Having Fun with my Older Casual Games

So, I rebuilt my computer in a new case a couple of months ago and added a nice speedy 1 TB SSD. So it's nice and fresh and BARE! I started downloading a bunch of my old Big Fish games and am having so much fun with them. I didn't realize some of them were so old. Oh, please can someone make more like the Drawn games! I've been so disgusted with the new games, I'd forgotten how great some of the old ones are. I'm even enjoying some of the strict HOGs. And World of Goo! And Mouse Craft!

Luckily, I have a LOT of them to keep me busy until it stops raining and I can get back outside.

I stopped playing them because they just seemed like repeats. I miss the games like MCF when they were unique and had the Rube Goldberg puzzles and games like Drawn. I agree with you 100%. They need to reassemble the old crew and get them developing again!

I recently installed several old casuals that I've never played and the Drawn games are included. Mine are on discs. One thing that kills me about Big Fish is that even with my disc games, the manager tells me that I own it and can play it whenever I want. (If it's a Big Fish game.)

I am a big fan of the Dana Knightstone games, and I recently wrote to Boomzap about the possibility of continuing the series (they also never did the fourth and final Otherworld game). Much to my surprise, they said that they missed Dana too and that they would love to do more Dana games but that Big Fish had made the decision not to do any more. All this time I thought that this had been a decision of Boomzap!

Anyone that would like to see this series continued, write to Big Fish and tell them so. Apparently Boomzap would be pleased to get to do another installment in this series.

Drac, I too have been playing some of my older games and have been reminded of some real gems while so doing.

I've been playing World of Goo... funny how such a simple game can drive you nuts...lol

I've also been playing some older Big Fish games recently -- older as in going back to 2008 with Return to Ravenhearst, and up through 2012 or 2013.

Some of the older games hold up better than others.
In general the games made by Big Fish do hold up well.

The first Dire Grove game is currently my favorite in the MCF series and it's from 2009.

I also thought the first House of 1000 Doors game from 2011 (from Alawar and Five-bn) was the best in the series.

Unfortunately a lot of more recent games are spoiled by popups and slide-ins.
Some have options to turn off the popups, but those options don't work.
The only way not to have popups in a game seems to be for the game never to have had them in the first place.

That's interesting news Marian. I did actually play all of the Dana Knightstone games and the Otherworld games. I was never sure if there was supposed to be another Otherworld game or not. It seemed there should be but then I thought maybe Winter had been vanquished or conquered or something so they didn't need the winter game.

Yes, Boomzap was also going to do the winter Otherworld game, but for some reason Big Fish stopped the series. Maybe sales were poor? I was always under the impression that both Otherworld and Dana did well, but what do I know.

Jenny100, I am working my way through the Ravenhurst game right now... even the Madam Fate HOG ones! I agree, the first Dire Grove is definitely my favorite. Looking forward to replaying that one. Also just downloaded The Thirteenth Skull... I remember really liking that one too.

We also agree on the downfalls - for us anyway - of the new games. But we aren't going to go there. I'm just thoroughly enjoying my old BF Games!

I, too, very often re-play my older Casuals. Just mixing them in with newer ones as the mood takes me

I replay my old BF games, too. It is one of the biggest reasons that I keep a spreadsheet as I have played these games, so I can note down which ones I enjoyed (and why), and which ones were mediocre or even complete duds. In one glance, I can find 10-20 options for a Replay.

I've been replaying some of the games I bought for my old iMac.
It's over 12 years old now, and the games I bought for it are from 2007 and 2008.
Mostly Hidden object and mostly with a big ugly timer to get on your nerves.

Playing these older games reminded me how ahead of its time Return to Ravenhearst was for 2008. Not many games from that time period allowed you to move around the game world, and those that did didn't have a proper Hint outside of the hidden object scenes.

By 2009 we started having some really good/memorable games like Dire Grove and Drawn.

They were outstanding games for sure! I really wish they would have continued with that team of BF developers!

One big worry is that in the future your PC may not be able to play any of these old games at all, whether you have them on discs or not. Can you play any of the Windows 3.1, Win 95, Win98 games? With great difficulty if not outright impossible.

Actually, I play all my old Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and Windows 98 games by running emulators/virtual machines on my computer.

I do know that Big Fish went through their entire catalogue when Windows 10 came out to check and make sure that the games were compatible. I am sure there are a few that are troublesome, but most Windows 10 players I know have not experienced many problems. Obsolescence, though, is always a risk when it comes to new technology.

I am replaying a Haunted Hotel game (Charles Dexter Ward) right now and enjoying it. It has held up very well. Great puzzles! I played four others in this series and don't intend to replay them.

Charles Dexter Ward is one of my favorites from that series. It has a lot to offer.