Arcade Game Central

Little Shop of Treasures, from Gamehouse, is the latest game in the very popular “hidden objects” genre, where the player attempts to locate objects cleverly concealed in plain sight.

The game is set in a charming little town called Huntington, and you are new to town but dream of opening your own Little Shop of Treasures in a run-down building you’ve purchased. To make you dream come true, you need to earn some money. You have a knack for locating hard-to-find items, and soon go to work at various businesses in town, helping customers locate what they’re looking for. As you earn money, you’re able to fix up your dilapidated building and ultimately open your very own store.

In Little Shop of Treasures, you are shown a scene containing hundreds of different objects, and the particular objects you’re looking for are listed at the bottom of the screen. By closely examining the scene, and clicking on the objects as you find them, you complete the level and progress through the game. But hurry, you only have a limited amount of time to find everything!

Little Shop of Treasures is similar to games such as Mystery Case Files, Hide & Secret, and Travelogue 360: Paris, but with a unique charm all its own.

The game features two great ways to play (”standard” and “blitz” modes), along with an innovative hint feature, and endless re-playability. With over 1,200 unique items to find, contained in 12 intricately detailed scenes, this eye-popping challenge will bend your brain and dazzle your eyes!

More information about Little Shop of Treasures
Download Little Shop of Treasures (24.8MB)

The latest game from Reflexive Entertainment, Monarch: The Butterfly King, has just been released. In the new game, you’ll find yourself immersed in a story of magic and adventure as you attempt to stop an evil wizard intent on destroying the butterfly kingdom.

You’ll journey across majestic Celtic ruins, creating potions and harnessing magic in this enchanting match-three game. As you make matches over metal plates, you’ll release hidden ancient energies that The Butterfly King will transform into magic using his Orb of Power. The Butterfly King will use the power to free the butterflies and save the kingdom.

As you complete levels, and the Butterfly King’s power grows, 26 gorgeous and exotic butterflies will be unlocked from their prisons. As each butterfly is freed, a new piece of the story is revealed. Monarch: The Butterfly King includes 150 levels to play through as you help rescue the kidnapped butterflies and determine the fate of the butterfly kingdom.

In addition to the 150 built-in levels, you can also download additional levels from within the game. You can design your own levels using the built-in level editor, and then share your creations online with the world.

Monarch: The Butterfly King also supports the innovative Mouse Party feature. By using additional mice, up to 8 players can simultaneously play together to save the glade, as players create potions and make matches to help the Butterfly King free his kidnapped friends.

Monarch: The Butterfly King is a exciting adventure through an enchanting world of magic and mystery. If you’ve played Reflexive’s earlier Big Kahuna Reef series, this new game will feel comfortably familiar. The gameplay is very similar, but there is an all-new story, as well as completely new graphics and sound. It’s a solid and satisfying game, and due to the downloadable levels, a game with excellent long-term playability.

More information about Monarch: The Butterfly King
Download Monarch: The Butterfly King (17.2MB)

The first game (Virtual Villagers: A New Home) was quite successful, winning both a huge number of fans, as well as game industry awards such as the “Zeeby” for Best Strategy/Sim of 2006, and the “Best Sim of 2006″ award from GameTunnel.

The follow-up game in the series is now available, and we expect big things from Virtual Villagers 2: The Lost Children, too!

The Virtual Villagers games simulate a small village and allow your to manage and guide the villagers as they live, work, mate and grow. Virtual Villagers is unique among real-time games, in that the little villagers will continue to live, prosper, or die, even if the game is off. The game can only be suspended if set on pause.

The series is set on the fictitious island of Isola, where a lost tribe has landed on its shores. The second chapter continues where the first chapter left off, taking the player on a new journey to the western shores of the island, where you encounter a tribe of lost children and must care for and nurture your new tribe of little people and help them to survive. Your villagers will need to become farmers, builders, scientists, healers and parents. Virtual Villagers: The Lost Children includes all-new puzzles, collectible items, and new challenges to overcome as the player cares for this fledgling tribe and helps them to discover even more secrets of the mysterious island.

• Real-Time: new surprises every time you turn the game on!
• All new puzzles to solve.
• Dozens of unique collectibles for children to retrieve.
• Raise children who resemble their parents.
• Watch your villagers thrive, and then grow old, slow and grey.
• Care for your weak and sick in a tropical hospital.
• Villagers can make a variety of unique stews from hidden herbs, many with strange and unpredictable effects.
• Award your wisest villagers with persistent totems to customize your village.

More information about Virtual Villagers 2: The Lost Children
Download Virtual Villagers 2: The Lost Children (28MB)

With over 500,000 units sold since its launch in 2005, the Luxor franchise is one of the most successful brands ever in casual gaming. And now, MumboJumbo is pleased to announce the launch of Luxor 2, the much-anticipated sequel to the #1 casual game of 2005.

Designed in MumboJumbo’s Dallas studios by the same award-winning team that created the original hit, Luxor 2 sets a new benchmark graphically for casual games with 3D-like visuals, realistic reflections and shadowing, and stunning visual details throughout the game.

Paul Jensen, President of MumboJumbo says, “Luxor 2 offers the same addictive and easy-to-learn, yet difficult-to-master game play which made the award-winning Luxor franchise such a smash hit, but now takes the game to a completely new level, setting a new standard for action-puzzle casual games.”

In Luxor 2, players embark on a beautiful voyage through the land of ancient Egypt. The adventure takes place across 88 all-new, gorgeously rendered levels of brilliantly displayed crisp and stunning graphics set amongst the pyramids and temples of ancient Egypt. Wield the mystical winged scarab to shoot and destroy the approaching magical spheres before they reach the pyramids at the end of their path. And to help shoot down those enemy spheres, Luxor 2 features more explosive power-ups than ever before!

New features include:

• New ranking system lets players work their way from Farm Hand to Pharaoh
• New bonus rounds for added fun and excitement at the end of every stage
• 15 thrilling power-ups including the new Color Cloud, Pharaoh’s Dagger and Lightning Storm
• Four distinct levels of difficulty offer an invigorating challenge for all types of players

MumboJumbo Disclaimer: MumboJumbo takes no responsibility for the many hours of lost productivity that have come to be associated with the Luxor gaming franchise including: missed meetings, ignored emails, projects turned in late, unreachable friends, and the eerie quiet that may invade your workplace because everyone is glued to their computers. It’s just a game… albeit a really addictive, you-can’t-stop-playing type of game…Can over 40 million downloaders really be wrong?

More information about Luxor 2
Download Luxor 2 (17MB)

Winners of the first annual Zeebys award for the best casual games of the 2006 have been announced, following Internet voting, and presentation of the awards at the CGA (Casual Games Association) conference in Amsterdam.

People’s Choice Awards (voted by gamers) were:

• Best Casual Game of the Year: Super Collapse 3
• Best Arcade & Action Game: Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue
• Best Card, Board & Mahjong Game: Slingo Quest
• Best Puzzle Game: Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects
• Best Strategy & Simulation Game: Virtual Villagers
• Best Word & Trivia Game: Bookworm Adventures

Craft Awards (voted by CGA members) were:

• Best Audio: Luxor 2
• Best Visual Arts: Luxor 2
• Best Game Design: Bookworm Adventures
• Best Story/Narrative: Bookworm Adventures
• Best Technology: Travelogue 360: Paris and Virtual Villagers (tie)

Congratulations to the winners, and if you haven’t checked out these games yet, this is a good chance to do so. Who’ll be nominated next year? It’s way too early to tell, of course, but keep and eye out for the best games of 2007, then vote in next year’s Zeebys!

Learn more…