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

I remember years ago I saw the musical version of The Phantom of the Opera with my beautiful sister. It began with a huge chandelier swooping over the audience’s heads and crashing loudly onto the stage. It was some opening. Mac hidden object/seek and find game Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera Collector’s Edition is not as head spinning but it gradually sets the stage for a dramatic and sometimes shocking story.

Evelina the daughter of a retired stage actress is trapped in the once grand but disheveled abandoned opera house and held against her will by a mad man who thinks she destroyed his love for her by running away with another man. In reality she is the image of her mother and her father is the other man. You find yourself in the lobby of this once majestic and magnificent theater. You have objectives and tasks to complete while playing hidden object games. You search for areas to zoom in on and for HOGs. You’ll see sparkling stars where you need to investigate further. The HOGs will have the list of items at the bottom of the screen. You search mostly dreary, dark spaces for 12 objects. Once you click on a found item, it will be crossed out. If you need help, you can click on the mirror on the lower left. It will crack and slowly restores itself. The journal and the map can also be helpful. You will also hear the voices of the phantom and Evelina assisting you and written messages across the top. If you click too many times on wrong objects, the screen will crack abruptly. If you get stuck or do not know what to do, you may need to go back and search areas you have been before. In some instances there will be more interactive puzzles or HOGs to discover. Sometimes you will be back at a scene you already have completed but must look for more items. The Phantom wants you to find the black rose. Keep looking.

Even though you are stuck in the theater, there are many locations to search from the ballroom to the caretaker’s cottage outside in the snow. The objects you search for can be ordinary to something you may need later. The mini puzzles can be skipped after a while but stick with it and you’ll be able to figure it out.

I think Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera is well done with exquisite artwork. The colors help create the mood and the era of this story. The music also helped create the eerie atmosphere of the opera house, but I kept waiting for the Andrew Lloyd Webber’s soundtrack from the musical that is so ingrained in everyone’s heads. The game is not that difficult, but may not be appropriate for young children. It is not shockingly scary, but puppets hanging in the ballroom are a bit creepy. So try it out and listen to the music of the night.

Features of Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera Collector’s Edition:
-Dramatic Story
-Many Scenes In and Around the Opera House
-Many Objectives and Tasks to Fulfill

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Coyote Tales is a very complex story about saving the world from annihilation. There are 2 sisters who come across 2 gods, one a coyote and the other Max. The 2 sisters are commissioned to save the world. You choose one of the sisters as your person. Tlethl is the impatient sister of fire and the game is timed. The other is Alt and she is the calm sister of water and hers does not have a time limit.

Long ago the gods kept the world in order but there was an unbalance and problems needed to be solved. You must challenge the 15 gods to earn the right to face them. This is a hidden object game with excellent graphics and interesting colors to reveal the mysterious items. If Max feels you need help or you messed up, he will surround the item with petals. In addition to that help you need to look for flowers since every 5th flower will get you a heart to help you look for objects (all on the upper right side of the screen). A great help is the list where you view the words or the picture of what you need to find if you are having trouble locating any one item. If you are looking for a pumpkin and when you change the list to view image and find the pumpkin is green, then you look for the green background to search for it. This really helped a lot. After finishing your level, your magical staff gets more powerful so you will soon be able to face the gods.

The hidden object play is the main part of this game, and there are many side puzzles to solve as well. One side puzzle is to match 3 or more items game, and another is to fill the water jugs to the precise measurement. Some of the mini puzzles are more than challenging, but you can skip them and continue on with your main play.

Coyote Tales has great hidden object games with many mini puzzles. All the games are interesting and clever, but the dialogue from the cartoon characters is a little annoying. Of course, if you are into that kind of cocky humor, this game may entertain you. However, you will find the puzzles themselves are good, solid plays in Coyote Tales.

Features of Coyote Tales:
-Aztec Theme
-17 Mini Games
-Save the World

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Hidden object Mac games and story lines are not my thing, but I’m starting to warm up to them. Miss Teri Tale is one of those games that is changing my mind about I spy plays. This particular one is a lighthearted dognapping tale and hidden object game. It begins with Miss Teri a novelist living in quiet, crime free suburbia being blackmailed by an internet villain who wants her to find the neighbor’s dog, Jason.

Your play brings you to Peeking Town, USA where the entire neighborhood is suspect of kidnapping a favorite pet. Miss Teri must break into people’s homes by figuring out their security codes. Clues are given to her to be able to do this fairly easily. Once in the home she searches rooms for clues. This hidden object game has clear and good graphics making the game more pleasurable. If she clicks on too many wrong objects, she is warned she is making too much noise. The list of objects she needs to find is on the left side. While in the different rooms, you hear clear and accurate sound effects like the water dripping, telephone ringing and rain falling.

There are many helps in this hidden object game. One is the Gazette, the local paper, will when you click on the newspaper in her house, give articles pertaining to the kidnapping. Mini puzzles like the memory cards will also give clues. The email messages from the blackmailer will help the play along.

This hidden object game is different from some of the other murder mystery games. First it is not as dark and ghastly as Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet or as involved as Agatha Christie’s: Peril at End House. Miss Teri Tale is more on the comedic and happy side, if you will, of kidnapping. The rooms you need to search are easily identifiable and not dark and murky. I enjoyed both realistic murder mystery and the more cartoonish themes of hidden object games, and I liked Miss Teri Tale. The story is a silly premise, but it is a relaxing and enjoyable play without the murder theme for a change of pace.

Features of Miss Teri Tale:
-Investigate Neighbors’ Houses
-Hidden Items
-Comedic Theme
-Discover the Mystery of Jason’s Kidnapping

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet is more than a hidden object game, much more. It is based on the characters from James Patterson’s bestselling murder mystery novels by the same name. Your job is to track down the coldblooded, barbaric serial killer. The first victim is a young Asian woman found beneath the Golden Gate Bridge in foggy San Francisco. You must uncover evidence as you play through several investigations. At the end, you will be able to solve the ghastly crimes of this bay city.

The investigation begins with a cartoon strip prelude to the murder mystery. The phone call goes to Lindsay Boxer, homicide detective. You are there with her at the murder scene under the bridge. You are to find objects from the list in Lindsay’s notebook. Within all the hidden object games are different types of mini puzzles. These puzzles also advance the investigation and will help reveal information.

Objects found are labeled and put in the Inventory Pad as useful or important clues and sometimes used to advance the play. A twig found on the scene is later used to distract a crab who had a diamond stud earring, an important clue. In the Investigation Docket Tab the key pieces are organized here and helps check the progress of the inquiries and what remaining pieces you may need. In the Investigation Card section the evidence cards are classified in file folders by subject and can be inspected anytime. In addition, there are 5 hints per investigation so you need to be careful and conserve these items. The number of hints is shown on the police badge in the upper left hand corner of the screen.

The investigation can move from the murder site with Lindsay Boxer to her police station or lab with Claire Washburn, the forensic examiner. The game is full of characters from the novel, even a newspaper reporter to a police translator. It also takes you step by step of police investigations and what tests and procedures they go through.

This Mac game is so involved and detailed you need to block a few hours of quiet time for yourself so you can give your full attention to the investigations. It will draw you into this murky, deadly world of murders with not only the hidden object sections but all the different mini puzzles. I found that some of the objects were difficult to make out, however the dead body was a little too realistic for me. It gave me the creeps. It is not for young children due to the subject matter and the graphic and realistic pictures of dead people. If you are a James Patterson or murder mystery novel fan, then you will be entertained filtering out the criminal in the Women's Murder Club: Death in Scarlet. Enjoy yourself in this hidden object with lots of other puzzle games in the misty, shadowy background of San Francisco.

Features of WMC: Death in Scarlet
-New Storyline
-18 San Francisco Locations
-9 Unique Investigations
-Many Different Puzzles

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Agatha Christie, murder mystery novel and movie fans will enjoy this clever hidden object Mac game. This game will get you involved in the detective work by rewarding you with clues when the different levels are solved. There are more puzzles within this hidden object game to help break up the searching for clues/objects.

It is set in St Loo a small village on the coast of Cornwall, England in 1927. Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s famous detective, is called to End House to investigate murder attempts on Miss Nick Buckly the owner of the estate. It is your job to find the culprit by finding items on the grounds and in the house in order to stop any deadly deeds.

From the map of the estate of End House showing the landscape and various rooms in the house, you are to go from room to room and areas outside to uncover any and all clues of solving this mystery. Click on the gold colored section to begin your investigation, and it will reveal an area full of objects and clues to find. Poirot will give you a list of items, and you have 25 minutes and only 5 hints to go over the room and discover the objects. Some of the things are not relevant to the crime, but others could be useful for solving the mystery. In this hidden objects game you not only find the item, but sometimes you must move the object around the game board.

After finding all the pieces on the list this investigation is over, and you will be rewarded a clue card. This is a statement from a suspect or colleague who may or may not help you. These cards are stored in the clue room to be read without a time limit later in the game.

Bonus rounds between levels will offer more clues to your investigation. For example, after finding scraps of newspaper in the garden, you must put the torn pieces like a jigsaw puzzle back together so you can read the pertinent article in print in order to receive another clue.

After playing through 13 investigations and uncovering clues, you will come to the end of the game and will review all the clues and testimonies and hopefully be able to reveal “whodunit”.

The hidden object part of the game is relatively easy at first but gets more difficult further into the game. The hints are helpful, but there are only 5 of them per investigation so you have to use them carefully. I wasted 2 hints looking for an item that was off the page and not visible or reachable. I had to shrink the screen in order to see the location of the object. Another thing to watch is clicking on everything to find a hard to see item, because you will be penalized 30 seconds off your time. However, the 25 minute time limit is more than enough to search for most of the things on the list.

I don’t usually play hidden object/I spy games unless there’s another draw attached to it, and this one had the right one for me, Agatha Christie. Anyone who has read her novels or who likes I spy puzzles will really enjoy spending some time working and solving the Peril at End House. Also the music is very good and appropriate to the time period.  So get to detecting and catch the criminal while having fun at the same time.

Features of Agatha Christie: Peril at End House:
-Objects to discover
-Puzzles
-13 Characters
-25 Different Rooms
-Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Novel
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

It is 1606 England and the mighty, powerful Virginia Company of London is sending Captains Smith and Newport to the New World in Pocahontas: Princess of Powhatan Mac game. In this hidden object/I spy game history is re-enacted in artwork representing all the cast and characters of this enchanting and sometimes romanticized time. Before any voyage can be undertaken supplies must be bought from the market place and loaded on the majestic English ships of yore.

The first hidden object scene is of the market place where you will need to search for many items in the picture. However, after the ship voyage, the remainder of the scenes is in the New World along the James River where the Powhatans lived and towards present day Richmond, Virginia. On route to the New World and on board the ship Captain Smith is accused of mutiny and imprisoned until they got to their destination. It’s not clear what exactly happened, but once arriving in the New World, Smith is allowed to head the colony at Jamestown, named after King James. The story is moved along in between the hidden object and mini puzzle plays with characters speaking back and forth with you clicking to see the bubble with their conversations. This part is stiff and the dialogue not too interesting, but it conveys the message efficiently.

Once you get to the New World the scenes are located along the James River, but you keep returning to the same sites over again to look for more hidden objects. This may have been because it is a demo version and the other locations are locked. The scenes are interesting, especially the ones with the different species of birds represented accurately. They have red-bellied woodpeckers with colorful canaries, a white goose, a couple of raptors and 2 male Hairy woodpeckers. The noise and the movements from flying birds are a little distracting, but manageable. You will find many scenes with waving lanterns with flickering flames and flapping flags to divert your attention from your search, but that’s part of the fun of hidden object plays.

The mini puzzles I came across are the maze game where you must get Pocahontas out of a winding maze of hedges. It is a little clunky and not very challenging. I think it would have been better to show the entire maze, make it complicated and easier to manipulate her out of the puzzle. Another puzzle is to move the tiles to make the picture of an eagle. The third one is to move disks with pictures around to find the listed items. These puzzles help break up the hidden object play, but they are not very difficult. They may get more complex in higher levels.

Overall I found both the artwork and dialogue part of the story rather flat even though the tale of Pocahontas is a fascinating one. The short, simple
conversation may be good for kids to learn the history of this area and time. I found that Nancy Reagan is a distant relative of Pocahontas. I don't think this is in the game, but it's a curious side item. Despite some of the shortcomings of this game, I like the hidden object/I spy plays with its interesting and colorful scenes.

Features of Pocahontas: Princess of Powhatan
-Explore the New World
-Hidden Object Plays
-Mini Games
-Story of Pocahontas

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Mystery Stories- Berlin Nights puts you in the middle of a giant case involving unlimited renewable energy, beautiful reporters, World War II technology and Nazi escapees. Unlike most Hidden Object games, Mystery Stories goes above and beyond the usual genre and makes it fun and interesting to solve the puzzles, including the mini games.

What makes this game great is the ingenuity of the puzzles. There is the classic I Spy game mode, but even in these puzzles, there is something new. In the early levels, the game makes you look for something and perform the task within the puzzle. For example, one level has banana peels hidden throughout and one of the tasks is to throw these peels out. You click and drag the bananas over to the trash can in order to complete that task.

I also came across a couple of Hidden Object puzzles that were a little different from usual games. One puzzle had clues that slowly came up on the side that led you to look for a certain object. For example, if the clue was a baguette, the clues might be something like Long, France, Baked, etc. The faster you get the clue, the more points you earn. Another puzzle that was really cool was the sound I Spy. Instead of getting the list of clues, you get a list of sounds that the clues make. This is not as hard as it sounds, as the sounds are generally pretty straightforward (i.e. Frog, Drum, Radio).

The best part about these puzzles was the lack of clutter. Usually, these type of games have screens that are covered with small intricate little objects that you have to spend twenty minutes looking for. Mystery Stories- Berlin Nights is much easier on the eyes and hides the clues cleverly, instead of in a sea of objects. This is definitely a plus, as my eyes were not straining like they usually are after a game like this.

This was probably one of the best Hidden Object games that I have ever played. Besides the new and fun gameplay, the story was pretty interesting as well. You are a female reporter from New York in Berlin when you stumble upon some friends who are looking for a machine from a former German scientist who had to leave the technology for renewable energy to flee from the Nazis. It is your mission to find the missing parts and discover the mystery of Berlin. The only problem I had was with the slow load times, but that might just be my computer. This game is definitely worth the five stars that it deserves.

Features of Mystery Stories: Berlin Nights:
- Search the city of Berlin for clues
- 94 levels of mystery
- 14 bonus minigames
- Adventure and Free Mode play

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This is the first game I played in the series so I am pleasantly surprised by the video movie at the beginning and throughout the play you speak to actors. It’s always nice to see something new and different in a Mac games. Not only does the video help you visualize the location and atmosphere of this game, but the bluesy music puts you directly in the bayou swamps.

You find yourself in Louisiana making your way to a dilapidated southern manor in the marshlands. Your goal is to speak to a Mrs. Lawson the wife of the man that went missing. Look for the exclamation marks above the heads of the characters to speak to them. Mrs. Lawson informs you that their family just moved into this house that her husband has inherited. The towns people have said the house is haunted by a pirate ghost and there’s a treasure hidden somewhere on the property. Her daughter said that a ghost took her father. Your job as an investigator is find him by click and pointing your cursor throughout the manor, and speaking to different characters like the housekeeper and the towns people. You play many puzzles to move from one location to another and get further in the game. Many of the scenes are locked so you must figure out how to get into them. Other places you can zoom in for more details and hidden object games. In addition the daughter will not come out of her room so you can’t speak to her or search it. You’ll be running errands and playing mini puzzles as well.

The hint button will take about 10 seconds to recharge and if you have too many misclicks, leaves will cover your scene. There are 20 crown insignias to win for accomplishments.

Mystery Files & Reg: 13th Skull & Trade Collector’s Edition contains a bonus gameplay, built in guide and concept art. The guide will help you in some of the more challenging areas. Most of the puzzles and tasks were manageable and when they get too challenging you can always rely on the hints. I think the video aspect of this game enhanced the atmosphere of the location and the hokey conversations you will have with the eccentric cast. This game is creative and keeps you involved in the case. I give it a 4 out of 5 for great artwork, solid plays, fantastic music and tasks.

Features of Mystery Files & Reg: 13th Skull & Trade Collector’s Edition:
-Video Movie
-Many Murky Hidden Object Games and Puzzles
-20 Crown Insignias
-Bonus Gameplay, Built in Guide, Concept Art

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

With the popularity of the Twilight Sagas, both movies and books, Mac hidden object game Love and Death – Bitten is the next step to the vampire love stories. Damon is a vampire kept in a crumbling castle by an evil vampire witch. In order to satisfy their appetites, Damon must search the countryside for fresh blood. That’s what vampires do.

The local village is not going to take it anymore and is organizing to fight back or have their town destroyed. Damon is amused by all the ruckus down below when he spies his next victim, Victoria. However, he does not know who he is up against when he lures her to the forest. Victoria is the niece of the local politician who blusters his way through the story. Victoria is a headstrong, beautiful young adventuress who bravely goes after the vampire. Of course, she falls in love with Damon and helps him search for the potion he needs to rid himself of this vampire life and free himself from Celeste the vampire queen.

In this hidden object game you are Victoria during the day and Damon after dark searching for the needed potion to return Damon to a normal life. You play the HOG when a raven enters the scene with a list of items you need to find. Some objects must be placed to complete, such as the fruits. They must be placed in a bowl to cross out the item. The jars must be lined up to complete. There are many of these secondary actions to follow up on in a scene, but they do not distract from the main HOG play. The rechargeable hint button sometimes will only give guidance and is not all that helpful at times. The mini puzzles are the Fates way of testing your mental prowess because they are reluctant to reveal anything. You must look for 100 golden leaves in order to get answers. The side games are fairly easy but can be skipped if you need. The other seek and find plays will have you thinking a bit before you figure out what to do. Finding rocks and putting them in your inventory will prepare you to use them on the broken boat across the river.

Love and Death – Bitten is a familiar theme but will still intrigue you to look and search for the answers. The storyline will keep you playing until you finish, the pleasant voice acting is appropriate as is the music. The balance of HOGs and puzzles, even though you go back to the same scenes, is good with beautiful artwork. This game kept me interested and challenged with its many plays, but the ending left you wanting more. Sounds like a sequel is in the works.

Features of Love and Death – Bitten:
-Play Victoria by Day and Damon by Night
-Over 30 Locations
-9 Puzzles

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Edward Scruff just got laid off. Despite his upbeat personality and love of movie quotes, he must now sell his house in order to make ends meet. Luckily for Mr. Scruff, his helpful but messy family is around to help him in his quest to save the family home. Grandpa Scruff has a secret that he says could save the home, but he cannot remember what it is exactly. With the help of the rest, including the dog Scruffy, the family can find clues around their cluttered home to help reveal the mystery and make some money to save the house.

The Scruffs is a hidden object game that incorporates a hidden family secret into the plot. After completing the first two levels, you discover a cryptic, like the one in the Da Vinci Code, and each subsequent chapter discovers a new number on the device. To discover what is going to happen, you must complete the entire game, which can take awhile if you are not quick. Luckily for those who want a stress-free challenge, there is a timeless mode in addition to the regular game, so you can enjoy the puzzles at your leisure.

Within the game, there are other mini-games that keep you entertained. One that I came across was the scribble challenge, where you have to pick out the new scribble drawn on family pictures to earn a gold star. Once you beat twenty of these challenges, you learn another family secret (what kind of mysterious family is this?). Another challenge that was enjoyable was the scrambled picture challenge. This challenge is self-explanatory, as all you have to do is piece together an old picture to discover new clues.

Overall, this was a pretty good game. The graphics were cartoonish, but worked well in the grand scheme of the game. I did like the dialogue as well, maybe it was just the British accents that I liked, but I thought it added a charming quality (like Mary Poppins) to the game. Also, being a movie buff, I really liked the dad's constant movie quotes, which were funny and timely. Gameplay was consistent with other hidden object games that I have played in the past and the help feature was good because it provided a hint without giving away the object completely. I would give this game four out of five stars.

Features of The Scruffs:
- Meet the zany Scruff family!
- Inviting story line with witty banter
- Unique Hint Mechanism
- Mini Games

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Ben is in trouble and is worried about his beloved family zoo. He contacts his favorite niece, Anna, to help solve the problem. Someone went in and stole 5 rare animals, including Anna’s favorite elephant. Uncle Ben is in China and cannot get back in time for an official inspection of the zoo by federal officers on Friday. They will surely close the facilities if they find that there are missing animals. It’s up to Anna to find the animals and resolve the mystery in 3 days. This Mac game is a seek and find/hidden object/I spy play with many side puzzles.

The main play is the seek and find/hidden object game. You go from the zoo administration building to other locations in the town like the police station and local bar. The zoo director tells Anna that the police will not do anything about the missing animals without proper documentation. Unfortunately the paperwork is in the safe and the key to the safe is in the bottom of the piranha tank. Before you can get to the fish tank, you have to search for supplies needed to get past the flesh eating fish. The hidden objects are in the director’s office. When the cursor turns into a question mark you click to get information. If your cursor turns into a hand, you can use it to move the object to one side in order to see behind the item. The hint button will help you locate items you are searching for.

Incorporated in the main play are many mini puzzles to conquer. Fishing for the key is one such game and others are finding cups and plates for the bartender, sliding numbers in numeric order and a lot more. Another interesting play is the dinner plates with food outlined on it coming down a conveyor belt. You must select the food passing by at the bottom of the screen and click, drag the appropriate item to the platter before it reaches the customer. The plate must be full of food or the client is unhappy and you must start again. My favorite game is the donut hunt for the police chief. Some of the puzzles are simple and others are more difficult, but in any event you can skip some of the games and continue on the hidden object play.

3 Days: Zoo Mystery is not necessarily a hard game, but it is fun and I for one would like to find out what happened to the poor zoo animals. If you enjoy hidden object plays and a good mystery, try this game and solve the whodunit in 3 days and save the family zoo.

Features of 3 Days: Zoo Mystery:
-Detective Story Line
-27 Levels
-54 Mini Games
-Solve Mystery and Reveal the Criminal

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

One of my favorite cities is Paris and Mac hidden objects game Travelogue 360: Paris took me back to the wonderful sites and sounds of that town in their game. Travelogue 360 magazine will pay you to visit this exciting city of lights if you research and write about it for the publication.

The usual hidden object single scene at a time is replaced with a 360-degree view of a location. You can also look up to the sky, down at your feet, zoom in and out to search for items listed at the bottom right. If you are prone to carsickness, you may want to reconsider playing this game, but I got acclimated quite quickly so give it a try. It’s like playing Jigsaw 360-NYC.

The play is enhanced by the 360 view and you get to see this scene by using the compass to move all around using your mouse or cursor. The zoom gauge is located next to the compass at the bottom. Finding the objects are not difficult but you do need to search completely around the area. You begin either at the Champs-Elysees or at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower. The game will also give you fun facts about Paris like the Champs-Elysees was once a small garden in a rural setting, and today it is one of the most populated and famous shopping areas in the world. After finding all your souvenirs, you go back to your hotel to store them. This will bring you to a mini game of placing all the objects on your right into the suitcase without touching the sides and other items. Besides this mini game, you will find jigsaws and match postcards. After you complete a tour, you will earn a stamp in your passport book.

From those 2 sites you are off to Max Poilane Bakery known for their artisanal baked goods. Mostly famous for their “pain” there are other bakery items as well and looking for objects in his shop will make you hungry. You could almost smell the breads. All the locations are fun to visit, but the only complaint I have is that you do go back to the same sites (all HOGs do).

There’s a generous hint button where a target will zero in on your object. The scenes are clear and most objects are easily found using the zoom and compass. The music is appropriate for Paris. The story is very little making this play a true hidden object game without a lot of interruptions from other things.

If the search is not much of a challenge, playing the Explorer mode will enhance your game. The Tourist is a no timed relaxing play. So pack your bags and set off to Paris, France for a fun and exciting search for hidden objects. I give this Mac game 3.5 out of 5.

Features of Travelogue 360: Paris:
-22 Different Paris Sites
-Mini games
-Paris, France!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Xplorer is an appealing and well-executed hidden object/I spy Mac game for all die-hard fans of this kind of genre. The sceneries are magnificent and clear. The music is dramatic and appropriate for the pictures.

The hidden object play is the usual listed items you need to uncover and click on in each scene. Some things are more difficult to spot than others so the helps do come in handy. The magnifying glass will reveal many objects for you. If that isn’t enough, try clicking on the battery and the flashing lights will steer you to the item. In this game there is a scrolling machine to unveil more of the scene. I found going back and forth a little bothersome but minor in the scope of things.

When reviewing games I usually play it for 30 minutes, and if I’m not crazy about a game, I will go back to it to see if I missed something, and many times I end up liking the game. However Xplorer gives you only 30 minutes of demo time which extremely limits your play. If you are like me, I read the instructions and everything related to the play. I didn’t even have time to enlarge the screen to full size since I couldn’t find the options button. I really did not want to waste my precious 30 minutes looking for options or reading the instructions.

From what I could tell Xplorer’s scenes are exquisite and challenging. I did not enjoy scrolling the pictures while looking for the objects. The helps are good and plentiful if you find the extra battery in each scene. I think with lack of a story, this Mac game is for hidden object enthusiasts who are looking for a challenging play. I couldn’t relax and enjoy the game more because of the 30 minute limit.

Features of Xplorer:
-Photo Illustrations
-Scrollable Scenes
-Magnigying Glass and Detection Tool

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Continental Café is a conglomeration of puzzles, story and delicious recipes. It is cleverly held together with an unlikely tale about Laura winning the lottery, buying a restaurant with a mystery behind the former owner, a sinister character and then traveling the world to learn how to cook recipes made famous by other foreign chefs. It somehow works.

Your play begins on an airplane clicking on lit stars for hints. You click until you are suddenly stopped. Hopefully you will get far in this mini bonus game but you can also lose everything. The world map will take you first to France to meet Kallie Crotteau, a well renown French chef. She will help you with new recipes after you do some favors. Running errands for the chef consists of multiple puzzles – all different with some easy and others difficult. There are jigsaw, match the shape, word, slide, and tasks to complete puzzles before you can play the hidden object scene. One logic game is similar to World Mosaic and fun to play. The rewards for completing these puzzles are the real recipes you can use and make a delicious meal for your family. This is similar to the latest cooking Mac games like Top Chef and Hell’s Kitchen.

Each puzzle is different and all may not be something you are into so the game provides a rain check if you are lucky enough to earn it. This rain check will allow you to pass on a game if you want. This feature is great because I do not like all the puzzles and opted to skip a game. Unfortunately, I couldn’t play the Word Wheel because it kept timing me out. I later learned that if you play it in the hard mode, the game will progress normally.

I enjoy this game even with the minor flaw. The puzzles are diverse making it feel like you are getting a variety of games and the recipes are bonuses on top of the excellent graphics and well thought out puzzles.

Features of Continental Café:
-Challenging Puzzles
-Recipes
-Top 5 Chefs

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Book of Legends is the tale about Excaliber and the search for the magical sword. This Mac game will take you to 5 different countries with a mix of puzzle and hidden object plays.

In Washington, D.C. Charleston Black finds a special book knowing that he has come across something that has been missing for centuries, he sends the book to his sister, Zoe. When she has the book there are strange men knocking at her door. She escapes with the book in hand, and begins her deadly adventure for the secrets of the Book of Legends.

Zoe communicates on her cell phone to her brother and various people who need her help. Initially she is in the D.C. area looking for clues and objects. She goes from the White House, Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Memorial. From the map she can go back to various scenes to help people who need to recover their items. The good thing is she gets paid for the tasks, and the money is used for plane fare and other necessities she needs to get around the world searching for clues and secrets.

The hidden object game is similar to other such games. You have a list of items you need to find at the scene by clicking on it. The hints are at the bottom on the cell phone and can be used if you have enough bars. You can click on the map to go to different areas or go back to a scene. The log will let you know what to look for and the book will show you the clues in the form of riddles. There are seek and find puzzles in order to complete tasks such as finding keys to open safes and secret things.

The Book of Legends is interesting with the banter of the 2 siblings on their cell phones. The graphics and sound are great and adds to the enjoyment of the play. The mini puzzles are so intertwined in the story you may not think they are separate. This game is fun and pleasurable to play and would recommend it to hidden object gamers who enjoy a good story.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Who killed supermodel and diva Amanda Manville? So far, 9 suspects have good motives for doing her in, but why? Hostile Makeover is a Mac hidden object game for you to uncover the murderer and the reasons for the premeditated killing of poor Amanda.

You are Lacey Smithsonian working as a fashion reporter and writer for the Eye Street Observer in Washington, D.C. Amanda Manville’s murder is big news in the fashion industry, and it is your job to get the scoop on the murderer’s identity. You go to different places in Washington, D.C. to find clues and evidence. The HOG is your typical cluttered scene for you to find the items listed on the left side of the screen.

To net huge points in the HOG you need to find the items in the order listed. This is not always easy to do since some of the objects are not easily recognizable. The blue hint button comes in handy, but will take time to reactivate. Also there are 2 modes of play: the timed mode and the casual mode. You go to the 9 different suspects from her sister to ex boyfriend looking for anything that will lead to the killer before he/she strikes again.

The other plays in this game are the HO with the silhouettes, find the difference in 2 scenes and acquiring outfits for abilities. By unlocking abilities you get sleuthing and female intuition to help you with your search.

I found Hostile Makeover okay to play but not very exciting. When you are in a rhythm searching a scene for items, someone pops in with some quip about the victim or one of the suspects, it disrupts your train of thought. You lose your concentration and have to regroup. Also some of the items were impossible to make out without the hint button. Even though you are in Washington, D.C., you are inside most of the time in a boutique, office, café, etc.

The story based on a mystery novel by Ellen Byerrum did not engage me in the story. The characters were definitely quirky, but not very memorable like the wacky people in Miss Teri Tales series. I gave this game a 3.0 for a so-so play.

Features of Hostile Makeover:
-13 WashingtCollect
-2 Modes of Play
-6 Outfits to Collect

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

G.H.O.S.T. Chronicles like the other Chronicle hidden object/seek and find Mac games is an intense and involved play. The premise of this game is that you are called into investigate a haunting of sorts at the Spears Renaissance Faire. You are the ghost buster to some unusual happenings at this entertainment facility.

The game is a hidden object play throughout the faire grounds. In addition to finding the listed items you must figure out puzzles and solve dilemmas. In one instance, you must cross over a bridge to reach the other side, but the bridge is broken and needs to be repaired. You need to find planks to rebuild the bridge, and in addition, you will need a tool to ply apart the wood. Not only will you be searching for items in a scene, you must move to different locations for things you need. The fairies throughout the scenes will help you so you need to look for them in each location. The magnifying glass, back button and the map will come in handy in this game.

G.H.O.S.T. Chronicles is a difficult and challenging Mac game but can be played in easy mode. However, there are many involved puzzles to get through each building of the faire. It reminds you somewhat of the other Chronicle seek and find games but the story is not as dramatic as Dream Chronicles 1, Dream Chronicles 2 or Chosen Child. Playing those games you are constantly reminded of the fact that you are looking specifically for someone. This game with its many hidden object plays can lose the main goal of the tale. The artwork as usual is well done and the many side puzzles are thought out to challenge your hidden object and puzzle skills.

Features of G.H.O.S.T. Chronicles:
-Hidden Objects
-Hidden Fairies
-Easy or Challenge Mode
-Is it Real or Hoax?

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Recent graduate Laura Jones is called back to her university by her archeologist professor Dr. William Adams regarding a recent discovery in the Mac game Laura Jones and the Gates of Good and Evil. After a series of unusual occurrences Laura finds herself in and out of dreams or drug like state talking to the Professor about the strange effects of the artifact. Laura finds that Dr. Adams is really in a mysterious coma in the hospital. The Dr. is sick and trapped in his subconscious and needs a key to a mystical gate out of it. Anyone who is considered worthy must pass some sort of ordeal given by guardian spirits.

The main game is a seek and find play by placing the cursor over objects in a room in the university. Laura goes to several people and their rooms to discover any clues in order to help the professor. Sometimes after finding the object you must use it to perform another step like using matches against the match book to light a fire in the fireplace.

In addition to these types of tasks, there are mini puzzles to pass. One such game is the fishing play where you must catch fish swimming overhead of a fat cat, but you cannot just catch any fish, you must catch the one that the cat is displaying. There was another puzzle you had to piece together a torn photo, and find the difference in 2 pictures.

This game is engaging and you will want to know what is going on. The characters although suspicious are interesting if not a little odd. The plays are challenging and fun so getting to the bottom of this mystery will be enjoyable. Good luck in helping Laura solve this mystery.

Features of Laura Jones and the Gates of Good and Evil:
-Seek and Find Adventure
-Mini Games
-Funny Characters

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

A little Project Runway and a little Rachel Zoe project Weekend Party Fashion Show is an unique hidden object/seek and find and part paper doll dress-up Mac game. On top of all that you get to go shopping in a multi-level mall, do hair and make-up, and work the catwalk. This game is for all the fashion obsessed wannabe wardrobe stylists out there. You all have the it factor to choose your own style and clothes, so show off your taste and take credit for your glam or boho look.

Who wouldn’t want to go shopping for clothes and accessories to use in your up and coming fashion show. Lilly is a fashion consultant with a new assignment to hunt for the best clothes, purses and shoes in the trendiest of stores? The store clerk will greet you and give you an idea of what kind of things they carry in their shop. Your job is to find all the listed items across the bottom of the screen. Don’t click too much on wrong items or you’ll get a time penalty. If you are completely at a lost, ask the clerk for help. You have 3 helps per store so be very careful.

The mini games are incorporated in earning jewelry, hair and make-up. The jewelry game is a memory play where you flip cards over to match 2. Each match will garner a piece of jewelry. You need these pieces for later to dress up your model/celebrity for the party where they will show off everything you picked out. The hair play is to choose a fashionable do and with your cursor must cut to match the photo. Make-up is a jigsaw puzzle. With all these side games and the hidden object play you would think it is enough, but wait, the best is yet to come.

After finding all the hidden object items and playing the mini games, you are now ready to dress your star. You begin with the under garments, tops, pants, skirts, or dresses, and finish with the accessories. The accessories include your usual belts, shoes, glasses, hats and scarves. This part of the game reminds me of dressing up the paper dolls of years ago. Do they still have them or did they go the way of the dinosaurs? This is still not everything to this innovative game. After you style your client, you get graded on how fashionable you made her. This part is like Project Runway when the judges tell you that you are in or you are out. The culmination to all your hard work is the party where a fashion show is the main entertainment.

Surprisingly, I thoroughly enjoyed this game even though I am not a fashionista or mall girl as you can tell from my fashion score. It was a change of pace from the usual hidden object story. The graphics are good and the play quickly passes because you are so into finding clothes and dressing your model. If you have any talent for dressing stars, you can earn thousands a day like Rachel Zoe. So if a fashion svengali job is in your stars, Weekend Party Fashion Show is for you. Have fun with your first successful fashion show.

Features of Weekend Party Fashion Show:
-World of Fashion
-450 Pieces of Clothing
-Mini games

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars