A few of my favorite time wasters

On 02/19/2014 at 08:54 PM by Ranger1

Linked to Article Series: Blog a Day (BaD) 2014

I love fun little games that can be played in small amounts of time. Flash games are terrible, because I spend tons of time playing silly little games when I probably should be doing something more constructive with my time. The other games that get me are games like Zuma, Chuzzle, and just about any match three game out there.

1. Zuma - My biggest time waster. I love that game, and I play a few levels every day. I'm good enough at it that I can beat it more often than not nowadays. Buying a mouse was a huge help with that.

2. Crush the Castle (any of the three games will do) - Because what's not to love about smashing structures and squishing the people in them with various missles launched with a trebuchet?

3. Burrito Bison and Burrito Bison Revenge - You squish things, crash through doors earn money, and upgrade to get better at squishing things, crashing through doors, and earning more money to pay for more upgrades. Stupid, but I enjoy it.

4. Flight - guide a paper airplane around the world earning money and upgrading to make it fly further.

5. Chuzzle - Because they're cute. And you can tickle them to make them explode and lose all their fur for a brief time.

6. Bejeweled - Match things, match enough things and make them explode.

7. The Factory Balls games - Clever puzzles where you have to color a ball to match the pattern shown. Some of them are diabolically difficult.

8. Electric Box 1 and 2 - More puzzles, where you have to get electric current from point A to Point B using a multitude of clever devices.

There are probably others but these are some that I found memorable. Most of them can be found on Kongregate for free (the flashgames) or bought on Steam (Zuma and the Bejeweled games).

Homelessrook

02/19/2014 at 09:12 PM

I play Stupid Zombies.

Ranger1

02/19/2014 at 09:38 PM

Not a fan of the zombie in any way shape or form, not even in my time wasters. No idea why, either.

02/19/2014 at 09:42 PM

That game is so addictive for some reason. I have it on everything android.

02/19/2014 at 09:44 PM

I understand about stupid addictive games, that's for sure.

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/19/2014 at 10:13 PM

Chuzzle sounds a lot like how I used to play Lemmings.

02/19/2014 at 11:41 PM

Never played Lemmings. Was it a match three game?

02/20/2014 at 12:08 AM

No, it was a Rockstar game with little guys that looked vaguely like green-haired troll dolls that you were supposed to help get out from underneath the ground; unfortunately for them, one of those tools was turning them into dynamite, causing them to say "Oh no!" in a chipmunks voice before exploding.

02/20/2014 at 12:09 AM

I love it already!

BrokenH

02/19/2014 at 10:21 PM

I never had an addiction to Bejeweled....never I say!

PS: I pmed you back, Tami! Sorry my senility delayed my observation skills! For the record, I remember what you're talking about. It all came flooding back!

Uh huh. Sure you didn't, lol.

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

02/20/2014 at 12:36 AM

I really reallly really like Super Hexagon. It is brutal at first and then extremely relaxing.

02/20/2014 at 12:45 AM

Where would I find Super Hexagon?

02/20/2014 at 09:07 AM

It's on steam and smart phones for about a buck.

KnightDriver

02/20/2014 at 03:59 AM

I used to love PopCap games. I played Rocket Mania, Bookworm, Bookworm Adventures, Insaniquarium, Feeding Frenzy, Typer Shark, Heavy Weapon, Mummy Maze, and Seven Seas. I kinda miss the simplicity of those games. Maybe I'll chuck all this serious gaming and go be casual again.

02/20/2014 at 07:24 AM

I think you were the one that told me about Bookworm Adventures. And yes, Popcap has some very fun games.

02/20/2014 at 04:38 PM

I ended up getting a lot of them again when they made it to Xbox Live. Wish they'd brought over Bookworm Adventures.

Cary Woodham

02/20/2014 at 05:41 AM

I have a bunch of those kinds of games on my iPad. My favorite is Pac Chomp. It's a Bejeweled clone that uses Pac-Man characters and themes instead. But it has some gameplay mechanics all its own. Also, Pac N Jump is a fun little Doodle Jump clone.

02/20/2014 at 07:25 AM

I'm glad I don't have an iPad or a phone that plays games, because I have a feeling I would never get anything done then.

Aboboisdaman

02/20/2014 at 07:47 AM

Does Solitaire count? Man... I'm so lame lol. I'd rather just play real games honestly. If my backlog wasn't so hideous, it might be different.

02/20/2014 at 07:50 AM

Solitaire definitely counts! It was the original time waster, lol. And I think all of these games are real games. The fact that they are quick and easily accessible doesn't make them any less real than a big game on a console.

C.S.3590SquadLeader

02/20/2014 at 03:21 PM

Solitaire is one of my favorites, even though I've lost way more games than I've won.

02/20/2014 at 04:20 PM

I always liked Spider Solitaire the best of the solitaire games. But then, I've been playing solitaire in many forms ever since I was a little kid. I even have a huge book of different solitaire games.

goaztecs

02/20/2014 at 05:21 PM

Oh Bejeweled and Zuma. I bought both on the PS3 and 360. Love those games and any match 3 games in general. Tons of fun.

02/20/2014 at 09:45 PM

I find match 3 games to be relaxing, they let me focus just enough to keep part of my brain busy, while allowing the other part to think, daydream, or problem solve.

transmet2033

02/22/2014 at 09:13 AM

I have recently come back to PuzzleCraft. I like how it is set up like a match 3 game, but it isn't. Plus, the town building aspect sucks me in.

leeradical42

02/23/2014 at 08:41 AM

A great puzzle game is Infecct and its on ipone or android for free and once you play it I promise you wont stop.

NSonic79

04/13/2014 at 01:45 PM

I understand bejeweled and zuma. I have those games on my Xbox 360 thanks to XBLA. I don't consider those timewasters myself but games that cross the line.

04/13/2014 at 02:17 PM

I don't really consider them time wasters, either. It's just a term I picked up from some non-gaming friends.

PixlBit