Back-to-Back Bananas II: Bananas are Back!
In this sequel to the most popular fruit game ever, it’s up to you to place those wacky yellow animated ‘nanas together. But watch out: Harpo’s here again, too, and this time he has a giant tuba in his jacket!

Misreading the Classics
Can you spot the misquoted classic quote before the cudgel of Chaucer or the shillelagh of Sartre crushes your new pen-and-ink set?

Dungeon Ducks
Let the battle of the bills begin! It’s Mallards vs. Mergansers in a strategic mythological melee.

Badger Sack
So, so many badgers. And only one sack.

My First Moustache
Navigate your 14-year-old hero through a maze of Chevron, Dali, Pencil, Freestyle, Toothbrush, Fu Manchu, Handlebar, Horseshoe, Imperial, and more moustaches.

Handroid
Thanks to the magic of Spacestar Ordering, you’ve found yourself with what you most wanted: a robot hand.

Similarly Invisible
Join the quest! Put together the clues as you try to find your match in this social-mobile sensation where nothing is on screen and there are no clues!

Pompous Ringleader
It’s a circus of the narcissistic stars in this struggle of the un-humble. Who will end up with the magic elephant? Only those who play in a most smarmy manner.

Shiny Jackhammer
Whack-a-mole meets Mrs. Doubtfire in this battle to rout the rodents without ever getting dust on your hammer.

Granageddon
It’s a demon in a wig, and it’s after your neighborhood with a bunch of blue-haired fiends in tow. You’ll have to enter the crunch without losing your knitting needles in this action-strategy hit for all ages from 6 to 86.

Naïve Garbage Man
Match the rubbish with the proper bin or your screen starts to smell (warning: experimental technology involved).

Ben-Hurricane
It’s a tic-tac-toe triumph with twisters versus Centurions and every space strategically important. But some, honestly, more important than others.

Dr. Kuhulu and the Mystic Mystery of Madness Manor: An Unexpected Journey to the Land that Time Forgot
Can you travel the back roads to unravel the cryptic clues in time to get away from the tyrannosaurus before the manor crumbles under the ancient gypsy curse?

The Secrets of Smith
The game that made the Internet cry. Tears of sweet, sweet joy. Then some of sadness. Then a few more of joy.

Teefies Go Ouch!
The evil Dr. D.K. (who calls himself a “Dr.” though he only has a Master’s degree) is out to spray his cavity ray at every pearly white in sight. Only you can smear enough chocolate on to save the day in this backwards world.

Sainted Showdown IV
Nicholas the Mystic vs. James the Lesser: Pick your saint. Pick your weapon. The robe-off is on again!

Quelle Surprise Suppertime
Play the edible game that inspired the hit song: “What’s under that plate cover, today, what’s under that plate cover, today, it could be chick-en mole, it could be a potato croquet, it could be a chocolate parfait, what’s under that plate cover, today.”

Dictatortots IV: Pommes Presidenté
The game of potato conquest that’s won six “Spuddies” already is back with a European campaign that’s sure to butter your brains.

Deathray of Sunshine
It’s race day at the Deathray track, and the competition is on with six other sunshine vehicles for the Cup of Doom – but be sure you make it to the finish line without falling into any rain traps.

Scrapple Deluxe
May include possum.

Don’t Offend Australia
The international*** game of dart diplomacy pits your throwing prowess against all comers.

Indifferent Penguin
What can you do to make that wobbly penguin care enough about you to smile? I’d start by blasting away the mean ol’ ice monsters with your hot chocolate ray and then double dose them with your marshmallow mallets. But that’s just me.

*As Curtis once said, “Please don’t steal. Or, if you do, steal well.”

**Hey, these aren’t real games. But if you want to pretend they are, and talk about them to your friends on FriendFace, or whatever social thing you do, well, okay. We dig you.

***Only available in English.

So it was a dee-diddly-ightful surprise when our new favorite Girl Scout, Grace (daughter of Senior Art Director and Cat Wrangler, Jesse) stopped by last week with a crate of cookies to deliver. Not only did she bring some much-needed sugary sustenance but she also delivered hand-made cards in the Plants vs. Zombies style to the fine folks who ordered cookies from her.

As for us deadbeats who didn’t order any  cookies, well we are still eating more than our share. Thanks, Grace! If there is a badge for awesome, you’ve earned it.

Hear, oh people, the warnings of Kuhu:

Be not out past the downing of the sun, and stay off my roof!

Glory is given, glory is taken. All who receive shall remain in the database!

Fear not the lopsided eyes of the Old Old Suit-Man … but fear his many approaching forms!

Kuhu learned email: KuhuSpeaks@PopCap.com!

Hear oh people, the joyfulness of Kuhu:

There, too, are many forms of worms. Among them, the shiniest are the i!

The lion will lie down with the lamb, and then the lion will get up and frolic in the meadows. And the lion will not calm down! And the lamb shall seek refuge and shout, “I should’ve stayed home!”

Joy comes in many forms, much like the Old Old Suit-Man… but its greatest form is a sandwich!

Hear, oh people, the future memories of Kuhu:

In the Year of the Singing Salamander, it was either that, or the Year of the Digital Swan!

And on the day they solved the crime, the County called Green was exposed. All who called this land “County” discovered the hidden truth, nestled beside the hidden feather: it is a Town!

And surrounding that Town, Canada!

Verily, all games shall exist, and some shall cease. The adventure hath existed even as the adventure was yet unknown. And the adventure was flowers and diamonds and words!

I just bought a huge soup pot!

Blog Ride Editor’s Note: Want to know what the future holds for you? Ask him at KuhuSpeaks@PopCap.com. Kuhu shall speak again.

For those who missed it, I made sure to snap pictures of our PopCap crew manning their table and making art the whole livelong day!

I saw Sarah Dicken painting this, and now it is mine. Yes, in this case, the Finders Keepers rule applied to art acquisition. I'd've arm-wrestled for it if anyone got in my way.

David Ryan Paul and Rich Werner never stopped sketching, and the Zombie watched over them.

Jordan Kotzebue happily hawked Hominids while modelling the finest in Solitaire Blitz couture.

Hominids is a webcomic that comes out weekly online and then is collected regularly in print format. I hear that is the future of the comics industry. Go check it out!  (Hominids is not an all-ages comic. You are warned.)

Note: In this image, Sarah Dicken was busy painting the bunnies. And they are mine.

How adorable are these?! If I had kids, these are the blocks I’d want them playing with. Mix-n-Match Creatures by Sarah Dicken (aka One Dill Pickle), coming soon to an Etsy near you.

Karin Madan giggles behind her display copies of Monsterpedia, volumes 1 & 2.

Visit Karin online and check out her Etsy store for handmade jewelry!

When I saw Erin working on this kitty sketch, I was instantly jealous of whoever had commissioned it.

If you were there, send us pictures of you reading Hominids or Monsterpedia, wearing a Karin Madan necklace, drinking out of an Erin Middendorf mug… we’d love to see! If you weren’t there, you can still visit the artists’ sites and online shops, and you can even get a copy of Monsterpedia volume 2! It’s the easiest way to get your hands on some lovely bunnies by Sarah Dicken, among other things.

And now, here you go:

Bitter Critter Zoo
Something’s gone horribly wrong with your newest exhibit — and only you can restore order and save the zoo! Catch all those Bitter Critters, then convince them there’s still hope for the future. This ain’t no zootopia . . . but it’s still your job to save it!

Error Code 0-4384
You’ve been hired to locate the missing cure to the world’s latest pandemic. But to get the antidote and save the world, you’ll need to find over 2,100 hidden objects and uncover the clues!

Dictator Tots III: Despotato
The tyrannical tubers are up to no good . . . again. It’s up to you to infiltrate their political network and fry these evil potatoes once and for all. But be warned: they have eyes everywhere!

Vicious Unicycle
Spokes fly in this battle for street-performance supremacy! Battle Harpy, the Robot Unicycle in juggling, singing and harmonica challenges. But look out for flying bongos!

SocketMania
Mechanics everywhere call SocketMania “the best game featuring socket wrenches ever!”

Hungry Gourds
From the makers of Plants vs. Zombies comes Plants vs. Zombie Plants! Undead gourds are coming to eat your gardens. Do you have what it takes to squash your competition? (Sorry.)

Nickel & Dime: Private Investigators
Team up with a friend in this co-op detective game. Play in black and white or Technicolor. Rated E-10, for some tobacco usage.

Fiscal Clifford
Histories collide as Martin Short is an obnoxious 10-year-old boy who is adopted by a big red dog named Clifford Geertz. Can you, too, learn the meaning of life?

Sidewalk Gum Finder
Clean up the streets and earn rewards in this action-packed social game. Compete against friends in Timed mode, relax in Zen mode, and for a sticky challenge, take on ABC mode!

Sea Salty: Dog Sailor
Set sail with Salty on a search for the lost treasure of Mutt’s Island! Chart your course and survive storms and Cat Pirates. Look! There’s a dogfish!

Cupcake Overlord
A chemical spill just outside your cupcake shop turned your chocolate treat into an evil Belgian villain! Can you stop the Cupcake Overlord before he turns the entire town into dessert?

Thyme Travelers
The first in our culinary education game series! Join Tina and Timmy on a historical tour about their species. Explore ancient Greece, battle nightmares, and discover natural disinfectant and medicine. Plus, learn to make a killer Espagnole sauce.

Coffee Cops
Coffee crimes are at an all-time caffeine high. Help the Coffee Cops nab all the villains and send them to the Tea Tree. This game is certified fair trade.

Mice Fishing
I love this game.

Solitaire Blitz came out for Facebook this past March. Many of you liked it, and that made us happy. This past month, we released a major update to the game, called “Lost Treasures,” that added a whole bunch of new features and game mechanics. I recently sat down with Jason to ask him a few questions about the update, and to help clarify a few things that players have been asking.

Jeff: Can you describe the most important new features in Lost Treasures?
Jason: Our plan for Lost Treasures was “Same game, more reasons to play!” So the most important feature is that it’s still solitaire – it’s exactly the same competitive 60-second solitaire game at the core. What’s new is that players can now visit islands and locations throughout the Caribbean while diving for special treasures on “quests”. We’ve always had an extensive backstory for the game, and now with Lost Treasures, it’s finally coming out in the form of mini-adventures and fun collections.

Jeff: What, if anything, has been removed from the original game?
Jason: Well, let’s see… by the numbers, players actually get MORE silver and earn decks FASTER now than they did before. Plus we’ve added hundreds of new treasures, multiple new dive locations with different moods and backgrounds, and some new boosts. Of course Otis is still there, in all his funny costumes. Scoring is the same. And everyone’s stats, decks, streaks and balances carry over. So it’s almost entirely additive. The only thing we’ve simplified is the “level up” system. It was pretty complicated before – you made long runs, which caused fish to appear, which counted as XP, which accumulated until you passed the next level threshold, when we’d give you one of our 10 monthly decks, unless you already had them all, in which case you got silver. Crazy! Now it’s much simpler. Most of the quests reward you with decks. Just finish a quest, and you get a deck. No more counting fish.

Jeff: Are the leaderboards staying the same? Does anything change in the way these are handled/presented?
Jason: The same! Weekly competition for high score is one of the hallmarks of Blitz games, and ours will stay the same. No matter where you dive, no matter what quest you’re working on, the leaderboard works just as before. Although the islands look and feel different, the game rules are the same, so everyone’s score is comparable no matter where they’re playing on the map. And now in addition to competing for score, there’s a bit of race to see who among your friends is further along the island chain.

Jeff: What’s the most important thing the Quests add to the game? What was the thinking behind adding these?
Jason: From the beginning — literally from the first storyboards and sketches of the game — we’ve wanted to let players travel from place to place and collect different treasures. We’re finally there. Quests give players a reason to collect all this treasure beyond merely the silver value. Plus the sequential nature of quests, and the way they’re grouped by island, lets players set some mid-term and long-term goals for themselves. Finally, the quests and locations give players a lot more variety and entertainment as they continue to play the game they already love. My favorite part about the whole thing is the way we’ve blended historical facts and real-world locations with handy recipes, goofy stories, dramatic audio and humorous characters in our quests. There are so many fascinating tales about the sea: castaways, shipwrecks, lost cargo, marine biology, pirates, naval battles, colonial antiques, vacation resorts, magical myths and legends. I love it! But you know, I don’t have time to read all that. I just want to play solitaire and look at pretty things. So… done!

Jeff: When will we meet new characters? And how often will we meet new characters?
Jason: Right now! Starting with your first hand of solitaire in Lost Treasures, you’ll be introduced to Jacques, the most interesting and well-traveled starfish in the world. From then on, each quest is introduced by one of the characters in a little vignette, and over time you’ll get to know each one of them a little better. The characters have unique personalities, enacted by some of the best Hollywood voice talent, complete with backstories, relationships, hopes, dreams and story arcs. But don’t worry, they’re not screen hogs. They rarely deliver more than one line at a time. They want you to play solitaire.

Jeff: Do you have a favorite character?
Jason: As every parent knows, you can’t pick a favorite. Each and every character is special. I love Jacques’ voice, Eduardo’s attitude, and Sophie’s naiveté. I love Pearl’s positivity, Hercules’ charm, and Sally’s playfulness. I love Cuddles’ enthusiasm and Noodles’ earnestness. But yeah, Jacques is my favorite.

Jeff: Noodles is missing a tentacle and has a hook in its place. Do you feel he has an unfair advantage?
Jason: You know, things sure have a tendency to go wrong whenever Noodles is involved. I’m sure that his missing tentacle is the result of some failed attempt at a new hobby. Circular saw? Chef’s knife? Paper cut? He does have 7 tentacles left, though, which is a perfect match for the 7 stacks of cards in Solitaire Blitz. If only he were any good at it…

Jeff: Are there more islands yet to come?
Jason: Of course! There’s a world full of islands and a million stories to tell. I think we’ll wait and see how many players make it to the end of the first set of locations, and how quickly, before we decide on a release rate. It’s sort of like producing shows for a TV season now. We have our cast of characters, we’ve laid out the plot lines, and we know roughly where the boat is going. Now we need to produce episode after episode, for as many seasons as we stay on the air!

Jeff: All time high score?
Jason: Well it’s not entirely fair, because I have access to some experimental boosts that are still in Research & Development, but with those I got 1,279,750. My highest legitimate score was 953,400 in May of 2012 using the Mine, Bonus Fish and Key Magnet. I’m pretty proud of it. But it’s the destiny of every game designer to be beaten at their own game, and I can testify that most of the engineers on our team have topped mine. A “good score” around the studio here is about a million points. Sheesh!

Apparently I need to do less blogging and more Solitaire Blitz playing. Thanks Jason!

Here is the list, with explanatory statements as needed.

Karma Hoe-Down – Behavioral therapists said it couldn’t be done, but we (almost) did it: a game that combines Timothy Leary psychedelia with Old McDonald. For kids of all ages.

Vampyromaniacs – You’re a member of a blood-sucking undead Def Leppard cover band. Will you make it far enough to play the “Love Bites” third encore?

The Oh Well Well – Where every sigh counts and a swoon counts double!

Posthole Digger’s Revenge –  Those dratted postholes are at it again. But getting revenge isn’t as hollow as you think.

Dictatortots II: Tyrantipasta – In this follow up to the USPB award-winning game of potato-product domination, the Penne Potentate has taken over southern Europe. Can you lead the brave freedom-fighting olive resistance?

Ready. Fire. Aim! – The hilarious game where it’s not what you hit but how much you meant to hit it that counts.

Bought the Farm Report – You’re stuck in Cincinnati in this feverish fly trap, with duel goals of reporting on a recent attack of the un-dead and protecting blond triplets.

Disastrophe – Just when it couldn’t get any worse.

Demolicious – The tragic follow up to Disastrophe.

Pandora’s Suggestion Box – What plague or evil will be suggested in this classic game where the goal is to make the day, the office, and the world a mess faster than the competition.

Now Drink This! – Take the place of Jerry “The Professor” Thomas in this game of bartending blarney. But is buttoning a vest while tossing a flaming Blue Blazer and chatting wittily about the Brooklyn Superbas an unattainable goal?

Here Comes the Sponge – Ba da da da, here comes the sponge, ba da da da, here comes the sponge, and you’ll say, it’s all right.

Taxi Crab – If only driving in reverse wasn’t so darn difficult.

What’s That Smell? – Olfactory hijinks abound when game controllers are plugged into every player’s nose. Let the best nostril win.

Crisp Factory – It’s crunch time at the Stockton-on-Tess crisp factory. Take control of stock quotas, packaging design, and protracted legal battles over sodium RDAs. But watch out for Alistair, the union boss. He’s right behind you!

Frenzeitgeist – A maelstrom of social media, trend watching, and catchphrasing, this first-person shooter was eventually deemed too violent.

Oops! – This upsy-daisy matching game never made it past the drawing board because we kept tripping over the drawing board.

Indeterminate Holster – Are you quick enough to tell if it’s a holster or not? The clock is ticking.

Fudge Trousers – The latest rage in culinary gaming has you pushing the boundaries and the temperature on the stove while trying to create delicate desserts shaped like common clothing.

Fleece the Yetis! – Grab your electric razor and get your snowshoes on as you chase cuddly yetis over hills and dales looking to shave ‘em and sell ‘em. Essential for all MBA students and fans of Banking Regulations: The Video Game.

Pleasant Horse – At one point, Unpleasant Horse arrived. It was unpleasant. Until now.

Monetizaur 2: The Microtransactionator – People who like dinosaurs that make money will love Monetizaur! This version takes it to another level.

Too Many Tonys – Bennett, Blair, Morrison, Randall, Soprano, Padua, the brownstone’s bursting with Tonys and they have to be escorted out before the aliens land. Warning: each Tony responds differently.

Up Your Chimney – It’s the ultimate Chimney Sweep vs. Bindlestiff showdown! The rest are only imitations.

I Am A.J. Rathbun – Actually, no one here really liked this idea but me. But you’ll agree, right, that it would have been perhaps the finest in the history of games?

*As Curtis once said, “Please don’t steal. Or, if you do, steal well.”

**This in no way equals a contract between us and you that would end in us actually ever making any of these games, even if you start talking about the game on various media, including sandwich boards. Though the latter would be quite cool.

Okay: so, maybe none of these are real. Who am I to judge the existence of something? All I can say is: we liked these (fake?) game ideas so much that we felt it our responsibility to share them with the world.

*Please don’t steal. Or, if you do, steal well. Actually… you can have Kraken Derby… none of us are huge fans of that one.

And now, the list, with a few explanations.

No Soup For Ewe!  – Help Huey the Ewe fill his bowl with soup — before the mean old fox finds Huey!

Borscht Bolt – What’s this game about? Beets me!

Monetizaur – People who like dinosaurs that make money will love Monetizaur!

Fear Factor Bejeweled – Face your biggest fears and match gems at the same time!

Rockette Mania – Match Rockette dancers in rows to create a line of leg-kicking crazies.

Sock Puppet Cage Match – You have no idea how much I love this. And you can too!

Interrupting Cow Part II — Electric BoogaMoo  (This needs no explanation.)

Mystery P.I. – Buckingham Malice  (We always knew something was odd about that place.)

Elephant Tied Us – Can you escape the wrath of the crazy, knitting elephant?

First, Person-Shooter – This is all about the punctuation. Those who have ears to hear…

Millinery Mania – I have no idea what this is.

Frittata Frenzy – Italian omelets… they’re everywhere, and they’re fast. Can you cook enough to fill Guiseppe’s gondola?

Monkey Smuggler – Save the monkeys! Sneak them out of the zoo and get them back to the wild, and battle angry zookeepers and the hungry Lion Droid!

Mars Rover: Dogs in Space – Also called “Mutts on Mars,” this educational video game rolled over and played dead just before launch.

Highwire Octopus – Lead the octopus over a series of terrifying challenges. It’s tentacular!

Designer Gene Pool Party – There’s something in the water… and it’s fantastic! Design your perfect you and then mingle with other perfect people in this hit Facebook game. We put the “social” in social Darwinism!

Kraken Derby – Go fast and win big in this stylish new racing game. Choose your favorite tiny car, gear up your kraken, and race against the Shriners!

Cheeses vs. Vampires – Take on nocturnal invaders by fighting back with cheddar, swiss, and of course, garlic cheese! It’s a gouda time for the whole family. (Sorry.)

Jaspartu: The World’s Clumsiest Monster – Jaspartu is stumbling around town, destroying everything within falling distance. Only you — a small English boy named Alastair — can control him. Can you trip him up before he accidentally smashes you?

Raccoon Hunter/Raccoon’s Revenge – We were going to ditch conventional thinking and release the original and the sequel at the same time. Because everybody loves either raccoons or their hunters!

Marcel Battle: Proust vs. Marceau – For all the French literature/film lovers out there, now’s your chance to decide who the best Marcel is… shoot straw men and red herring at your enemies — but don’t let your pinkie finger touch your glass!

High Altitude Bakery – The time-management game of the year — can you figure out how to bake perfect baguettes on Mount Everest before it’s too late?

Dictator Tots – Tater tots have taken over the world — and are holding most of the world’s corn supply hostage! Join Kernel Moustard in a battle of good vs. evil!

Bounce House of Horrors – Bounce your way through an overflowing dreamland full of teddy bears with teeth and Dracula in a nightgown. Nightmares have never been this fun!

That’s about it… for now. Maybe we’ll share more in the future. If you’re good.

In the olden times, according to a history book I once skimmed on my way to the anime section, people would communicate by grunting at each other, or by hitting each other with rocks and sticks. Now, in the so-called “modern world,” we don’t have it so easy. With the proliferation of such complex concepts as words and sentences, a whole new set of skills has to be learned. Talking is one, as is writing. But the most important skill, vis a vis modern challenges like getting a middle-management job or searching for stuff on Google, is learning to type.

There are lots of ways to learn to improve your typing skills, but almost none of them are any fun. Fortunately, back in 2002, PopCap decided to do something about this, in the form of a nifty little game called Typer Shark! (The exclamation point is actually part of the title. Not that I wasn’t excited to tell you.) In Typer Shark! you must help defend a poor deep sea diver from increasingly difficult waves of sharks and other types of creatures by typing to eliminate the threat. Each creature has a letter or word on it, which you must type to kill the creature. Now, in terms of realism, this admittedly was not PopCap’s finest hour. I mean, it’s not like bringing a typewriter underwater with you would help you with much of anything, especially if it was electric. And how typing is supposed to defeat these creatures does not hold up to close scrutiny. My suspicion is that once you started typing the shark would probably just eat you too, thus rendering your rescue attempt a dismal failure. Even if you did survive, I’m sure the authorities, when they arrived, would have some pretty serious questions for you as they fished out the diver’s mangled corpse. Like, “Why didn’t you use a harpoon or gun instead of a typewriter?” Or,  “Is that a Smith-Corona?”

So, unfortunately, we’ll subtract 1/2 star for believability problems. If you can let that go, however, what you’re left with is a pretty fun little game. There is a certain satisfaction that comes with being able to win by typing fast, especially if you are an English major with no other marketable skills. Beating the hardest levels of this game is like a total in-your-face moment to your parents or other know-it-alls who told you that you were wasting your time and would amount to nothing if you pursued a liberal arts degree. The first time I beat the game, I took a screen capture of the final level and sent it to my mom with the message, “Who’s a loser NOW, Mom?” The fact that she never wrote back and changed her phone number just proves how much the truth hurts.

Typer Shark! is totally empowering that way, and thus is practically guaranteed to change your life, especially if you’re good at typing. And if you’re not good at typing, well, here’s your chance! What are you waiting for? An invitation to typing school? Guess what — they don’t have those, so you’d basically be waiting forever, like Linus in the pumpkin patch. I can just see it. “Oh, come on Sally! Let’s go check my mail again to see if I’ve received an invitation to typing school! Oh no! Nothing again!” Meanwhile, all your smarter friends are already expert typists because, unlike you, they went out and played Typer Shark! instead of waiting around for some mythical invitation that is never going to come, like ever.

That’s about all I have to say on the subject of Typer Shark! Truly one of the shining gems of PopCap’s back catalog. And if you don’t play it, and end up flunking out of school or getting a really terrible job or generally just living in the dim shadow of your parents’ disappointment, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Happy gaming!

–Jeff

Typer Shark! is available to play on your PC (sorry Mac fans–you’ll never learn to type fast, I guess!) right here.