Flo is back in a new game and it’s not a Dash sim play. Imagine that! If you know about the Dash Diner series of Mac games, you’ll know that Flo is the one who saves the day usually from big business and helps her friends get started in new professions. Each game in the series is a very similar sim play where you drag diners or guests to a table, take their order, get paid and clean up. This is usually done in a frenzy manner because the customers are all hotheads and will leave in a huff if you do not serve them in a timely manner. It’s usually a fun play. Avenue Flo is a completely new type of play. Yay! When you have enjoyed more than half a dozen Flo Dash games, you want a change of pace.

Avenue Flo is somewhat a sim play where you take Flo throughout Diner Town talking to individuals who may need her assistance in one way or another. Flo leaves her Grandma and Cookie alone at the diner so she can go and help her friend Quinn the wedding coordinator. She needs Flo’s help because the big wedding she is putting on this week is going wrong and she needs Flo’s assistance. Flo needs to find the $50,000 wedding rings and find out who is causing all the problems for Quinn.

The play takes Flo down the streets of the town looking for answers, butterflies, dog, and empty plastic bottles. When you collect 15 bottles you can take it to the recycling vending machine and receive a token. You’ll need tokens later in order to take the subway to other parts of this metropolis. Flo can go in and out of the shops talking to the proprietors and helping them if they request it. This will take you to many side puzzles you can solve in order to move on in the game. 2 of the games are string the beads in a pattern and packing pet supplies to ship out. These side games are fine, but when you have to complete 3 puzzles (not difficult) at a time and there’s no skip button, it slows your play a little. I would rather roam the town looking for clues.

This game is interesting since now you get to see all the places you played in the Dash games, take a subway to other parts and meet old friends you know from previous plays. It has hidden objects, logic puzzles and a funny story. Find who is responsible for creating all the havoc in Diner Town. Is it Bernie the bookworm, the pizza guy or the ex boyfriend to the bride? The only way you’ll find the answers is to hoof it through Diner Town.

Features of Avenue Flo:
-In-scene Mini Games
-Talk to Diner Town Residents
-Explore Diner Town

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Galcon is a Mac game based loosely on Galactic Conquest, and is an exciting and challenging a play as any. Send your swarm of spaceships to other planets and conquer them. A risk game without countries but entire planets instead. How much fun is that to control many other orbs in the universe? The king of the galaxy!

The play is to send spaceships from your green (looks a lot like earth) planet to the other orbs (red, your enemies and gray, neutral planets) to conquer and take over outer space. To send your ships out left click on your planet and then right click on the planet you want to attack or drag and drop the cursor. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. You must also deal with the attacks from your enemy planets. They can take over your planets as well.

A possible help could be from changing the percentage of your fleet you are sending out to attack. This can be done by the number keys or the mouse wheel. The % can be viewed on the lower right side of the screen. The % and which planet you attack is very important strategy to acquire in order to win this game. Another good help to use is re-directing your swarm of ships when you need to have them go to another location. It may be going the wrong way for the most effective attack, and to re-route, you click on the fleet and then click where you want to change their course.

Another interesting move is the multi attacks. To activate an attack from multiple planets you drag a box around the orbs to select, then right click on the planet you want to send the fleet. Also you can reinforce your own planets by sending a fleet there. Since you cannot see how large a fleet your enemy (red) has, you need to try to take over the larger planets first, because they have a higher production level than the little planets.

The game allows for single player and multi player modes. The Classic play is you against the computer. The Beast is with you controlling only 2 planets, and in the Vacuum your goal is to get all the neutral planets before your time runs out. A different play is the 3-Way where it is a 3 player game, and one player will pick sides for a while, usually against the strongest planets. The difficulty comes in when this player attacks you when he gets a chance. The Stealth play is when you cannot see each other's ships until it is too late and you are captured. If all these plays are not exciting enough for you, try the Net which will bring a whole new level of action from the players online.

Galcon is such an exciting and action-packed, fast-paced play, not just from the actual game but also you get the same level of feeling with the great graphics (although simple orbs and triangular spaceships) deep, astro colors and the appropriate sound effects. What more can you ask for in a game? The smart play and intense strategy combined with your quick and nimble moves, that’s what! It’s easy to learn through the step-by-step tutorial and each game is so fast you automatically must play more so you can conquer the galaxy and rule the universe in this ultimate arcade, space strategy game.

Features of Galcon:
-Single or Multi Players
-Different Types of Play
-Action and Excitement
-Attack Online Players

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

A graphically beautiful Mac game The Great Tree is different from the usual arcade play. If you can say a game is elegant, this is the one, even the creepy bugs have an air about them.

This is a story about the Great Tree that is the source of strength and magic for a group of fairies. The tree must be supplied pollen from the Smees, who collect the yellow substance inadvertently on their legs, nesting in the Great Tree. For some dark reason the colony of Smees have been decreasing and the tree has not been supplied with sufficient pollen causing havoc in the fairy world. This scare caused the fairies to split into 2 clans. The Wren who grew sapling from the tree and survived, and the Ixies who went looking for magic and found dark forces that turned them into horrific, tormented creatures full of hate towards the Wren. The only person who can help the Wren survive is one of their 1000 year old child – you. Your job is to collect pollen floating through the air and take it back to the transient star in the middle of the screen, which in turn, will take it to the Great Tree.

The play is simple. You fly around collecting a string of pollen and get it back to the shining orb without encountering any of the flying insects. If you should run into the insects all your pollen will be scattered, and you will have to start all over again collecting the specks. The longer the string of pollen the more points you will garner, and eventually you will be able to purchase powers like health, strength, agility and magic. In addition to all that there are power-ups like the deep freeze where it will freeze all the flying insects giving you time to collect, and the extra that will attract all the pollen to you. In addition to the insects, frogs, Venus flytrap, and other obstacles you need to free the Smees from their bubble prison.

This game is quite fun to play, easy to pick up and entertaining for everyone. It wasn’t frantic but you must work at collecting all the pollen, avoid the flying bugs and free the Smees. The best part of The Great Tree is the extraordinarily gorgeous artwork.

Features of The Great Tree:
-Save the Wrens from the Ixies
-10 Environments
-Insects and Creatures
-Power-Ups

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Story: Jessica is home from LA and overhears her Aunt Margaret talking about hers and Uncle Fred’s woes about their failing bakery. Bright-eyed, ever ready Jessica suggests updating the bakery concept and start a cupcake café to bring in the customers and also make a profit. Aunt Margaret is thrilled with the idea since all the buzz is about cupcakes (even Martha Stewart devoted a week to cupcake making on her top-rated TV show, and everyone knows Martha can turn a profit). However, Auntie M is astute enough to know that a conversion of the shop will take a lot of work and assistance, so she asks Jessica to lend a hand to get things started.

There will always be a need for your typical neighborhood bakery making breads, birthday cakes and cookies or even the fancy French patisserie with their, oh so decadent, ganache frostings and croissants, but the latest craze in bakeries is the cupcake shops that are everywhere nowadays. My favorite cupcake shop is Magnolia in New York City, and I hear Vanilla in LA is quite good. I’ll have to check it out next time I’m in town. Jessica’s Cupcake Café is an updated sim play like Ice Cream Craze and Mystic Emporium.

The Play: Making cupcakes appears to be a straightforward, easy play or it it? The play is to click on the type of cake your customer wishes to buy (this is shown to you with the number of cupcakes in a bubble next to the client). The highly innovative machine will place the correct amount of batter into the baking sheet, you click on the pan, click on the oven to bake, wait, click on the baked cupcakes, click on the counter, click on the requested frosting, click on the completed tube of frosting, click on the tray of cakes to frost after completion click to pick up the pan, click on the customer and finally on the cash register to collect the money. These are a lot of steps to maneuver, but once you get into the groove, everything will flow nicely. However, in these plays there are always things that may slow your play down such as a decoration candy piece to top the cupcake. It can be a bear, daisy, heart or sun. The customer may request a special order causing you to throw out a batch of cupcakes or frosting.

However the game will always give you great upgrades to help you increase your speed to beat the level. You may get additional stoves, more icing machines and candy makers. Another added plus is you can design your own cupcakes to sell to your clients. Don’t worry about the extra cupcakes since they will be sold at a bake sale in a side mini game. Your goal is to sell as many cupcakes as possible in a limited time.

Jessica’s Cupcake Café, although similar to many of the sim plays, is an entertaining Mac game for everyone. In addition you will unlock many great cupcake recipes to try out and enjoy. The graphics is good and the music will keep you in sync with quick speed to meet your goals.

Features of Jessica’s Cupcake Café:
-Run a Cupcake Café
-Design Your Own Cupcakes
-42 Levels in 9 Locations
-Cupcake Recipes

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Nanny is on vacation when she reads about Sofia Ashford, movie star, and terrible mother in the gossip rags. She decides to help her and goes to Hollywood to start her new employment. Nanny’s motto is whatever the problem, begin by caring.

This Mac sim game is played by clearing one room at a time. The object is to click on the red framed items for Nanny to clean and clear. The clothes spewed throughout the house must be picked up, taken to the washer to wash, then click on the dryer and finally click to pick up the basket of clothes, and click on the dresser to put away the items.

There are only 3 people who reside in this house: Sydney the baby, Lucas the 3rd husband, and Sofia the movie star. They are probably the messiest people in the world who need a lot of attention, especially the baby. When the baby cries above the crib will show you what it needs. If you see a diaper, you click on the crib for Nanny to change the baby, then click on the dirty bundle next to the bed and then click on a trash bin to throw it out. If you see a a bottle above the crib, the baby is hungry, and you click on the small refrigerator in the nursery, then click on the bottle warmer, then again on the bottle to pick up and click one more time on the crib to feed the baby.

It’s hectic just writing about it. See how frantic it gets in the first few levels, and remember, the levels are timed so you must hustle. In between the levels you can go to the store to buy anything that is unlocked, you have the money for it, and you need to make your work easier.

Nanny Mania is like Baby Sitting Mania with a few more perks like the shop, more people and a little story to get to know the messy slobs to make it a little more personal. Sim plays are not my thing, but this one has a few more activities than a lot of the games out there. Try it out for a little work out in this play.

Features of Nanny Mania Goes To Hollywood:
-Help Celebrity Family
-Sequel to Nanny Mania
-Time Outs, Pets and More

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

It seems like there are a lot of new and different match 3 games lately. Hey, I’m not complaining. In fact I’m happy about it after going through a whole slew of hidden object plays. Mac game Geisha – The Secret Garden is one of those new types of match 3 games. It took me awhile before I got used to the play, but it was well worth the effort to learn this new game.

Natsumi a geisha will guide you through 4 seasons of play while you create a beautiful zen garden. The game play is different from any match 3 I have come across. In order to make matches of 3 or more like items, you slide the mahjong like tiles horizontally and cannot move up and down. As a match 3 player this is frustrating at first because you feel like your hands are tied, but you learn to think differently and play this unique and fun game in just a few short levels. In addition to making the matches either vertically or horizontally, there are goals you must meet to complete a level. They are located at the bottom right of the screen. You can also slide a tile across more than one tile. The tiles also replenish slowly moving up the board and not down. You must keep making matches so the tiles do not reach the top of the screen. If there is a gap or empty space a tile can fall down the open slot.

There’s plenty of time to strategize your next move even with the timed mode, but if you want to really relax, try the untimed. Some levels will throw blocks like snow, ice and stone at you and will not let you slide your tiles. Most of the time you have to make matches below these blocks and cause them to break apart so you can continue with your sliding, but snow is different you must click on it several times to make it melt away. When you create a chain of 3 or more you create magic and produce helps. They are Steel, Fire, Water and Wizard. They will clear from 1 to many tiles. Money will be collected from making matches with colored circular icons. The coins will earn you stars and the stars will unlock the colorful dragons. The first dragon will cost you 20 stars. The coins will buy you the items needed for your beautiful zen garden.

The garden you create will start out very sparse and can grow into a amazing and gorgeous place. You can upgrade your items 3 times, move items around or delete things. I’ve seen some pretty awesome gardens made. Mine not so much but that play isn’t really my thing, but I appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the scene when done right. You’ll also get a fantastic wallpaper to use on your computer.
I eventually enjoyed playing this new type of match 3 game. I said eventually because it took a few levels before I got comfortable with the sliding aspect of it. It is addictive and fun so try it out.

Features of Geisha – The Secret Garden:
-80 Levels of Matching Fun
-16 Bonus Levels
-The Secret Garden

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Jennifer a strong willed recent graduate of Environmental Protection University is looking for employment. As a marine biologist she has many talents and skills to be useful at the world’s foremost aquarium run by Old Barney a close friend of her grandpa. However, Jennifer wants to prove herself and get the job on her own merits, but with no or little money, she cannot produce the kind of aquarium to impress her cat. At her grandpa’s suggestion, she goes diving for the many treasures sitting at the bottom of the sea. With these finds she can make enough money to buy necessary fish, plants and equipment to make an fantastic tank to win her the job at Water is Life Foundation.

Fishdom H2O is an underwater hidden object play. After clicking on all the listed items in 3 minutes, you reach your goal and move on to the next level. In between the levels you can purchase the supplies for your aquarium. At the top right there are 3 meters you must increase to 100% before moving on to another project or aquarium. The 3 meters are fish, beauty and comfort. The fish category lists all the different species of fish that is available for purchase. The beauty section will allow you to buy plants to beautify your tank and the comfort will let you put in lights and air filters to make your fish at home. After filling up all the meters, you will win a star.

Mini games are fun and played very quickly. You get 2 minutes to click in all the vases in the scene, collect all the gold items (including gold bullions, gold coins, golden bowls and vases) from the bottom of the ocean, find 10 items such as hourglasses, guitars and more. You may dive without your oxygen tank and must look for 1 of 3 items listed as quickly as you can.

Fishdom H2O is a lively and fast-paced hidden object game. Each scene is 3 minutes. Quite fast for most hidden object plays, but it is enough time to find all your items. If you can’t find your object before the time runs out, use the hint button to have the seahorse point out your item. In addition look for more seahorses in each scene to increase the number of your hints.

This is a great game and the scenes are doable in 3 minutes, however there always the relaxed mode. I like the colorful graphics and underwater scenes. The aquarium and screen saver are fun to create and enjoy. The only suggestion I have is to add a couple of match games from the first Fishdom for variety.

Features of Fishdom:
-Underwater Hidden Object
-20 Sea Creatures
-Accessories and Decorations
-Bonus Screensavers

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

A simple request from her aunt to pick up her purse in her apartment turns into a vast adventure in Mac hidden object game Brunhilda and the Dark Crystal. Brunhilda, not a particularly popular name in the United States, is of German origin and used more in Poland and areas near there. Brunhilda in this game is not like the stocky witch in the cartoon series. This Brunhilda is blonde, cute and brave. She calmly confronts the king of the rats and takes potions to shrink her size.

The story begins in a far away land where the dragons and men lived in harmony. This idyllic land is now in danger of inevitable doom. The magic they historically treasured will disappear forever if something is not done. The king ordered all magic to be stored in a dark crystal in hopes that some day a hero from another world will save them. This brings us back to Brunhilda a seemingly normal young woman doing her aunt a favor. She goes to the apartment and finds a demon that takes her to another realm. Gruber the demon will assist you in your adventure to find the broken shards of the dark crystal to restore the magic and fight off the evil.

The main play is to collect different objects usually at the request of someone you need to help you out. You can select from 2 modes. Casual has hints and skip buttons and they will recharge at normal speed. Objects of interest are highlighted. The Adventure mode the buttons take twice as long to recharge and rarely will objects be highlighted. The magical quest cards can be found at the bottom of the screen. It will give you the items you will need to find. To get into small spaces you must make a magic elixir to shrink Brunhilda to enter the rat door. Once small she encounters many rats who will do her a favor if she does one for them such as collecting all the fireworks in the village, get all the cheese, click on parts for a machine, get rid of all the rat traps and lots more. You may need to go back and forth from the rat village to the lobby of the building and back again. Luckily Brunhilda found a shortcut through the rat village to the king’s palace.

There are mini games you can play or skip such as catching drops of blue potion to make magic elixirs. Another is to pick out magical runes from a book. The mini puzzles do get progressively harder as the levels increase but you can skip them if you wish. However, skipping the puzzles will not unlock bonus mini games. The games involve telekinesis, alchemy, telepathy and wizardry. All the puzzles are related to the story and you are not aimlessly looking for a pizza cutter, battery or bowtie like some other HOGs.

There are 10 chapters to take you on an incredible adventure. You will meet many unusual things like dragons, part human part machine, rats that talk, birds, and much, much more. The story will unfold with Brunhilda talking to people or things that will help her in her quests. There are easter eggs to find so be sure to click on the fairies.

Brunhilda and the Dark Crystal is a different sort of HOG since you are finding things on quests, going back and forth through many rooms and areas and even shrinking down to mouse size. The story is intriguing even though it sounds like something you heard before but is presented in such a great way with the voice acting and gorgeous, detailed and creative artwork. The dialog between Brunhilda, Gruber and others are humorous and funny. The only thing I can say I thought was too much is the fact you have to go back and forth from one spot to another and back again. A small complaint considering the awesome job the developers did in this interesting and fun hidden object game with great details in their characters, words and story.

Features of Brunhilda and The Dark Crystals:
-Engaging Story
-Fantastic Artwork and Mysterious Music
-10 Chapters of Fun HOG Plays

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

So you are a brave prince on your way to marry your beautiful princess when an evil, ugly witch stops all your future endeavors. Who knows why someone would curse your beloved and the castle in order to stop you from marrying? Maybe she is interested in you and wants to be your mate? In any event, you are not going to take it anymore and you go to the dragon’s lair to see if they could help you defeat the wicked witch. Who knew dragons are so helpful? It is the year of the dragon so maybe they are willing to assist you in your quest to recover your princess.

Before the dragon can help you with this, you must help the dragons raise their own “clutch”. You take on this task by clicking repeatedly on an egg to hatch, when the adorable baby dragon emerges, you must take care of it by feeding and collecting their gems. Yes, baby dragons poop out jewels. Hooray! No dirty diapers to change. Click on the gem to collect because the main dragon will give you your goals to collect a number of jewels. These gems can, in turn, be forged into magical jewelry (necklaces, rings) to sell for gold dragon coins.

The progress quest is at the upper right of the screen along with the Start of Day button. You use the button to start each day of dragon duties. The screen will darken when you day is almost over. However, before you start the day, be sure you have filled your food rack, forged your jewels, and other preparatory business you must deal with. Once you begin your day you will be kept busy feeding the babies by clicking on them when you see the bubble with the drumsticks. Collect their gems by clicking and fight off the intruders. These so called heroes will enter your precious nursery to create havoc and steal your wards. Just click on the enemy and see their clothes fly off them one by one. Once they are in their undies, they will escape your cave as fast as they came into it. But, wait. They will leave blue orbs of hero essence for you to collect. Once again click on these because they’ll come in handy later in the game.

As these sim breeding management games tend to do, they increase your duties many folds. However, you with your amazing time management skills will be able to make a lot of money raising baby dragons. Hire trolls, goblins and imps to help you with your many tasks including protecting your growing dragons, feeding and collecting the gems.

Mac sim time management game Dragon Keeper is a fun and entertaining game to while away the day. It could have been longer with different types of dragons but that may be for the next version. They produce different colors and shapes of gems, but all in all it’s basically the same. There are only 4 chapters with 3 types of dragons per chapter. The dragons and characters are adorable, the artwork good and the music is cute and light making for a great time all around. So brave prince, rescue your fair maiden and raise your dragons.

Features of Dragon Keeper:
-Tale of Good versus Evil
-Sim Breeding Management Game
-Dragons, Gems and More

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Snowy the bear is the coolest little guy ever.  Your goal in this classic arcade platform Mac game is to get him back home safely from the myriads of monsters attacking him from all sides.  Is that too much to ask?

There are 3 modes to choose from in this challenging game of many levels.  The Kid’s mode will give you 100 (!) lives with fewer monsters.  Normal has 10 lives and double the monsters, and Hard is crazy with lots and lots of monsters and 10 lives.  You must bring your game face for this mode in order to beat it. 

This is your typical platform game where the monsters can come at you from all directions and all sizes, including the bosses.  You use your control key and arrow keys to throw snowballs and maneuver around.  I had trouble using the control button and arrows so I went into options and changed the control button to the space bar by clicking directly on control and changing it to any key.  I chose the space bar since it’s centrally located and it’s bigger than the other keys.  I use a MacBook Pro with Mac OS X, version 10.5.6.  If you do not change this key, your screen will disappear.  That was my only mishap I had with playing this Mac game.

The play is to move Snowy facing the enemies and clicking either your control or space bar to throw snowballs until the monster is completely covered and then kicking him out the game board.  Be careful though the snowball may come back and take Snowy down losing a life.

This game is fast and you must move even faster to either avoid the bad guys or by throwing the snowballs.  This action, shooter arcade play is more than awesome, it’s a challenging, strategic game with an upbeat music and happy character like Snowy.  What more do you need for an exciting and electrifying play?  Beat those monsters and get Snowy home.

I would definitely recommend this game to all the quick moving, coordinated (with practice) platform gamers who may enjoy a fun story about a fearless polar bear.  Also kids and inexperienced gamers can learn from the 100 lives you have to practice this awesome game.  The colors are so bright and intense and the artwork is imaginative.  I didn't know you could do so much with platforms.  Don’t let the cuteness factor put you off.  Snowy is one tough bear.   

Features of Snowy the Bear’s Adventure:

-Tons of Snowballs and Levels

-Great Adventure

-4 Worlds

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I didn’t get this review out in time for Halloween but it’s still a fun Mac match 3 and simulation game to play any time of the year. It’s very similar to their Fishdom – Frosty Splash without the Santa theme and with lively ghostly items instead.

Like in the Frosty game you shop for your fish tank with a Halloween theme. In addition you must keep your fish happy by buying comfort or beauty items or other fish. Click on the Shop button and then choose from Fish, Beauty and Comfort. The Fish tab will display a variety of different sea creatures to choose from, Beauty will have plants and Comfort has different water cleaning devices. Of course, all these items cost a lot of money and in order to purchase these great things, you must make cash. This is where the match 3 games come in.

The match 3 levels have sea and Halloween related items to match. You swap 2 items to line up either horizontally or vertically 3 of the same objects. When this is done, it will clear and more items will fall into place from above. You must make matches over the gold tiles to destroy and when you get rid of all the gold tiles, you win the level. If you make your matches quickly, you will win more money. There are blocks to impede your movements like chained items (single or double) where you must make matches with them to clear. The double chains you must make 2 matches to destroy. Even with the many block different blocks, there are as many helps to aid you in your quest to finish the level. Making matches of 5 items or more will get you bombs, firecrackers, lightning and more. Also look for the shape of the match boards because they are in forms of spiders or other things.

Fishdom – Spooky Splash has all the fun elements of the other Fishdom match plays with a Halloween theme. If the relaxed mode is too easy for you, try it timed to challenge your match 3 skills. Either way the game is great fun and should be enjoyed by children and casual gamers. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 for an entertaining play. Try it if you dare. Boo!

Features of Fishdom – Spooky Splash:
-Halloween Theme
-Lots of Match 3 Levels
-Fish Tank to Decorate

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bud Redhead is an action-packed, side scrolling fun platform Mac game for all ages. Its story begins with Bud and Rachel strolling through a park, and a green creature appears through a light and kidnaps poor Rachel. Bud could only grab part of the creature’s arm before the two disappear through another light. Bud is then approached by 2 grey aliens who explain to him that the green monster is Feyatta, and they, from the Cosmic Federation, are chasing him for galactic evil deeds. The electronic piece Bud grabbed from Feyatta will prevent the creature from escaping to his space ship and leaving for the unknown. They could track Feyatta, but the 2 grey men cannot chase the criminal on earth due to galaxy restrictions in interfering with earthlings. It is up to Bud to help Rachel get back and put away this desperate galactic criminal.

Bud’s adventure will take him to 4 different locations and 4 different time periods. Music also changes in each location. The places vary from a forest over 8000 years ago to a spaceship orbiting Saturn way into the future with Medieval Castles and Ancient Egypt in between.

The play is easy to pick up using the arrow keys and jumping with the control button. There are helps in forms of monitors along the way. You can stop and view them or you can ignore them. There are thousands of coins (which you need to exit the portals), jewels and fruit to get for your score. This is your basic run and jump game where you will find secret areas in each land, moving platforms, many tiered trees, levers, ropes and the dreaded but fun slippery floors.

Bud Redhead is an awesome play in the style of the Mario games. The artwork and graphics were great, and some of it reminded me of Japanese anime. The backgrounds were drawn in detail and rich colors. The ending is a big surprise. So if you are looking for an excellent family fun, try Bud Redhead and venture out into the timeless unknown.

Features of Bud Redhead:
-20 Levels of Adventure and Fun
-5 Levels per Different Worlds
-Thousands of Coins, Jewels, and Fruit
-Secret Areas
-Big Boss Levels

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

A historic view of the American gold rush in a match 3 Mac game Gold Fever is an unique play for all ages. Travel through the northwest in a smoking, wood burning locomotive of the time period (circa 1850) looking for that one huge mother lode to retire on. Gold Fever takes you on a ride far from the usual gold rush scenario with interesting tidbits of information that you do not always know. You only hear about the California gold rush in Sutter’s Fort so the journey through Oregon, Montana, and Colorado came as a surprise to me.

Gold Fever is your usual match 3 or more like symbols to destroy Mac game with a little twist. You do not slide or swap the gold coins but you flip the like colored, 2-sided coins to match the symbols. There are gold nuggets you must get to the bottom of the screen and the wooden cart will take your prize away. To complete the level you must make matches over the entire gold background. As the levels increases, the gold coins will have more variety of colors and western symbols like the sheriff’s badge, pistol, cowboy hat and horseshoe.

The dynamite at the bottom of the screen with the long burning fuse is the timer for each level. There are 3 helps you can earn by getting enough matches to buy either the pick, timer or hammer. The pick will destroy 1 coin, the timer will get you 30 seconds more while the fuse stops, and the hammer will destroy the coin and the gold background. You start with 5 lives, and you can lose a life if you do not complete the level before the dynamite is set off.

Gold Fever starts off slowly for me because of the flipping the coin method, but I enjoy it more in the higher levels. What I like about match games is the action and explosions of the power-ups. This game’s demo does not have them. Perhaps it gets more active in later levels. I do not like the music, but I like the artwork. I found this play to be pleasant but not very dynamic or exciting.

Features of Gold Fever:
-Gold Rush
-160 Levels
-Power-Ups and Challenges
-Gold coins

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Jump into the big blue ocean and swim your way to the top of the food chain in the Mac game Feeding Frenzy. Andy the angel fish must eat smaller sized fish in order to grow and reach the top of the fish kingdom. When you are small you are eaten by the larger fish so it’s imperative for you to quickly work and eat as much as possible and grow larger while keeping away from the bigger predators.

There are 2 modes of play in Feeding Frenzy: New Game and Time Attack. New Game is easier way to the top, however has limited lives. Time Attack is more difficult with unlimited lives, but it is timed. You use the mouse to guide Andy through the blue waters of the sea. By using the left click you can speed the feeding action faster using the Fish Dash attack, but you must beware of the larger fish or Andy will get eaten very quickly. The bubble above Andy’s head will let you know when you are large enough to eat bigger fish. When going on to the next level, there are interesting and educational facts about the sea. You are so into the game, you have to scan these facts quickly so you can get to the next level faster.

The bonus stage allows Andy to eat all minnows before time runs out for points. The Frenzy Meter will fill up for double points. The starfish do not help him grow but will give you points. Watch out for the Lion Fish, it can chase Andy down. Pearl will give you extra points also, but the clam can clamp down on him for lunch. Eating a school of fish will garner you 500 points.

Although Feeding Frenzy is a very simple Mac game, it is darn fun. When you have a few moments to spare, play this game just for enjoyment. You only have to think when you have to avoid the big fish. I was so into this game I didn’t check out the screen savers. This game is fun and addictive for everyone.

Features of Feeding Frenzy:
-Eat to the Top of the Food Chain
-Many Levels
-Sea Life
-Power-ups
-Screen Savers

You may also like:
Tasty Planet

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

A prehistoric twist to the shoot rocks at a chain of stones snaking down the tube towards the skull head Mac game. These match games are always fun to play. Stone Loops! Of Jurassic has 3 modes of play. The Classic will unlock Strategy and Survival.

In Classic there are three difficulty levels: easy, normal and challenge. The play is simple. You grab a stone from the chain and shoot it back to rocks of 2 or more of the same color to destroy them. All this must be completed before the chain reaches the skull head or the level is over. If you complete the level you will receive an upgrade to your jungle home.

There are many power-ups in this game from lightning exploding through the rocks to changing color extras. After finishing a level jewels will float down and you must catch them for extra points. After completing a few levels the Strategy mode is available. This play is different from the other 2 modes because the chain of rocks do not move until you make a move by taking a rock and shooting it back. This could be a little frustrating because the chain may stop at a point where you cannot get a good aim at the rocks. They slowly move forward and this give you a chance to strategize.
Completing a few more levels will open up the Survival mode. In this mode you can select the different game board to play and it also gives you a rank to increase and improve.

Stone Loops was an okay play for me, but I didn’t see anything special to differentiate it from other match and shoot games except you can get the rock and shoot it back. The only way you can tell if one is more fun than the others is by trying them so go ahead and shoot away.

Features of Stone Loops of Jurassic:
-75 Levels
-9 Power-ups
-Upgrade your House in 5 Different Lands

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Do you like to cook? Do you like to play video games? Do you watch TV? Then Top Chef is the game for you! Take one part hit TV show and combine it with one part Sim and one part cartoon and voile, you have Top Chef. Forget what you learned in culinary school because all that is going to be put to the test in a grueling competition that challenges both the mind and the stomach. This intro may be a little cheesy, but in Top Chef that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The game is very straightforward: compete on the show to become the best chef you can possibly be. You have a kitchen at your disposal and whatever you decide to make is up to you. At the beginning of each challenge you have a sidebar that gives you a list of what types of ingredients you need (spicy, sweet, salty, savory, etc.). You then have the ingredients on a shelf in the back. Depending on which one you choose, you can get different bonuses. For example, combining apples and bacon gives you a "classic combo" bonus. After you choose the corresponding ingredient, you bring it to the work station where you begin the preparation. You can only prep one thing at a time, but ingredients sitting on the work station slowly become finished as time goes on. Naturally the station that you are working at goes faster, so timing is very important.

After you complete your "masterpiece," you are off to be judged. Each dish is computer generated to show exactly the ingredients that you put into it. This was actually pretty funny, as the first time I played I put some weird combination of food together, and they showed up in the judging (like mango and anchovies). Due to the fact that there is a gigantic number of possible foods to make, this game can have a great replay value. Although it is based on a show that I have never personally seen, I truly enjoyed the game because it was fun to see the food I had put together. The only complaint I had was that each ingredient did not look as it should when being prepared. However, that would have taken a long time to actually program, and they did get the final plating correct. Overall I would give Top Chef four out of five stars.

Features of Top Chef:
-45 Challenges
-Pick the Ingredients
-Multi-Task in the Kitchen
-Become the Next Top Chef

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Travel back, back, back in time to the ancient times of the silk road. Set somewhere around the 13th century, Tradewinds Caravans is an exciting look at how traders made their living traversing the dangerous Silk Road. In order to bring the best and most exotic items from the Far East, travelers had to cross this ancient road, the only known way to China and beyond. Discover some of the items that made this a desirable profession despite the known risks which include brutal hikes and rampant thieves.

The game starts off with a quick tutorial that gets you prepared for choosing your own path. After completing the easy tasks, you can then choose one of six unique characters (you must unlock 2 of these through gameplay) and begin the task of becoming rich and famous. I chose a slave who worked for an important Venetian family. My job was to care for my master and help him help his warlord friend gain the political presence that would make his village a prominent stop along the road. This description is hardly enough to explain all there is to Tradewinds Caravans, though, as the game is really centered along the dialogue that the characters engage in. After discovering what tasks you must undertake, you buy supplies and guards to join your caravan. You can then travel to different parts of the Middle and Far East buying and selling to earn a profit.

I thought the idea of this game was really novel. The idea of taking this historical time period and making it an interesting and humorous RPG was something that I had never even thought of. The best part of the game, besides the funny dialogue, was the bartering and battling that took place in the marketplace and the road, respectively. The game also has a huge amount of villages and storylines, so replayability is basically limitless. I would give this game three and a half stars out of five.

Features of Tradewinds Caravans:
- Build a Powerful Trading Caravan
- 6 Unique Characters
- Dozens of Individual Storylines
- All new Weapons And Character-Specific Powers

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

If you like solitaire, cowboys and Indians, and funny cartoons, you’ll like Mac card game Gunslinger Solitaire. The cursor is a gun and your click shoots the weapon. Bang!

The object is to clear the screen of all the cards by shooting a card 1 lower or 1 higher than the card below. If the deck card faced up is a 4, then you look for a 3 or a 5 card on the game board. If you do not have either card, then click or shoot the deck faced down to deal another card. Making multiple matches will give you more points. Some of the cards will have bonus games like shoot the bags of money, aim your bow and shoot the target and more to break up your basic solitaire game. Some of the games will have you reloading your gun when you run out of bullets. Just click on the red reload button to continue on your game. These games will gain you more money to use at the country store for helps like the undo knife.

Gunslinger Solitaire is a basic solitaire game with just matching the card higher or lower, but in many instances if you plan your attack with some strategy, you can make the most matches. You’ll get stats on your cash, bonus, time and more. There are goldmines and treasures to find. The artwork is a cute, colorful cartoon and done well. The music is an easy strumming guitar appropriate for the western theme. If you like this type of card game (a similar one is Fairway Solitaire), you’ll enjoy this one with its sound effects of guns shooting and arrow sailing. This game is not difficult and makes for a relaxing time. Get your trigger finger ready and shoot away. I give it a 3 out of 5 for one great shootout.

Features of Gunslinger Solitaire:
-Western Solitaire
-Mini Action Shooter Games
-Colorful and Quirky Cartoon Characters

Similar game: Fairway Solitaire

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Fairy Treasure has it all—it is a breakout, action game, it has 120 levels, power-ups, magic, fairies and trolls. This Mac game is a good time no matter how you look at it.

Fairy treasure given to the good knights of Trollandia from the Fairy Queen upset the evil troll Dronk who raided the villages plundering food and precious items from the homes. He became bolder and invaded the castle for the fairy treasure. Knights and magicians were sought to recapture the royal gems. This is where you come in and save the day. You travel along the Fairy River fighting hags, goblins and evil things. Your only assistance is from the river fairies.

The play is to move the bat at the bottom of the screen left and right hitting the stone up to walls, power-ups and extras in order to pass the level. If the ball should fall into the water you lose a life. By hitting the rock up to the bricks the level will be completed when all the bricks are gone. By hitting the bat’s right side will move the orb to the right and hitting the bat on the left will move it to the left.

There are many bonuses to garner in the meantime. The extra bat either left or right, extra bat, 3 balls, fast balls, slow balls, extra life, strong balls and fire balls are among the few of the extras you’ll need to complete a level. In addition, there are magic bottles: the blue one is magnetic, red one is wacky and fire is explosive. Mushroom spores makes the ball sticky and the brown mushrooms explode when hit.

On top of all those bonuses there are more good and bad extras. The magic scroll if you get 8 you can enter the bonus level. The chain ball can be unlocked by collecting 5 keys, and be sure to get all the gold coins because 100 will get you an extra life. Frogs can be good or bad so beware, and fairies can be good if you release them from their bubble.

If you can believe it, there are more extras to discover in this action-packed fun game. All these bonuses and the fairy theme remind me of the Mac game Pixie. However, the 2 games are completely different, but both are fun to play. I enjoy playing this breakout arcade game with its flying bat breaking the brick walls. Moving the bat back and forth is reminiscent of the old time game Pong.  The graphics are good, but I can’t remember the sound effects or music due to the engrossing play of Fairy Treasure.

-Features of Fairy Treasure:
-Fairy Themed Breakout
-120 Levels
-Power-ups and Bonuses
-Bonus Levels

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Westward III: Gold Rush is a Mac sim game with a little RPG built into the play. Like its predecessor Westward II, this new game is also grand in scale and play. Most sim play will limit your environment to a certain area, but Westward III follows the story line and moves the main character from one scene to another in order to progress logically in the game.

After you choose your hero character from 3 available people (Polly Hatchet unlocks the ranch, General Amos Cutter unlocks the gun shop and Shawnee Longfeather the tannery), the action panel so vital to sim plays will open up giving you details of your person, your goals and different tools needed to complete your jobs. The map on the lower right will quickly locate where you are, and if you click on the picture of your hero will take you directly to that spot. You can also zoom in and out depending on what you are doing.

You begin your play by dragging your hero to where you want your person to work or talk to another character. If you need wood for building, you drag your person to the log, the cursor will show an axe, and your person will go to that spot and start chopping wood. She/he will continue with the same activity until you move them to another location. If someone needs to speak to you, there will appear a question mark above his/her head. You will drag your hero to that person to find out what they want. The beginning of your game starts off in a limited area marked off on the map, and you help ranchers rebuild their land by building the barn, growing plants, and putting up tents. In order to do these quests you must have adequate supplies, food, water and gold. You get gold by either finding it in the massive landscape or by doing people favors and they will pay you.

After you have helped the ranchers all you could, you move on to another environment. It will bring you and one of the ranchers’ son to a snow scene where you may encounter rough people and ferocious wolves. In order to shoot an animal in defense or for food, you must drag your hero toward the animal and the cursor will change to a gun. This will begin the hero in a shooting mode. Much like a rpg game, you must look for things along the way. Also if your hero is hurt, you may have to wait a while until he/she recovers. There are many upgrades that will unlock as you go along and will help you develop your countryside.

The only problem I found was that at times it was hard to find exactly the right place to get your hero moving and doing the quests needed. Also it was difficult occasionally to move your people around to do the chores or jobs like setting up the tents, but it is not as hard as some sim/rpg plays so newbies can master the game with practice.

Westward III: Gold Rush is an awesome game full of action and adventures. It has different scenes to keep you interested, many activities to interact with, and you meet a lot of colorful characters like the gunslinger and the crotchety miner. I like the play better than the sim plays where they make you change diapers over and over or deal with impatient customers. This game did not have the big hoopla movie music introduction like Westward II, but it still is a good sim/rpg play for casual and diehard gamers of any age, and it will not disappoint. It keeps you moseying along the great landscapes finding gold and helping people in need. Have an exciting time playing Westward III: Gold Rush.

Features of Westward III: Gold Rush:
-New Environments
-Upgrades
-Enemies
-Unlock Secret Hidden Items

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars