casual game part of a series on thevideo game industry activitiesjobs video game design game design game art design game development game developer game modification game producer game programming game programmer game publisher game studies game testing game journalism level design development game ai game design interaction design game programming level design video game art video game design video game graphics video game music types adult game casual game indie game nongame interactive art interactive movie nonviolent video game serious game advergame art game edugame exergame topics digital rights management drm outsourcing software license enduser license agreement eula video game preservation related video game history of video games lists list of indie game developers list of video game developers list of video game industry people list of video game publishers list of video game websites vte a casual game is a video game targeted at or used by casual gamers casual games may exhibit any type of gameplay or genre one example of a casual game is heroes of the storm they are typically distinguished by simple rules and by reduced demands on time and learned skill in contrast to more complex hardcore games they typically impose low production and distribution costs on the producer casual games are often played on a personal computer online in web browsers but are also popular on game consoles and mobile phones casual gamers are typically older than traditional computer gamers overview most casual games have similar basic features simple gameplay like a puzzle game that can be played entirely using a onebutton mouse or cellphone keypad familiarity like a card game or board game allowing gameplay in short bursts during work breaks or in the case of portable and cell phone games on public transportation the ability to quickly reach a final stage or continuous play with no need to save the game some variant on a try before you buy business model or an advertisingbased model every month an estimated 200 million consumers play casual games online many of whom do not normally regard themselves as gamers or fans of video games if sold at retail casual games may have low prices to encourage impulse purchases with colorful packaging and point of purchase sales displays recently 100 free full licensed versions of casual games have become available through advertising independent indie game developers often create free games for online play these games have a wide range of gameplay styles can be played on almost any computer and have often been written to be played from within a web browser using flash or shockwave their action graphics and sound are often limited in contrast to downloadable titles but can display advanced features such as 3d capabilities and multiplayer modes history chris kohler considers namcos arcade game pacman 1980 which debuted during the golden age of video arcade games to be the first casual game in 1989 nintendos game boy was released with tetris as a free packin game it was immensely popular and is credited with making nintendos fledgling portable gaming system a success microsofts solitaire 1990 which came free with microsoft windows is widely considered the first successful casual game on a computer with more than 400 million people having played the game since its inception casual games moved online in 1996 with the debut of sites such as gamesville and uproar which offered multiplayer htmlbased games in genres such as bingo cards puzzles and trivia these games required a constant server connection to keep players in sync and did not include chat or avatars the advent of flash created a boom in webbased games encouraging designers to create simple games that could be played to completion in one short sitting one of the most prominent casual games bejeweled started out as a flash game flash games commonly use peruser lso files as a mean of saving game states casual games received another boost when cell phones with large color displays became the norm because like adobe flash before them the cell phones had limited capabilities ideally suited to short simple games the arrival of the ipod in the casual gaming market casual games have remained popular with users of consoles such as nintendos wii the simplicity of the wii controller interface has opened up the gaming market to an untapped demographic who were unwilling to invest the time in learning or intimidated by the typical gamepad input device this opportunity has seen a number of publishers attempt to design games that appeal to the relatively low skill level of these new players 2006 saw a growing market of consolebased casual games such as carnival games and wii play the precursor to this previously unnamed market trend can be seen in games like crazy frog racer shrek super party spice world buzz the music quiz and singstar the casual game littlebigplanet is also a popular title on the playstation 3 in which players have the power to customize huge aspects of the game while the gameplay itself is relatively simple casual games are often computer simulations of traditional games such as chess checkers pinball poker sudoku solitaire and mahjong in 2008 social network games began gaining mainstream popularity following the release of happy farm in china other popular social network games include yoville mob wars mafia wars and frontierville genres there is no precise classification of casual genres in the modern gaming industry according to big fish games one of the leading casual game developers and distributors there are seven popular genres in casual games puzzle games bejeweled series collapse series luxor series hidden object games mystery case files series mortimer beckett series hidden expedition series adventure games dream chronicles series aveyond series nancy drew series strategy games including time management diner dash series delicious series cake mania series arcade action games plants vs zombies peggle series feeding frenzy series word trivia games bookworm bookworm adventures series bonnies bookstore card board games slingo quest lottso deluxe luxor mahjong distribution the internet is the primary distribution channel for casual games on pcs games are typically available in free featurelimited online versions coded using platforms such as flash or in the past java and standalone downloadable versions sometimes promoted with the subtitle deluxe which contain additional features and modes and higherquality graphics and sounds than the web version a trialware version is typically offered which can be unlocked to activate the full game after purchase the mass adoption of touchscreen mobile platforms such as smartphones and in particular apples iphone line following the introduction of the app store created a significant market for casual games as apps on mobile devices social network game a casual game with social network integration browser game a game that is played using a web browser minigame a short video game contained within another video game indie game a game produced by individual or small team without publisher support game development and independent video game development gamezebo and jay is games casual game review websites hardcore game gamer dedication spectrum vtevideo game genres listaction beat em up hack and slash fighting maze pacman clone platform shooter firstperson thirdperson light gun shoot em up tactical survival battle royale actionadventure grand theft auto clone immersive sim metroidvania stealth survival horror psychological horror adventure escape the room interactive fiction interactive movie visual novel mmo mmofps mmorpg mmorts mud roleplaying action roleplaying dungeon crawl roguelike tactical roleplaying simulation construction and management business city government life simulation dating sim digital pet god social simulation sports strategy 4x multiplayer online battle arena realtime strategy tower defense time management realtime tactics turnbased strategy turnbased tactics wargame vehicle simulation flight simulator amateur combat space racing kart racing sim racing submarine simulator train simulator vehicular combat other genres artillery breakout clone digital collectible card game eroge exergame incremental music rhythm nongame party programming puzzle sokoban tilematching related concepts aaa game advertising arcade game art game audio game casual game christian game crossover game educational game fmv gamification indie game multiplayer video game nonlinear gameplay open world nonviolent video game online game browser game multiplayer online game online gambling socialnetwork game pervasive game serious game toystolife twitch gameplay video game clone 