I'm more of a hardcore gamer than a casual gamer by nature, but I do enjoy indulging in the pleasures of casual games from time to time. I often find casual games to be a nice break from the intense commitments I make to my usual 50-hour RPGs. Like a summer fling, good casual gaming experiences can inspire a sense of fun and freedom that only comes from a short-term, minimal commitment.

I recently tried out the casual game Ikibago: The Caribbean Jewel. Ikibago is not your run-of-the-mill casual game. It takes the usual match three mechanics to another level, much like Puzzle Quest. The game is loosely centered around a the story of a lost jewel. However, the only way to get the jewel is to journey across the high seas and puzzle your way through each level.

The basic mechanics of Ikibago are familiar. The core match three principle is expanded through several variations, such as keys, locks, empty spaces, pattern-making, multiple combos, a moving board, and the unusually flexible piece-switching options. Instead of games like Bejeweled, where only corresponding pieces can be switched, Ikibago allows any piece on the board to switch places with the others. This creates a fun dynamic which allows for a wider variety of play styles. I found that my love of organizing and sorting motivated me to arrange rows of one color each. However, there were many other ways to create combos and get just as many (or more) points.

The overall style of Ikibago was well-suited to the game. The pirates looked cartoonish but not childish, and the bright colors created an upbeat mood. The music was fun and definitely set a nice pirate mood. I enjoyed the aesthetic experience and the cute cutscenes.

Ikibago displays one of the most important traits of good casual games: it is easy to learn, but difficult to master. While I found myself breezing through the opening puzzles, I soon faced a welcome challenge. Ikibago is a polished game experience, with fresh variations on a simple mechanic. I had fun solving the puzzles and I'm looking forward to playing more soon.  

The DS has quickly become my favorite console these days, as it bears little resemblance to the larger systems (like the Wii) that I use at work. On the recommendation of a friend, I picked up Final Fantasy III (FFIII) in the hope that it would provide the same rewarding experiences as the RPGs I had played on larger screens. When Puzzle Quest wasn’t satisfying my need for a deep storyline, I finally decided to check out FFIII.

FFIII immediately reminded me of Chocobo Tales. The touch-screen controls and the character designs were very similar to that other game I enjoyed so much. However, the combat system and extensive menus were as advanced as any other Final Fantasy. I felt at home right away; the blue and white dialogue boxes and menus were a pleasantly familiar sight.

FFIII seemed fairly straightforward, but the winding dungeons and caverns soon drove me to the internet to search for a map. Since this was a DS game, I had thought that I wouldn’t need a strategy guide (unlike every other RPG I had played thus far). My friend had warned me that the game could be difficult, so I was definitely afraid of making a mistake. The random battles occur very often, and being lost for just a few moments can mean the difference between life and death.

I doubt that I will purchase a strategy guide for this game, but it has definitely changed the way that I play it. I tried really hard to take the turns that would lead me to treasure chests, but sometimes I would accidentally advance the game and lose access to those items forever. Strategy guides have so often served as my mentors in those games, allowing me to progress efficiently and remain one step ahead of the enemy. In some ways, it was almost a form of companionship.

In my job, there are no strategy guides. You play the game so many times that you probably learn it better than the author of the guide. However, on a first play-through of the game you may miss some things. Just like the platform I missed week after week, certain secrets may remain hidden from even the most competent testers. When I have played new games, especially on overtime shifts, I have found my fellow testers to be incredible resources. If I get stuck in a certain area for more than five minutes, I’m not afraid to ask for help.

Despite my lack of a strategy guide, I have been having fun with FFIII. It seems to be a strong game with nice graphics and a cohesive storyline. It would be nice if the game were a little more forgiving to those of us who have never played it before, but I can always find help online if I get stuck.  

I’ve been playing Puzzle Quest a lot before work lately. There’s something relaxing about immersing yourself in a puzzle for a few minutes before facing the day. I don’t get very far at a time, but the consistent puzzle solving has become a nice habit.

I changed my strategy a lot since fighting Dugog the first time. Certain special puzzles, like capture puzzles and spell puzzles allow me to see the board in a different way. The “very hard” difficulty spells require many matches, forcing you to be diligent about creating 4 of a Kinds whenever possible. AI enemies like Dugog may seem ridiculously lucky, but I seem to have gotten more “lucky” lately. I'm going to guess that it's less about luck and more about training yourself to see moves ahead of time.

So just how much of each Puzzle Quest puzzle is based chance as opposed to skill? I don’t think it’s the same answer for every puzzle. For example, all the capture puzzles I have encountered so far have all pieces visible on the screen from the start. No pieces fall into the board, so all is known in the beginning. Winning those puzzles is almost purely a matter of skill.

Spell puzzles and normal battle puzzles seem to be a complicated mix of chance and skill. Spell puzzles have no opponent, so you control every move. While you may not be able to see the pieces that will continue to fall into the board, you usually have many options in the beginning. For example, you could choose to match the first set of three you see or you could search carefully for any possible 4 of a Kinds. Finding more matching pieces in a row can significantly speed the win, reducing the chance of having no moves left and losing.

Finally, the normal battle puzzles seem to be the puzzle type most largely determined by chance. Without the ability to control enemies’ actions, you have little influence over the board you are given each turn. Also, battle puzzles have a large number of spells that can be applied. With a spell like Stun, you can set up a move one turn in advance. The enemies can also resist spells like Stun, creating another factor that you can’t predict.

Puzzle Quest is still holding my interest weeks after I began playing it. I think the chance element plays a large part in this addiction, as sudden victories can occur when your character is hanging on by a thread. The chance can make you feel like it was your clever playing that got you ahead when it may have just been blind luck. Whether or not my skill has kept me alive in Puzzle Quest, I like to think that I am slowly improving my strategy and becoming a great knight.  

There are few points in a game like Puzzle Quest where you get so frustrated that you stop playing. My experience fighting Dugog was one such occurrence where I took a break from playing. I had to regroup and develop a strategy.

Before Dugog, I had been following the main storyline and paying little attention to the additional side quests and other opportunities to boost my character. I hadn’t developed my citadel, which allows you to learn spells from captured enemies. Certain spells, such as Regeneration, can become invaluable. It allowed me to cure myself with one simple spell that didn’t change the board at all (unlike the previously earned cure spell).

Initially, Dugog seemed unbeatable. The AI seemed to “favor” him, allowing him to get two or three “4 of a Kind” matches as I watched in distress. Some of my friends shared my frustration – the AI enemies did seem unusually lucky.

However, I soon realized that I could gain a much greater advantage by a perfectly honest method – leveling up. At its heart, Puzzle Quest is largely an RPG, so it is only natural that increasing your characters’ abilities is essential to moving ahead. I stopped ignoring the side quests and soon had a much stronger knight. When there were no more side quests to complete, I decided it was time for a rematch.

It still took me a few tries to beat Dugog, but I was much closer to winning each time. Considering the fact that Dugog was the first major boss, it should come as no surprise that he proved a challenge. I was glad that Dugog was difficult, because he taught me to explore the game and enjoy the journey.  

My family was in town this weekend, as my sister was graduating. They love to ask me questions, especially about the game industry. I have a lot of support from them for my chosen profession, but it is interesting to see how my perceptions have been shaped from a very different society.

I grew up in a time when multitasking was incredibly common, if not required. Often when I play games, I do something else at the same time, such as reading a strategy guide, talking to my sister, or even talking on the phone. I always try to show respect towards the people I am talking to when multitasking, and never attempt to play when someone is having a serious conversation with me.

It did not seem unusual to me to bring my DS to the graduation ceremony. I had to be at school at seven in the morning, a full two hours before the ceremony began. I was tired and cranky. I had had little time to play games in the past few days and my family wasn’t talking to me very much. So I pulled out my DS and began playing Puzzle Quest with the sound off.

Puzzle Quest is the type of game that doesn’t require my full attention every second. I find it relaxing to work through a puzzle while doing something else, like talking to people. Also, I have no time limit for my turns in the game, allowing me to respond to the outside world when I want. I thought it wouldn’t be a problem to play, as I felt I would be a more attentive listener later if I had a little time then to enjoy my game.

Unfortunately, playing my DS caused a fuss. Suddenly I became the center of attention, and all my relatives wanted to talk. I would listen and respond like a normal participant in any conversation, but my family kept teasing me about playing games. “We’ll have to take it away from you,” they joked, even though the half-hour marching of the graduates was still a good 20 minutes away.

I grew frustrated with the lack of acceptance for my game at that particular moment and put it away after only 15 minutes. I began to wonder why I was so frustrated. If my family supported my interest in games, why were they offended that I would take a few minutes to play around them?

I soon realized that my relatives weren’t as familiar with the idea of multitasking. While multitasking has become a necessity for me, the idea that I could play a game and still pay attention to my family was foreign to them. They saw me as actively ignoring them and rightfully felt upset. I realized it was probably a mistake to play in front of them.

However, my sister’s boyfriend understood how I felt. He also has Puzzle Quest, but his version is for the PSP. At one point, we left my sister’s graduation party for a few minutes to see if we could play against each other. Unfortunately, the PSP and the DS are not compatible for wireless multiplayer functions. I had no idea the PSP version was set up so differently but, with only one screen and no stylus, it makes sense that it would look like another game.

I did find some time to play Puzzle Quest later, but it was mainly on my own. People like my sister’s boyfriend understand the desire to play, even in the company of others. Yet many people, like my relatives, have not been around games long enough to see how much they have become a part of our culture and a major component of my life. I hope that someday, in the near future, playing games in public will become mainstream and people will understand the how games can help calm and exercise the mind.  

When my sister, who doesn’t play a lot of games, tells me I should get a game, I tend to believe her. She had tried out Puzzle Quest on her boyfriend’s PSP and had fallen in love with it. She told me I would love it because it was like Bejeweled crossed with an RPG. I was sold. I picked up a copy shortly thereafter.

As I have been actively avoiding Chocobo Tales, I needed something new to play, so I finally opened up Puzzle Quest. I wasn’t impressed by the opening credits (in place of fancy cutscenes), but the game itself was incredibly addicting. I was going to play it as I got my lunch ready, which turned into playing during lunch and for most of the afternoon. Surprisingly, one of my most difficult moments was trying to get past the training level, but I shortly developed a strategy for battles and beat it.

Strategy is a large part of the battles, which are basically puzzles like in Bejeweled. You take turns moving pieces in the puzzle, so you always have to think one or two moves ahead. For example, matching three skulls causes damage, so you have to be careful not to create a match that would allow your enemy to match three skulls on his or her next turn.

However, even the most sophisticated battle strategy can be ruined in an instant due to the large influence of chance in any battle. There are a large number of pieces above the board that fall in as other pieces are matched and removed from the game. These can be in any order, and your enemy can suddenly do massive amounts of damage or get three extra turns in a row despite your best intentions. More clever strategists plan with this sense of chance, such as matching pieces only in certain rows where it is highly unlikely for a large number of skulls to fall into place and harm you.

Puzzle Quest is very engaging and seems well-designed. It is a pared-down RPG that makes a great game for a portable system like the PSP and Nintendo DS. I can pick it up for five minutes and solve a puzzle. Unlike normal RPGs where it’s a hack-and-slash battle, the fighting system is good for my brain. I play Puzzle Quest to relax and take a break. I really enjoy it and I’m excited to see how it progresses as I continue to level up.