It's Casual: Fun, Online Games For Families

Word Count:
287

Summary:
Whether it's a quick game of Bejeweled while waiting on hold or a game ("Please, just one more!") of Zuma before bed, Americans of all ages are enjoying the fun of casual games on their computers.


Keywords:
It's Casual: Fun, Online Games For Families


Article Body:
Whether it's a quick game of Bejeweled while waiting on hold or a game ("Please, just one more!") of Zuma before bed, Americans of all ages are enjoying the fun of casual games on their computers.

And these addictive pastimes are gaining in popularity-even as sales of boxed PC games have declined. Casual games are becoming so popular, some of the Web's top sites are offering a downloadable or online casual games page.

One of the newest online destinations for the casual gamer is Disney's Game Café, Disney Online's downloadable games collection and Web site featuring activities for a "grown-up" audience-as well as Disney-themed games for younger folks.

All of the games are available via free trials, so gamers can try before they buy. And when it comes time to pay, the fee-usually under $20-is generally just a fraction of the cost of a store-bought game.

The site offers games that appeal to adults who can easily download and play offline with friends and family. With plans to add more games in the future, a sampling of the current lineup includes the following Disney-themed games, as well as popular titles from leading online developers and publishers:

• Disney's Trivia Time: A fast-paced, challenging trivia game where players test their knowledge of all things Disney with questions such as "What is the name of Goofy's son?" (Answer: Max);

• Cubis 2 Gold and Word Mojo Gold from FreshGames;

• Diner Dash and Subway Scramble from PlayFirst; and

• Bejeweled 2, Chuzzle, Zuma, Bookworm, Rocket Mania, Insaniquarium, AstroPop, Typer Shark, Dynomite, Pixelus and Big Money from PopCap Games.

• On the Disney Game Downloads portion of the site there is also a selection of games for kids such as Disney Princess Castle Party and Pirates Pinball.