"Casual game" is a popular term with gamers and developers alike, but what does it mean? An exact definition is slippery to pin down, but "casual games" generally refer to highly accessible titles that require little instruction or introduction to play. Casual titles usually designed to be a quick and satisfying play. Tetris is a prime example of a casual game.
Much like the iPhone, the Nintendo DSi features a large library of casual games. Here are nine games you should download for your Nintendo DSi casual fix.
Need info about ESRB ratings? Visit Understanding ESRB Ratings.
Much like the iPhone, the Nintendo DSi features a large library of casual games. Here are nine games you should download for your Nintendo DSi casual fix.
Need info about ESRB ratings? Visit Understanding ESRB Ratings.
Dr. Mario Express
Image © Nintendo
(Rated E, 500 Nintendo DSi Points): When Mario's not plumbing pipes or rescuing princesses, he dresses up in a lab coat and eliminates virii with colored pills in the Dr. Mario games. Has anyone asked to see his license? It's probably not a good idea to see Dr. Mario for a heart transplant, but Dr. Mario Express delivers the insanely addictive gameplay of Dr. Mario to the Nintendo DSi. One drawback: No multiplayer option.
Brain Age Express: Math
Image © Nintendo
(Rated E, 800 Nintendo DSi Points): Brain Age Express: Math offers numerical exercises that'll freshen up your math skills. The puzzles hearken to the famous Brain Age titles that helped make the Nintendo DS a household name--but despite the familiarity of the brainteasers in Brain Age Express: Math, most of the puzzles are new. Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters and Brain Age Express: Sudoku, sold separately for 800 Nintendo DSi Points, is also an excellent refresher in the language arts.
Bird and Beans
Image © Nintendo
(Rated E, 200 Nintendo DSi Points): No, not "Birds and Bees." It's Bird and Beans, a retooling of a minigame called Pyoro that was unlockable in the first WarioWare title for the Game Boy Advance. In Bird and Beans, you must guide your odd little bird/frog hybrid and help him seize falling beans with his tongue, which can only flip out at a 45-degree angle. In an alternate play mode, your bird-frog friend shoots down beans by spitting seeds. It's odd, but a cheap buy and maddeningly addictive.
Puzzle League Express
Image © Nintendo
(Rated E, 500 Nintendo DSi Points): On the topic of maddeningly addictive, we have Puzzle League Express for the puzzle fanatic who craves Planet Puzzle League's block-sliding action without bells or whistles. For 500 Nintendo DSi Points, you have access to the core gameplay that makes Planet Puzzle League so popular amongst enthusiasts, but you'll have to do without a multiplayer function.
Flipnote Studio
Image © Nintendo
(No Rating, Free Download): Flipnote Studio isn't a "game," technically, but it's a necessity for anyone who needs the smallest excuse to doodle and then animate funny faces, or dogs running in circles. Thanks to a free download and an interface that's easy to understand, anyone can animate flip-notes, add music, and share their masterpiece (or mess) online.
Bomberman Blitz
Image © Hudson Soft
(Rated E, 500 Nintendo DSi Points): Bomberman has been a wildly popular series since 1983, and when you sample its maze-crawling rival-blasting gameplay for the first time, you'll know why. Bomberman Blitz is a good introduction to good times with Bomberman, which involves strategically laying down bombs in your enemy's path and catching him or her in the explosion. Bomberman can--and should--be played with up to eight players in a local setting (every player requires a copy), and up to four players over a WiFi connection (ditto).
Oregon Trail
Image © Gameloft
(Rated E10+, 800 Nintendo DSi Points): Chances are good you played the original Oregon Trail for the Apple ][ when the world was new. A modified version of the game is available on DSiWare, and well worth a second trip. The trail to Oregon is still dangerous (and riddled with dysentery jokes), but thanks to upgraded graphics, all-new minigames, and plenty of humor, the journey feels fresh.
BeJeweled Twist
Image © PopCap
(Rated E, 500 Nintendo DSi Points): BeJeweled, PopCap's hugely popular jewel-matching puzzle game, has forced more than one employer to block the timesink from company computers. But thanks to the Nintendo DSi, you can download a slightly smaller version of the game and sneak in a few rounds in between handing in your TPS Reports.
Bookworm
Image © PopCap
(Rated E, 500 Nintendo DSi Points): Bookworm is another classic casual game from PopCap, but instead of linking colored jeweled or blocks, you must link up letters to form words and feed Lex, the adorable bookworm. Bookworm is a great way to have fun and exercise your headspace at the same time.
