reviewed game
• 70% have purchased a game after first playing the free trial

Though the games may be casual, it seems that the gamers themselves take their fun very seriously.

Source: Survey Reveals Casual Gamers Are Not So Casual.

Puzzle Express, a train-themed tetris-like puzzle game that challenges you to fit puzzle pieces into train cars, has won the Gamepuzzles Annual Pentomino Excellence award from Kadon Enterprises. Kadon presents this annual award to to an individual or organization that published the best new pentomino or polyomino challenge of the year.

Puzzle Express, as well as its sequel, Ocean Express, is a non-violent game suitable for all ages. It features two modes of play, as well as a unique feature lets you add your own photos and they will appear on the train cars as you fill them with puzzle pieces.

You’ll need to grab the colorful puzzle pieces and place them together to fill up the train cars. The more you fill up the car, the more of the picture you get to see. Fill up the entire train and send it to the next city for a new batch of pictures! New pictures are downloaded automatically so you may never see the same picture twice! Plus, you can even add your favorite photos right into the game!

Puzzle Express is available for both Windows and Macintosh computers.

More information about Puzzle Express
Download Puzzle Express (7.14MB)