Today on Save Vs. Rant, we want to discuss something that will hopefully be valuable information with all the upcoming (and ongoing) gift-giving holidays: casual games. Casual games are not only a huge part of the story of tabletop gaming, but an awesome way to introduce people to the hobby!
Games and companies mentioned in this podcast:
James Earnest’s company Cheapass Games makes Kill Doctor Lucky, Save Doctor Lucky, Starship Copernicus and Get Lucky. They also make Pairs. Also, a large number of their original games which are out of print are available for free!
Looney Labs makes Fluxx of which there are a truly astounding array of variants. Their other product, Pyramid Arcade is far above our limit for cost of casual games, but is actually a collection of casual games.
Alderic Entertainment Group created Love Letter, which also has a number of variant versions for all occasions. They have a number of other casual games available as well that are worth a look.
IDW Games makes Cat Tower. Cat Tower is a cute dexterity game. Stack them up! Stack up the cute cardboard cats! IDW also makes a number of other games that could be considered casual, such as Machi Koro, a delightful dice-based city building game.
Campy Creatures and Control are by Keymaster Games. They have several other upcoming games as well, and should be regarded as a rising star in tabletop gaming. We hope to see many more good things from them!
Zombie Dice is by Steve Jackson Games, one of the biggest and most resilient names in gaming. They have a large number of games that would also fall squarely into our definition of a casual game.
Go Nuts for Donuts! , Sushi Go! and Sushi Go Party! are all by Gamewright Games. They also make an array of other small casual games .
One more company worth noting for stocking-stuffer style games is Perplext with their series of products called “Pack O’ Game.” All casual games, all with three letter titles and all the size of a pack of chewing gum, Orc, Hue, Gem and Shh being a few of my favorites.
Casual games were instrumental in shaping not only the landscape of gaming, but our personal tabletop gaming journeys here at Save Vs. Rant, and we hope that you’ll make space in your collection for the simple diversions. Merry Xmas, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Yule, Happy Kwanzaa and Joy to you in whatever other holiday traditions you take part in! Happy Gaming!